Fellas -

67 hardtop is too heavy in the nose - weighs 3350 with 58% on the nose. Not helping my efforts in launching it without serious spin.

Here's the combo - 514 (385 series), 796 hp, alum heads (Blue Thunder B), no juice, stock front suspension, stock disk brakes, no power steering or brakes. It's a street car, so I need to keep a full-size radiator. Crites teardrop fiberglass hood, but otherwise all steel, including bumpers. Full interior. Mild steel cage. Mini-tub with Hoosier Quick Time Pros - 11.50. C4 with 8" converter and brake. Moser 9" with 4.11 gears. Ladder bar/coil over rear suspension. Computer says it should run high 9's but I need to be able to launch it to get there.

Want to drop some weight, especially off the front wheels, w/o spending a ton of $$$. Looking for the best bang for my buck.

My thoughts -

1. Fiberglass bumper and lightweight brackets.
2. Lightweight disk brakes?
3. Maybe lightweight buckets instead of factory buckets?
4. Ditch the hood hinges and pin the hood on?

Will probably end up adding some weight in the trunk, too.

Thanks,

Scott


67 Fairlane 500 hdtp, C4, 9", 800 hp 514
66 Fairlane 500 convt, toploader, 9", built 390
427 Side Oiler Tunnel Port 2x4 - looking for a 64 Fairlane sedan to drop it in!

my side oiler powered 67 GTA was 3227lbs only glass was the crites hood

my 66 Cyclone I had down to 2650lbs with a 460

only way to really get the front down is no power steering, no power brakes.
Aluminum radiator, shock towers are also very heavy so I took them out, my entire steering setup was under 15lbs including the rack, used glass bumpers, removed 50% of bumper brkt weight and on and on.
Built a 4 link for rear with ASA roundy round front suspension and steering


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Not much weight in hood hinges, not worth the hassle IMO.

The factory seats are very heavy, as are the factory brakes.

Sway bar should go as well.

Would replace the spring perches with rollerized ones from Open Tracker

Is a horn required for inspection? Not much use on a car with almost 800hp....what...they're not going to know you're coming?

Heater box, heater hoses, shock tower braces....

Often better to start with nothing and add just the parts that you need to do what you want it to do.

Just some thoughts. BTW...my 66 Fairlane GT drag car weights in around 2950 without me in it.

66 Fairlane GT Silver Blue "BRUTE" Genesis 496/C4
66 Fairlane GT Nightmist Blue 428/TKO600
66 F250 Camper Special Rangoon Red 428/4-speed
2000 Lincoln LS Sport 5-speed

I also took out all the sound deadener from inside and out of car. It was a bunch! Type tires and wheels also make a huge diff. Used an aluminum master cyl,
pretty much where ever I could I took out weight. I even went as far as moving the gas tank back 7" to get more weight to rear. (easy on a comet but not fairlane)

My engine was also moved back around 10"

Scott

LOL. My Falcon is a bee-otch to try and get light, like your Fairlane. Glass bumper, glass hood, no AC or heater unit, light weight buckets, no back seat (that was 55 lbs right there), 550lb 351C, 8 pt roll bar, light wheels, aluminum radiator, radio delete, battery in the back - still weighs 3047 with 1750 on the nose. In it's defense, it still has the full interior and stock glass in the car. No gutting, I like the inside looks. My computer says the car runs great, the driver so-so.

One of the best ways to move the weight around would be to slide the engine back about 2-3 inches - if you would want to deal with the firewall hassle, etc.

If you are running 11.50s and really have 796 HP, then you have some serious issues somewhere. I've got 300 less HP than you and could out ET you. That ain't right.

I use 90/10 adjustable shocks in the front. They stay at 90/10 now but when I drove it on the street I made a tool that threaded onto the top of the shocks so I could compress the shock on the car and turn it to change the valving back to 60/40 for cruizing. That and some Moroso Trick springs up front may help, also looking at what the ladder bars are doing. Your IC has got to be in the way wrong place if you have spin issues, the front is over-sprung - something.

1967 Falcon 4 door 351C-4V
1970 Mustang 351C-2V
http://raceabilene.com/kelly/hotrod
Owner built, owner abused.

Ok, I can ditch the swaybar, don't need a radio, heater core can go. Will check out the spring perches and aluminum master cylinder.

Probably right on the horn - - it's not nearly as effective as rapping the loud pedal - 796 hp and 4" exhaust (bullet mufflers) sounds pretty much like open headers to me.

Also, the tires are 11.5" wide; 11.50 is not the 1/4 mile e.t.

Front tires are skinnies on aluminum wheels. No chance to lose much weight there.

Have Moroso Trick Front Springs, 710-47200. Installed 1/06. Theyre for a front end weight of 1750-1810 lbs, with a spring rate of 260 lbs/in. My front end is a bit heavy for these at 1924.

Can I get more info on the shock tower removal? The braces are the parts that unbolt, I presume. How do I lose the rest (hot wrench?) and isn't that going to affect structural integrity?

Not interested in moving the motor back at this point. Maybe over the winter.

Thanks for all the info; keep it coming!

Scott

67 Fairlane 500 hdtp, C4, 9", 800 hp 514
66 Fairlane 500 convt, toploader, 9", built 390
427 Side Oiler Tunnel Port 2x4 - looking for a 64 Fairlane sedan to drop it in!

>
Can I get more info on the shock tower removal? The braces are the parts that unbolt, I presume. How do I lose the rest (hot wrench?) and isn't that going to affect structural integrity?
>

You can't remove the towers without putting in a Mustang II type front suspension. The towers carry the load up there, they have to stay. you could lose the towers in your current config by using a 10 point cage with some bars running to the front frame stubs fabricated to support the top of the spring with a shock mount. Chassis shop, big bucks and probably not that much weight lost.

Your Fairlane is like my Falcon (almost the same car - can bolt your fenders on my nose) and it has a big welded cross member under the engine. Not at all like a Mustang. If you have upper "export braces" on the car you can remove those without issues, especially if you have subframe connectors and a cage.

>Not interested in moving the motor back at this point. Maybe over the winter.
Didn't think so - not an easy project and the rule book gets involved even more when you mod the stock firewall.

A good set of Wilwood or Strange brakes with aluminum calipers plus a Strange MC would take maybe 10~15 lbs off the nose.

If you have a ticket, post the numbers - 60', 330, 1/8, 1/4, MPH.


PS - I run 3" with bullets, I don't use the horn either LOL.

1967 Falcon 4 door 351C-4V
1970 Mustang 351C-2V
http://raceabilene.com/kelly/hotrod
Owner built, owner abused.

Ok, I'm familiar with the swap to the Mustang II suspension. Had considered this when the 289 got yanked for the 514, but decided against it. Not a very smart decision, however, b/c of the shock tower surgery necessary to install the 514. I'm running Blue Thunder B heads with the chebby exhaust; these are about 1/2" wider on each side than most aftermarket heads. Anyway, there's a good chance that I'm going to the Mustang II front suspension, but not until this winter.

I've got subframe connectors and cage. Guess that means that the front crossmember can go.

No 1/4 mile tickets worth posting. Haven't made a full pass yet.

Thanks for the info,

Scott

67 Fairlane 500 hdtp, C4, 9", 800 hp 514
66 Fairlane 500 convt, toploader, 9", built 390
427 Side Oiler Tunnel Port 2x4 - looking for a 64 Fairlane sedan to drop it in!

to lift the weight on acceleration. Plastic lenses for lights? Try to go to halogen bulbs and plastic if you can find it. Fiberglass fenders, aluminum drive shaft, aluminum differential housing, move mufflers as far to rear as possible. 50/50 rear shocks, cal-tracs. Joe-JDC.

Good note on the differential - Strange sells their aluminum version for under $400, good place to lose some lbs. The Mosoro tricks have the "small V8" spring rate but are taller than a stock spring and therefore store more energy than a heaver, shorter spring.

1967 Falcon 4 door 351C-4V
1970 Mustang 351C-2V
http://raceabilene.com/kelly/hotrod
Owner built, owner abused.

Your car is very capable of running in the nines as it is, just dial in the rear suspension. You could shed 1000lbs and the car still won't hook until you address the chassis tuning.

Dave Walters
427 Galaxie Registry
http://home.ptd.net/~pwalters/

Dave -

Don't doubt it one bit, and I'll be working on the rear suspension this weekend; having an expert coming over to check it out. Little bit of a learning curve for me; my other cars have been pretty much street only.

While I'm sorting out the rear suspension, I'm going to put the car on a diet, concentrating on taking weight off the nose.

Thanks,

Scott



67 Fairlane 500 hdtp, C4, 9", 800 hp 514
66 Fairlane 500 convt, toploader, 9", built 390
427 Side Oiler Tunnel Port 2x4 - looking for a 64 Fairlane sedan to drop it in!

I have a F.A.S.T legal 67 all steel except Crites hood car weighed 3110 without a battery and 7 gallons of fuel its a 505 Mediun riser.It has a 4 point bar.I did the following things so far.Willwood discs on all four corners,no sway bar ,alum bolts where ever possible,Alum center section with alum spool and alum pinion retainer,removed all sound deadener even in doors and undercoating,replaced back seat with a foam seat fitted to the stock covers from a Lincoln Mark 7,67 Mustang buckets up front.holesawed inside doors and window regs.Alum Griffin rad ,chrome molly strut rods,dash cover instead of dash pad,removed 1/4 window regs and bolted the windows up in place,holesawed back bumper brackets and made alum front bumper brackets,trimmed upper door hinges and made alum lowwer door hinges,alum mater cyl,alum water pump,repo replacement windsheild is 10 lbs lighter,cut out the lower crossmember under engine,no heater,no radio,spent 20 hours grinding on the back side of the bumpers and lightened each 8-9 lbs ,bought a JPT c-4 bellhousing and trimmed it 10 lbs lighter than last years.Calvert mono leaf springs saved 30 lbs and work real well, I hope to have the car below 3000 for this season it should make it even with a big battery.I still have to get a alum driveshaft , smaller Griffin rad ,I am making a set of 67 Fairlane buckets out of racing seats that will be arround 10-12 lbs each,alum yoke for the rear.I hope this helps some.

69 R code Mustang coupe 68 1/2 R code Mustang coupe 70 ram air Drag Pack Cougar 67 505 F.A.S.T legal Fairlane

Love that Fairlane! Man, you have had that car on a serious diet, too! F.A.S.T. rules are much more permissive than the Pure Stock Muscle Car Drag rules; my Ram Air IV 1970 M21 4.33 GTO should be racing in a few months. Weight loss is limited to radio delete, swapping to bench seat, etc.

Thanks for all the tips.

Scott

67 Fairlane 500 hdtp, C4, 9", 800 hp 514
66 Fairlane 500 convt, toploader, 9", built 390
427 Side Oiler Tunnel Port 2x4 - looking for a 64 Fairlane sedan to drop it in!

I have a R code 69 Mustang coupe that I race in pure stock drags.It went 12.80 with a 35 mph headwind a few years ago.Hopefully it will go 12.30's with the new engine that I have for it. Maybee I will see you at Stanton or Martin this year.

69 R code Mustang coupe 68 1/2 R code Mustang coupe 70 ram air Drag Pack Cougar 67 505 F.A.S.T legal Fairlane

Sure, look for me in black on black '70 GTO, 4 sp, steelies with poverty caps.

Thanks,

Scott

67 Fairlane 500 hdtp, C4, 9", 800 hp 514
66 Fairlane 500 convt, toploader, 9", built 390
427 Side Oiler Tunnel Port 2x4 - looking for a 64 Fairlane sedan to drop it in!

Far too many times the suspension is overlooked glad to hear your on it!

On another note I was able to get my 67 trimmed down to 3050lbs without driver. At that time it ran an all iron, except for the intake, Boss 351, which was heavy. I'm sure an FE trimmed out with aluminum heads intake and water pump would come in a little lighter than the Boss 351. The car was pretty stripped down, no heater box, lightweight seats, fiberglass front bumpers hood and fenders. It did still have a full carpet, door panels and dash with pad, plus the stock rear seat. The battery was relocated to the trunk and I ran a fuel cell. At that time I had the ladder bar suspension like your car and it hooked well.

Dave Walters
427 Galaxie Registry
http://home.ptd.net/~pwalters/

hey, just trying to help

Here's what I've done on my Galaxie, which, by the way, still weighs 3950 lbs with me in it. It 60 foots at 1.78 seconds. It has a dead 50/50 front-rear weight ratio. Engine puts about 400 HP to the tires.

Crites front bumper-35 lbs, Crites hood-30 lbs, remove horns-6 lbs, remove inner fenders-25 lbs, remove sway bar-12 lbs, remove power steering-29 lbs, remove sound deadener under carpet-12 lbs, aluminum radiator-8 lbs, Bestop bucket seats-32 lbs, scape off undercoating-25 lbs! Also, 65 lbs of lead in the trunk, including the ballast box. Still to be done: Crites front bumper brackets, lightweight starter, remove power brakes. These mods just address the front. Many other things have been done to affect the rear weight, but I won't get into it. Overall, I've taken 465 lbs off the car so far. Good luck.

 

Chuck J.
64 Galaxie 390
68 Fairlane 289

And no, I'm not talking about merely Redi-Stripping the body parts of paint, sealer, etc. I'm talking about the days of heavy chemical milling of panels, parts etc., like in old Pro Stock days where the inflatable backyard kiddie pool was the chassis builder's best friend! Heck, back then they even let a body-in-white get rusty over a winter season since the oxidized rust came off more easily than milling fresh sheetmetal. Not easy or cheap but.....

http://www.stockcarscience.com/blog/index.php/2008/10/22/weightshaving

See the old Mopar Missle being acid dipped near the end of this long but quite good article.

http://www.allpar.com/racing/joe-pappas.html

N/M

Chuck -

Clean looking Galaxie. I like it.

Thanks for the info,

Scott

67 Fairlane 500 hdtp, C4, 9", 800 hp 514
66 Fairlane 500 convt, toploader, 9", built 390
427 Side Oiler Tunnel Port 2x4 - looking for a 64 Fairlane sedan to drop it in!

if not, theres your starting point ..... if you can't get the front end up quickly ,you'll never get the rear to hook with a heavy car regardless of ladder bar or cal-tracs .....

Yes, I have CE 3 way adjustable shocks - one of the settings is 90/10.

Thanks,

Scott

67 Fairlane 500 hdtp, C4, 9", 800 hp 514
66 Fairlane 500 convt, toploader, 9", built 390
427 Side Oiler Tunnel Port 2x4 - looking for a 64 Fairlane sedan to drop it in!

Get these shocks they're better.

http://calvertracing.com/frontshocks.php

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Scott, get rid of your front sway bar, I did. Install 90/10 Lakewood shocks up front. Both of these will help weight transfer. Get rid of those factory front seats, they weigh a ton. Get Crites fiberglass front bumpers. So who is your suspension expert?
Nick

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"Rock & Roll has been goin down hill ever since Buddy Holly died"...John Milner 1962

GALZILLA: 1963 1/2 ProStreet Galaxie 500 XL 454FE
PROJECT SCARELANE: 1966 ProStreet Fairlane 573

Nick -

Swaybar is on the way out. Need to place an order with Crites. I like the stock-looking interior, but I think the factory buckets are on the way out.

I've been talking to Junior Carter. He's got a shop near Richmond. He's got a Fairlane as well.

Scott

67 Fairlane 500 hdtp, C4, 9", 800 hp 514
66 Fairlane 500 convt, toploader, 9", built 390
427 Side Oiler Tunnel Port 2x4 - looking for a 64 Fairlane sedan to drop it in!

Scott, when do you think you will be ready to race? I am picking up my tranny and new fuel/blown/N2O converter from ATI next week. After that goes back in, I need to do brakes and go through the rear. I should be ready to go at the latest in early June. Let me know when you will be up at BK.
Nick

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"Rock & Roll has been goin down hill ever since Buddy Holly died"...John Milner 1962

GALZILLA: 1963 1/2 ProStreet Galaxie 500 XL 454FE
PROJECT SCARELANE: 1966 ProStreet Fairlane 573

Nick -

Took the Roadrunner up to BK this past weekend. The hemi in that car is sick, and not in a good way. Just got the dyno sheets - 451 hp at 6k. It's got CNC ported aluminum heads, 2x4bbls, solid roller cam. Pump gas motor. Motor was freshly built when I bought the car, and I didn't get any of the specs. Guessing the cam is way too big. Anyway, I'll get it sorted out, but the Fairlane is first. Just don't challenge me to a race if you see me up there in the Mopar!

Might hit the track with the Fairlane next weekend - Richmond. We'll see how much I get done this weekend.

Scott

67 Fairlane 500 hdtp, C4, 9", 800 hp 514
66 Fairlane 500 convt, toploader, 9", built 390
427 Side Oiler Tunnel Port 2x4 - looking for a 64 Fairlane sedan to drop it in!

..........in the rear. I'm assuming you used the 3,350# weight, plus your weight, plus liquids. You don't say whether the 58% nose-weight is with you sitting in the car or not, but I think your spinning issues are with the rear tire/suspension, JMO, Rod.

Mickey Thompson's 63 1/2 #997 S/S Hi-Rise 427 Lgt/Wgt Galaxie,
1957 C-600 Cab-over carhauler w/390-4V, 2-speed rear-end
FGCofA member #4908
MCGC member #75

"There will ALWAYS be an FE in my LiFE"

Rod, Scott's Fairlane does spin almost the whole way down the 1/8th mile. However, the last time I saw his car run was when I ran my Fairlane when I had the 466 in it, and I spun like crazy too (on 17.5 x 32 x 15 MT ET Streets). It was a cold day in November and everyone had bad 60 ft times that day (mine was 1.75).
Nick

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"Rock & Roll has been goin down hill ever since Buddy Holly died"...John Milner 1962

GALZILLA: 1963 1/2 ProStreet Galaxie 500 XL 454FE
PROJECT SCARELANE: 1966 ProStreet Fairlane 573

.......Hoosier Quick-Pro, they got grooves for a Drag-only tire, why? J/C, Rod.

Mickey Thompson's 63 1/2 #997 S/S Hi-Rise 427 Lgt/Wgt Galaxie,
1957 C-600 Cab-over carhauler w/390-4V, 2-speed rear-end
FGCofA member #4908
MCGC member #75

"There will ALWAYS be an FE in my LiFE"

N/M

Not a lightweight either with full interior. Suspension does work properly. Motor got a new intake this winter so it should pick up a bit.

http://videos.streetfire.net/video/Wicked-Fast-Ford_166416.htm


This is his other car. The same colored Probe, 3rd car on the video. Tough call on which one to drive...

http://videos.streetfire.net/video/Mission-Door-Car-08_158554.htm

of the Fairlane video is great in viewing how a well tuned suspension can/should hook up. Thanks for sharing.