Chevelle Weight Reduction - Drivetrain and Wheels

We found a pair of Corbeau fixed-back Forza seats at 19 pounds each plus the mounting brackets at 6 pounds, saving another 20 pounds. We also added the Crow safety harnesses and a Simpson Bandit helmet to keep us safe during those 11-second quarter-mile blasts.

We found a pair of Corbeau fixed-back Forza seats at 19 pounds each plus the mounting brac

Time To Get Serious
This is when we decided to get fat-alistic. We had to find a way to chisel another 230 pounds to get our A-body less than 3,000. After the rearend test in the June '08 issue ("The Great Rear Axle Comparo"), we retained the Strange S60 rearend for its durability. But the prospect of dropping 20 pounds demanded the 12-bolt's return. Substituting a California Performance Transmission 200-4R for the original TH400 also netted 14 pounds ("Transformation," Sept. '09). Next we started looking at small, individual components that included a Wilwood aluminum master cylinder, a smaller Optima battery, and we even resorted to making aluminum bumper brackets for the fiberglass bumpers. While searching through GlassTek's catalog, we also replaced the steel decklid with fiberglass. This dropped 25 pounds, even if it was off the wrong end of the car. This is not ideal, but at this point we just wanted to cut weight anywhere we could.

The biggest gain of this entire effort was the tire and wheel package. This is also where we cheated a little bit. Our before weight included a typical street tire and wheel package using a set of 15x7-inch front and 15x8-inch rear Rocket five-spoke Fuel Gray wheels mounted with a pair of 28x10-15-inch Mickey Thompson Sportsman S/R radials in back and 26x6-15 M/T front tires. The larger rear tires are hefty at 27 pounds each, putting the pair of rear tires and wheels at just below 100 pounds. To reduce this bulk, we dug into the Mickey Thompson catalog and found a set of forged, strip-only, aluminum ET Drag wheels. For the front, we used a pair of 15x3.5-inch wheels mounting a pair of 26-inch-tall ET Front tires that barely weigh anything. On the rear, we opted for the DOT-legal 26x10.50-15 ET Street tires mounted on 15x8-inch ET Drag wheels that are a svelte 31.5 pounds each. This shaved an amazing 70 pounds off the car. Not only is this a huge static weight improvement, but accelerating a much lighter wheel and tire package frees more power to accelerate the car. We also chose the ET Street tire because the bias-ply tires are much lighter.

We substituted this lighter Optima D51 battery for our normal Yellow Top Optima and shaved 16 pounds. Despite its small size, the D51 cranks, as we noted in the Aug. '09 issue (Speed Shop, "We Test It"). Note that the battery is still mounted up front. We didn't want to add the 10 pounds of battery cable necessary to string cable from the rear even though that would help traction.
We substituted this lighter Optima D51 battery for our normal Yellow Top Optima and shaved
Percy's supplied this 3/16-inch back window Speedglass for the Orange Peel Chevelle. The Speedglass is treated with a proprietary Percy's coating that resists scratches. We still had to trim the material to make it fit. It might be less expensive to just get the flat sheets.
Percy's supplied this 3/16-inch back window Speedglass for the Orange Peel Chevelle. The S
There is a specific primer necessary to ensure the Speedglass safely adheres and seals to the body. All we had left to do was install the original stainless window trim to give it an OE appearance.
There is a specific primer necessary to ensure the Speedglass safely adheres and seals to

Mickey Thompson's ET Drag wheels and ET Street tires shaved a shocking 70 pounds off the Chevelle. The M/T wheels are not designed for street use, so this will be our dragstrip-only package.
Mickey Thompson's ET Drag wheels and ET Street tires shaved a shocking 70 pounds off the C
Axle Exchange supplied a custom-built 3 1/2-inch-diameter aluminum driveshaft along with a billet 1350 slip-yoke and pinion flange for our 12-bolt to properly connect our 200-4R to the 12-bolt. The shaft is lighter than our nearly stock steel driveshaft but much stronger.
Axle Exchange supplied a custom-built 3 1/2-inch-diameter aluminum driveshaft along with a
In an attempt to cut weight wherever possible, we decided to make our own aluminum bumper brackets out of 0.050-inch sheet to shave 9 pounds off both ends of the car.
In an attempt to cut weight wherever possible, we decided to make our own aluminum bumper

Mounting the Glastek bumpers with the aluminum brackets turned out to be a bit of a challenge, but after some trimming it all went together with no problem.
Mounting the Glastek bumpers with the aluminum brackets turned out to be a bit of a challe
Just before we wrapped up our Jenny Craig adventure, we learned about Holley's new line of aluminum Street Avenger carburetors that are 5 pounds lighter than the older, zinc carburetors. If it sits on the bench unattended, we have to tie it down to keep it from floating away.
Just before we wrapped up our Jenny Craig adventure, we learned about Holley's new line of

Weight Chart
Starting Weight: 3,221
Heavy Parts	Weight	Light Parts	Weight	Savings
Street tires, front, pair	76	Race wheels/tires, pair	41	35
Street tires, rear, pair	98	Race wheels/tires, pair	63	35
Dana 60 rearend	230	12-bolt rearend	210	20
TH400 trans	179	200-4R overdrive	165	14
Optima Yellow Top	41	Optima D51	25	16
Bucket seats (2)	70	Corbeau seats (2)	50	20
Front bumper brackets	5	Aluminum brackets	0	5
Rear steel bumper	20	Fiberglass rear bumper	2	18
Rear bumper brackets	4	Aluminum brackets	0	4
Steel decklid	37	Fiberglass decklid	12	25
Cast-iron master cylinder	9	Wilwood aluminum	2	7
Rear glass	12	Percy's Speedglass	8	4
Quarter-window/regs	15	Percy's Speedglass	5	10
Stereo head unit	1	Eliminated		1
E-brake pedal assembly	2	Eliminated		2
Spal 12-inch twin fans	30	Spal twin 11-inch fans	25	5
Steel driveshaft	19	Aluminum driveshaft	12	7
Net weight savings				228
Race weight of car with half a tank of fuel				2,993