Building a historic saloon race car

[markymar93]

Hopefully all bodywork repairs will be finished by end of month and then we will be looking at where we can shed weight further.

[MGDavid]

A full shell dip or blast process to remove all old paint and seam sealer can take out 10 to 20 kilos easily.

[GORDON STREETER]

Originally Posted by MGDavid

A full shell dip or blast process to remove all old paint and seam sealer can take out 10 to 20 kilos easily.

Underseal (although a sod to get off) weighs loads and as I have mentioned before, a mate of mine that used to race bikes would spend a fortune on lightweight parts to save a few ounces but he was about 3 stone overweight ! and should have just gone on a diet. A lightweight exhaust system made a good reduction on my Anglia. My cousin worked as an aircraft mechanic fitting jet engines for one of the major airlines and supplied me with lightweight nuts n bolts and fixings. Also we searched for a long time for lightweight wheels that differ by an enormous amount

[Gerard C]

Originally Posted by GORDON STREETER

My cousin worked as an aircraft mechanic fitting jet engines for one of the major airlines and supplied me with lightweight nuts n bolts and fixings. Also we searched for a long time for lightweight wheels that differ by an enormous amount

Very wise. As to the exhaust system I dont think its necessary to go for thick stainless steel. May be its good to have a look to TLE, Tony Law Exhausts, they can make bespoke systems made of mild steel in various wall thickness http://www.tonylawexhausts.co.uk/. They sell repackable silencers too. Works fine on a V6 Capri.

[GORDON STREETER]

Originally Posted by Gerard C

Very wise. As to the exhaust system I dont think its necessary to go for thick stainless steel. May be its good to have a look to TLE, Tony Law Exhausts, they can make bespoke systems made of mild steel in various wall thickness http://www.tonylawexhausts.co.uk/. They sell repackable silencers too. Works fine on a V6 Capri.

My exhaust was full length (after the 4 branch manifold) with a repackable silencer that was made from big bore lightweight aluminium by a mate that used to make F1/F2 chassis. The weight saving was unbelievable compared with the steel one. The bellhousing/gearbox and diff cases were all lightweight alloy along with aluminium door skins/fibreglass bonnet/boot/Lexan screens /windows. The screens (front and back that I made) were a lot cheaper than the standard ones and would never break (unlike the laminated ones) and again were another great weight saver.
After that, saving weight was only down to playing with smaller increments that probably wasn't worth the hassle, but my team would know how much fuel we needed for a race as they used to dip the tank after a race at different circuits and write it down, and only put the bare minimum in plus an extra litre, at Spa one year I actually ran out on the slowing down lap !

[markymar93]

Ty for the advice. The exhaust is a good shout. Something else to look into.
Just trying to get parts at the moment including a straight cut gearbox.

[Gerard C]

Something you could check is if you're allowed to suppress the bumpers because they weight a boat anchor. If the 122 is in the FIA list you're not. As to the gearbox I dont think dog engagement are allowed and the synchs must be retained. And if I'm correct its impossible to lighten the front windows frames cose they are part of the doors…

[Gerard C]

Appendix K, appendix VIII, page 83, 12 Bumpers, 12.2 "The following cars are considered as having bumpers constituting an integral part of the bodywork" short list including "All 120 type Volvos".

[zefarelly]

Wafer thin GRP . . . Ford Falcon MK2 Jag etc etc

[Gerard C]

Isnt the Falcon Grp1 homologated with GRP bumpers?

[zefarelly]

Originally Posted by Gerard C

Isnt the Falcon Grp1 homologated with GRP bumpers?

Yes, and a nitrogen crank shaft, helium pistons and a foam gear kit apparently

[Gerard C]

[Duddha]

Originally Posted by zefarelly

Yes, and a nitrogen crank shaft, helium pistons and a foam gear kit apparently

That sounds like a jealous Cortina GT owner.

[zefarelly]

Originally Posted by Duddha

That sounds like a jealous Cortina GT owner.

I was referring to the Falcon actually. The GT is light enough thanks