69 Mustang Coupe Lexan Windows... and lightweight mods

[69_Mustang 26]

Where can I find a set of lexan windows for the 69 stang coupe?

 

I had done this on my previous car, rear side and rear window. Dropped about 25 lbs from high on the car, where the weight matters for road racing.

 

I'm wondering, since the door windows are roll up, if I could do all side and rear windows. I'd imagine it would drop close to 40 lbs, total. Being that the door windows roll up and down with glass, I'd imagine with some 3/8" lexan windows, formed to the same size, should work. Then the the other windows would be similar.

 

I also plan on getting fiberglass hood, fenders and trunk to drop more weight, without attacking anything crazy. I would hope all that would also drop around 50 lbs or more.

 

With this I want to convert the front end to a coilover setup. The one where they shave the strut towers and weld the rest in. I believe the kit is about 2600. Then of course match the rear with a coilover type system (1600 is what I saw that priced at). http://rcmotorsportsinc.com/

 

From what I've read, the car sits at about 3220 lbs stock. If I can drop to about 2900 lbs and still have a full interior, I'd be happy with that.

 

Anywhere else we can drop weight? Remember... every 10 lbs is like "adding" 1 WHP.

Any experience with lexan windows? Or anything else mentioned here?

Edited October 5, 2012 by 69_Mustang

[69_Mustang 26]

Dropped a total of 152 lbs so far. That's not counting the weight saved from the aluminum march u/d serpentine kit and aluminum radiator.

 

 

Battery relocated

 

No more blower/ hearer core

 

Engine bay now

[Angel 24]

I'm following your progress on vmf. Nice work.

[69_Mustang 26]

Thanks, its slowly all coming together.

 

Probably take a break after the custom exhaust and headers. Should be pretty fun to drive after that.

[69gmachine 15]

If you find someone who makes/sells lexan for our cars I'd be interested also.

 

Are you just planning on open track events or is there a particular class you're trying to compete in? Given your mods, SCCA Autocross C Prepared has a minimum weight of 3000 lbs for cars over 5.1 liters (310 cubic inches) with an additional 50 lb penalty if your wheels are more than 16" diameter and another 50 lbs if they're over 10" wide (for a total of 100 lbs if both are over).

 

I'm planning to compete in C Prepared next year so there's no point in dropping below 3050 anyway as I run 17x9s now and may use 18x10s next year.

 

Here in the mid atlantic area everyone runs Hoosier A6s in all but the showroom stock classes that don't allow them.

 

This was my first year to attempt racing and I have a real street car, not a gutted race car. It didn't really matter as I was just trying to get my car sorted out and learn as much as I could.

 

Some observations I made this year:

 

P315 Hoosier A6s can hold well over 1.3 gs on a 3000 lb car. This is almost exclusively what everyone runs here in this class.

 

1.3 gs on a 3000 lb car can break things like the top of the strut tower on a car that doesn't have a strut tower brace, or the center section right out of a chineese made American Muscle knock off wheel.

 

IMO It's better to learn on tires that don't stick quite that well. I like the Toyo Proxes which are super sticky compared to a regular street tire but have enough tread to provide some feedback so you know when you're approaching the margin. Hoosiers stick like glue and then suddenly let go without so much as a squeal. They're also expensive.

 

On cars that are down on power (say less than 300 in this class), rotating weight becomes very important. You may go faster with a light weight 16" wheel than you would with a heavier 18" wheel.

[69_Mustang 26]

Thanks for the info! I guess I can always use balasts to help with weight to meet a certain class, if I do that.

 

Little update, kinda.

 

Rolling and pulling the fenders next week. Once I do they, i want to see how much room it will giveme and I mightrun Spacers temporarily until I get new wider wheels.

[69_Mustang 26]

Underside of the new exhaust made by Richards Performance Muffler (RPM):

 

Front pic with the lip:

[Angel 24]

Exhaust looks good. Will the side exhaust interfere with subframe connectors?

[69_Mustang 26]

Good question. I was reading some of street or tracks threads on vmf and they have a system where it doesn't need to be connected underneath the car. I didn't ask much about it, but that's how they run,their cars. I'm hoping that I can copy/ get the stuff from them and do it their style.

[fvike 173]

With this I want to convert the front end to a coilover setup. The one where they shave the strut towers and weld the rest in. I believe the kit is about 2600. Then of course match the rear with a coilover type system (1600 is what I saw that priced at). http://rcmotorsportsinc.com/

 

:excl:

Unless you gotta get rid of the shock towers, why do you plan to go with a coilover setup that adds a steel cradle under your car when you are trying to save weight? Just seems odd to me. I cannot believe that an MII suspension is lighter than a regular coilover kit, like the TCP or Global West kits. At $2485 and $2584 respectively, they're cheaper too. But you don't get a rack & pinion with those kits. But you could buy one later on, and spread the costs.

[69_Mustang 26]

I'll be going with street or tracks setup. It's proven and not priced too bad. I definitely want function out of the car.

[69_Mustang 26]

As well as a steering box? Mine are going bad and might as well replace those parts all at the same time.

[69_Mustang 26]

Have an idea.

 

Get some 1/8" lexan, shape it to the rear quarter window, make it so its mounted nice and strong at the bottom between where the window rolls up, then take black silicone and line it around the edges to seal any water to get in.

 

Hopefully that makes sense, without an visual aids.

 

I'd imagine, with the glass and all the mounting hardware should drop some significant weight for a relatively inexpensive price.

[69_Mustang 26]

How do you remove the front and rear bumper? Anyone know!

[69_Mustang 26]

Oh, so I did the rear bumper. Total drop was 11 lbs off the rear. I think I'm going to stop with the rear since it's starting to get really light back there and starting to cause a bit more understeer than before.

 

I'll be putting the front bumper on next. I think I'm just going to use 4 of the 6 mounting points. It's light and just needs to be held up. Not going to save more weight, just going to save some drilling into the fb bumper. If the rear saved 11 lbs, I expect the front to be a little less, since it's smaller. Unless, it's thicker. We'll see.

 

I weight the car with some ghetto military type wheel scales. Not the best thing, but gives me a decent ballpark. Now, I'd say each scale is at least 10 lbs off, as in on the heaving side. They tend to read heavy and round up to the nearest 10 lbs.

 

Car is sitting at...

 

3220 lbs. I did front then rear, so it could be off another 10-20 lbs because of that. I was also on a slight incline, the left side was lower than the right side, so don't take the corner weights to heart.

 

FL: 930 lbs

FR: 870 lbs

RL: 720 lbs

RR: 700 lbs

 

You can see how much lighter the rear is now... a whopping 380 lbs lighter! That's pretty drastic, but not too bad. Puts me right around 55% front/ 45% rear weight distribution. and at a 50% cross weight. So pretty good from a handling point of view.

 

I'm not sure why the left rear side is heavier than the right rear, since the battery in on the right side of the trunk. doesn't make sense... but again, that could be the slight incline it was on.

 

I plan on relocating some stuff out of the engine bay, for a couple reasons. One, to clean it up. 2, to get some weight off the tip. There's not a lot, but there's a couple minor things. I also plan on going to manual brakes with a 7/8" master cylinder. only concern is I'm not sure what exactly I'll need, other than the master cylinder. Any ideas?

 

Other than that, it's time for a break. Aluminum heads and cams are in the plans, but that's about it. Not trying to dump a ton of money right now. Although, I'd like to beef up the suspension a bit, on a budget anyways.

[turboclevor 10]

your left rear might be heavier because if I'm remembering our rear ends have a short and a long side so the center section may be contributing to odd weight distribution

[turboclevor 10]

How do you remove the front and rear bumper? Anyone know!

 

lol i wish i knew mine was in the back seat when i bought it that is the right place for it isn't it?

but if you cant get the bumper off the brackets try taking the brackets off the frame i am thinking its like 8 bolts and all 4 brackets come off with the bumper

[69_Mustang 26]

Hmmm.. haha. Thanks. I think if I can fit a wrench under the front bumper, I might be able to get the hardest bolts off. It just seems so tight in there. What a pain.. haha. I didn't realize the front would be so hard to get off.

[69_Mustang 26]

Installed the fiberglass bumper, finally. With some custom mounting I was able to drop a total of 20it lbs off the very front of the car. Im quite happy with that!

[69_Mustang 26]

Ok, I finally had a chance to gather up all the parts I've weighed so far and taken off the car or just pulled off to see what it weighs. What I don't know is the difference between the follwing aftermarket and stock part:

 

March Serpintine Kit -? lbs

Champion 4 core radiator -? lbs

Aluminum Water pump -? lbs

Edelbrock Aluminum RPM intake mani -? lbs

 

I'm sure all that did drop a good amount of weight, but I won't guess and include it in the actual list until I have good solid numbers.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

 

And here are the actual weights!

 

1969 Mustang Coupe weight list:

 

Front End

Horn (x2) -2 lbs

Inboard headlights (x2) -1 lb

Front blinkers (x2) -2 lbs

Front bumper (with center mounts) -23 lbs

Complete power steering system (OE) -27 lbs

A/C blower -10 lbs

Heater BOX -23 lbs

A/C and heater supporting parts -9 lbs

Dash -10 lbs (I forgot to write this one down but it was roughly around that weight)

Center console -8 lbs

 

Total: -103 lbs

 

Rear End

Rear quarter panels (x2) -30 lbs

Rear seat belts w/all bolts -9 lbs

Rear seat top and bottom -43 lbs

Firewall insulation -5 lbs

Rear floor mats -2 lbs

Rear bumper -16 lbs

 

Total: -105 lbs

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

That's it for now. Oh, the parts in bolt means I weighed them, but left them in the car. so those weights do not count towards the totals.

 

I plan on pulling the front seats out and carpet to make sure the chassis is ok under there. While I'm doing that, I'll definitely weigh those parts as well. If there's insulation under there, I'll be pulling that out and weight that as well. Might even weight the front door panels if I get the chance this week.

 

Nice thing is I work from home, so I might be able to get all this done before Friday.

Edited December 11, 2012 by 69_Mustang

[RPM 1,190]

That would be one heavy heater core at 23 lbs. mine only weights a fraction of that. Alum heads and intake would make a big difference.

 

Bob

[69_Mustang 26]

That's what it weighed, still had some fluid, it wouldn't all drain out. And a ton of rust in and around parts.

 

Aluminum heads are planned, but not till I get it with the cams I want. Already have an aluminum intake. Not sure what the weight difference was since it was on there when o bought. It

[RPM 1,190]

Well it's a good thing you changed the heater core. Mine just weighed in at 2lbs 8oz.

[69_Mustang 26]

How the hell did yours weigh 2lbs?! Even if it was empty I don't see mine being that light. Idk what kind was in my car, maybe because it was with the A/C? Not sure, but that's massively lighter!

 

And I didn't change it, I just pulled it out and left it out. :D

[Angel 24]

The heater core itself only weighs about 2-3 pounds. I think 69_mustang is referring to the heater box and everything else associated with it, including the heater core which goes inside the box.