sytyguy
Moderated User
I've been getting a bunch of e-mails/PMs about how I lightened up my truck, and instead of writing out a bunch of replies, I figured I'd make one post. So, in response to someone who wrote me asking, "How did you make your truck that light?".......I wrote:
A 6 year labor of love.
I started out by doing the things that I knew I could lose and that weighed the most (ABS removal, AC removal, coilover conversion, spare tire removal, etc.....). Never weighed the truck after that but figured it to be maybe about 300 lbs lighter.
Then, I just kept climbing up under the truck and looking for little stuff to yank (gas tank cover, rear exhaust bracket, overload springs, etc......). Again, never weighed it after that, but knew (and could feel) it was lightening up a good bit.
Then, I did little stuff that added up to a lot of weight (shortening exhaust, removal of heater core and lines, swapping to radiator w/o coolers, snatching oil cooler lines, removing extra under-dash interior panels, etc....). All of this added up to a substantial drop. Also, everytime that I pulled the engine or tranny, I kept finding brackets & bolts that I didn't need.
Finally, one day I went and weighed the truck at some certified CAT scales near my house. Earlier that day I made the truck completely devoid of anything extra (no fire extinguisher, no laptop, etc....) Nothing but me and the truck. I never imagined he'd say 3180, but he did. I went and rechecked it a week later on another set of scales. Same result.
My truck could probably never be put back original, but it does run 11's with a very low-power build and that's really all I wanted.
So.....there's no big secret, just a lot of hard work. I would love to get the truck down around 3000 or maybe even under 3000. Still kinda toying with that idea since my Chevy II has a SyTy transplant that I'm working on. Weighed it a year ago with the SBC and a 700R4........2725lbs (full of gas and fluids), so it's a much more practical candidate for a lightweight project.
So, I hope that answers a lot of your questions. You'd be surprised at how much some of the little stuff weighs once you have it out and in your hands (like a heater core and lines full of coolant). I wish I could tell you all that I just yanked the Flux Capacitor and Mr. Fusion unit and dropped 500 lbs, but it wasn't that easy. In fact, my garage/toolbox are testament to this project (nuts, bolts, brackets, etc.....all over the place).
Hood
A 6 year labor of love.
I started out by doing the things that I knew I could lose and that weighed the most (ABS removal, AC removal, coilover conversion, spare tire removal, etc.....). Never weighed the truck after that but figured it to be maybe about 300 lbs lighter.
Then, I just kept climbing up under the truck and looking for little stuff to yank (gas tank cover, rear exhaust bracket, overload springs, etc......). Again, never weighed it after that, but knew (and could feel) it was lightening up a good bit.
Then, I did little stuff that added up to a lot of weight (shortening exhaust, removal of heater core and lines, swapping to radiator w/o coolers, snatching oil cooler lines, removing extra under-dash interior panels, etc....). All of this added up to a substantial drop. Also, everytime that I pulled the engine or tranny, I kept finding brackets & bolts that I didn't need.
Finally, one day I went and weighed the truck at some certified CAT scales near my house. Earlier that day I made the truck completely devoid of anything extra (no fire extinguisher, no laptop, etc....) Nothing but me and the truck. I never imagined he'd say 3180, but he did. I went and rechecked it a week later on another set of scales. Same result.
My truck could probably never be put back original, but it does run 11's with a very low-power build and that's really all I wanted.
So.....there's no big secret, just a lot of hard work. I would love to get the truck down around 3000 or maybe even under 3000. Still kinda toying with that idea since my Chevy II has a SyTy transplant that I'm working on. Weighed it a year ago with the SBC and a 700R4........2725lbs (full of gas and fluids), so it's a much more practical candidate for a lightweight project.
So, I hope that answers a lot of your questions. You'd be surprised at how much some of the little stuff weighs once you have it out and in your hands (like a heater core and lines full of coolant). I wish I could tell you all that I just yanked the Flux Capacitor and Mr. Fusion unit and dropped 500 lbs, but it wasn't that easy. In fact, my garage/toolbox are testament to this project (nuts, bolts, brackets, etc.....all over the place).
Hood
