How Have You Reduced the Weight of Your Fox Bird or Cat?

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How Have You Reduced the Weight of Your Fox Bird or Cat?

July 28, 2016, 11:03:04 PM

Interested in hearing opinions and experience in removing weight from these cars. I was able to remove almost 400 Lbs from my 74 Maverick during restoration and would like to put my 86 Elan on a diet as well. I'm targeting 200 Lbs or the equivalent of one passenger. Unfortunately, I'm gaining 60 Lbs of unsprung weight with the 8.8 rear swap.

My potential targets:

* Iron cylinder heads
* Iron exhaust manifolds
* Hood (seems boat anchor heavy to me)
* K member
* Driveshaft
* Steel Pulleys
* Steel Brackets
* Air pump & plumbing
* Iron oil pump
* Cats (Did I say that?)
* Smaller A/C compressor??
* Spare tire
* Smaller PS pump?

Since I have not had the bumpers off the car yet, I was wondering if there are potential weight savings to be had by fabbing up some aluminum supports. Some of my Fords from the 70's had very heavy bumpers and/or supports. I'm building a 347 for the car, so many of the heavy engine parts will be eliminated, as I did with my Maverick.

Am I missing any low hanging fruit? My stock interior is in great shape, so I really don't want to remove soundproofing etc.

How Have You Reduced the Weight of Your Fox Bird or Cat?

Reply #1 – July 29, 2016, 01:09:18 AM

Loosing power options will save weight. I'm not sure what power seat weight differences are, but it is fairly substantial. These cars have quite a bit of weight hidden in the interior, in my opinion that would be the best place to start.

How Have You Reduced the Weight of Your Fox Bird or Cat?

Reply #2 – August 02, 2016, 11:24:32 PM

I went on a diet and lost 100 lbs.

How Have You Reduced the Weight of Your Fox Bird or Cat?

Reply #3 – August 04, 2016, 11:12:09 AM

Switch to the new style starter. I went with an aftermarket PMGR style like the newer cars have. 18 pound difference IIRC....

How Have You Reduced the Weight of Your Fox Bird or Cat?

Reply #4 – August 06, 2016, 12:58:00 AM

Quote from: V8Demon;456580

Switch to the new style starter. I went with an aftermarket PMGR style like the newer cars have. 18 pound difference IIRC....

Good catch. I did the same thing with my Maverick. I use an MSD PMGR starter that is very light. There is also a lot of weight to be shed by going to aluminum brackets and pulleys. When I compared the weight of the aluminum pulleys to that of the steel, I was surprised at the difference. Same for the Ford Racing aluminum oil pump, MUCH lighter than an iron pump. All this stuff adds up.

I always tell people, its not just about drag racing. Losing weight makes the car feel more responsive and more nimble. Invite a 200lb friend to ride in your car and tell me you can't tell any difference!

How Have You Reduced the Weight of Your Fox Bird or Cat?

Reply #5 – August 11, 2016, 02:25:48 PM

When the '83 had a 302 I dumped the AOD and put a T-5 in the car, aluminum DS, tubular K-member, tubular control arms (front and rear), coil overs (front and rear), ditched the weight on the nose of the rear end, aluminum radiator, aluminum heads, headers & full exhaust sans the cats, etc.

Biggest bang for the buck weight and performance was ditching the AOD.

Then I completely reworked the car and put a Tremec TKO in it and a 351W so I added the weight back but with the additional torque and hp I did not cry one bit.