Sportwagon on Slim Fast

[azopelnut]

I had my stock 1975 Sportwagon dyno'd last year at the Coronado Speed Fest and it recorded a whopping 69 hp! I am interested to see if the car will feel "peppier" if I put it on a diet.
STEP ONE
I removed the rear seat (can't really use it anyway), rear seat belt stuff, and the metal tray at the rear of the car. I replaced it with 5/8" plywood and then covered the entire area from behind the front seats to the rear hatch with a thin carpeted sheet of masonite. It looks clean and functional and the best part it was a net weight loss of 53 lbs!
Here are my questions
1) Spare tire replaced by a can of Fix a Flat (keep in mind this is not a daily driver) The spare tire weighs 32 lbs. yes or no
2) Front and rear bumpers Bumpers and mounts are 60 lbs.(I know the pros and cons)
My net weight loss with everything "could" be 145 pounds. According to the 1/4 mile calculator removing 145 lbs has the same affect of increasing horsepower from 69-74hp or a roughly a 7% gain.
WOULD THIS BE A DIFFERENCE ONE COULD ACTUALLY FEEL????
Let me know what you think

[dcm013]

Typically it's difficult for the average person to detect differences of less than 10 percent.

Don

[Tru-Craft]

Yep, pull the spare out.
My GT is not a daily driver either.
I am going to pull the spare/jack also. I am going to make up a plastic bin that fits in the back compartment. I carry tools, jumper cables and fix a flat, also have AAA.

The 75 bumpers are kind of ugly, maybe put some older types on?
For me the, bumpers are staying on, not worth the risk.

Rear glass is heavy, could replace with aluminum sheets.

7% is hard to feel, but still a performance/gas mileage gain.
To help performance/gas mileage:
K&N air filter
Free flow exhaust.
Look at ignition advance curve, probably retarded.
Lyle

[azopelnut]

Originally Posted by Tru-Craft Rear glass is heavy, could replace with aluminum sheets. Look at ignition advance curve, probably retarded. Lyle

1) Would plexiglass work for side windows? They are nearly flat
2) What would you recommend for advance on a stock system with pertronix

[BDD]

There was a highly modified 1950's Opel that made a gas mileage record in the 1970's or early 80's. It may have been in Mechanix Illustrated. They removed the windshield, only went very slowly, special wheels, etc. It may have gotten something like 300+ mpg (I read it 20 or more years ago so who knows?).

[azopelnut]

Hey BDD
Just noticed you are from Wisconsin. I lived there until I was 40. Grew up in St. Croix county and went to college at UW Eau Claire...where are you from?

[newman27]

Originally Posted by azopelnut ...Spare tire replaced by a can of Fix a Flat (keep in mind this is not a daily driver)...

My GT is a daily driver and the Fix a Flat is what I run with. I figure if my Solstice can ship from the factory with nothing but a can of Fix a Flat then why run with a spare in the Opel? I've filled the two plastic bins shown here with spare parts, the FSM, wires, hoses, fuses, etc. I then slip a small tool bag on its side on top of my amp. The small block of wood keeps the bins from sliding around especially forward when stopping.

[BDD]

We live in Kenosha. Boyhood home of Orson Welles ("War of The Worlds", "Citizen Kane") and Don Ameche ("Cocoon" and "The Alexander Graham Bell Story"). Jack Benny was from Waukegan Illinois that is just a few miles south of here. The Eau Claire area is very scenic. We used to live up that way a few years ago too.

A little known bit of historical Wisconsin trivia: supposedly, in the Black Hawk War, both Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis were in Wisconsin as part of militias on the same side. I was told when we lived up there that they were both in the Downsville area, south of Menomonie but I don't know if they really got that far north. I think that war ended in southwest Wisconsin, just above Illinois, at the Mississippi where the Indians who dared visit their old digs on the east side got a bum deal.

Another historical fact: Neither Lincoln nor Jefferson Davis ever knew what an Opel was or how one might be made a bit more "peppy". They might have suggested giving it some extra hay, a cube of sugar, or just a pat on the head, but they would be wrong. They might have also thought they knew what "horsepower" was if it came up in a conversation but they would really have just been grasping at straws.

[hrcollinsjr]

Will you be able to notice a difference in performance? Looks to me like most of you are thinking of straight line performance only. I doubt that I could tell any difference there but I can almost guarantee that it will have a noticeable affect on handling.

Harold

[manta73wi]

Originally Posted by azopelnut went to college at UW Eau Claire...

Hello Paul from a fellow Blugold! When did you go to UWEC? I went from fall of '84 until graduating in the spring of '87. I have a lot of fond memories of Eau Claire!!
-Jeff W

[azopelnut]

I graduated in the "stoned age" 1974! BA Journalism and a minor in Speech

[RallyBob]

Originally Posted by azopelnut My net weight loss with everything "could" be 145 pounds. According to the 1/4 mile calculator removing 145 lbs has the same affect of increasing horsepower from 69-74hp or a roughly a 7% gain. WOULD THIS BE A DIFFERENCE ONE COULD ACTUALLY FEEL???? Let me know what you think

Probably not in a straight line. But on a road race course, definitely. 145 less lbs. to accelerate, brake and corner with. In most forms of racing a 5 kg (11 lbs) weight loss shows measurable gains in lap times. Every bit counts.

And on the plus side again, with less weight every HP gained will seem like more. If you increase your power to 72 whp, you'll feel that 3 hp more than with the stock vehicle's weight.

[Paul]

Originally Posted by azopelnut I graduated in the "stoned age" 1974! BA Journalism and a minor in Speech

Wouldn't this be an Oxymoron.......