I would like to remove as much weight as possible from the front. What is the weight distribution front vs. rear? The car is 1971 ford maverick, 2 door, 6-cyl. 250-cu. in. would like to shoot for 44% front & 56% rear as much as I can... I know this will be really difficult to get. Any suggestions...
from what I gather... I should get... aluminium heads and intakes remove bench seat remove A/C remove stereo remove power steering (cant go for that) move battery to the trunk (how about putting it behind right wheel as low as possible and getting light weight battery) got front disks got rear drums fuel cell swapped for fuel cell tubular front end what else?
Aluminum radiator Fiberglass hood Are a couple things that come to mind Removing the bench seat and radio aren't going to really affect the balance, just the overall weight. And having a lightweight battery in the rear wont help, as these car are already nose heavy. It really depends on how serious you are about trying to achieve this goal. Are you willing to move the engine back a couple inches? Or drill holes in the frame? Honestly speaking you'd be lucky to have less than 50% of the weight up front with out serious modifications.
sure - I am even debating to move the engine as back as possible lining up first cylinder with the front suspension but then again I want to complete this car soon and not have it sit in the garage for years. I read somewhere on this site that... I read somewhere that is the most optimize weight distribution for a car. I didnt check and verify for maverick but "44% front & 56% rear" makes sense when you include the passengers. If I am wrong please let me know.
44/56 Is an ideal W/D figure...Not the mark to hit, especially with a Maverick. Put an aluminum block engine in it. Glass front clip etc...and set the engine back behind the front axle C/L and you can get close but...You wont hit the perfect number. Not the way these cars are built. Then, dont forget that moving the weight around is going to affect the cars CG. You will also have suspension geometry and sprung/unsprung weight issues to consider as well as spring rates. Its simple in theory, in practice...Not so simple. I would think the cars stock configuration would put the car in the 60/40 frt/rear arena with a V-8.
are you staying with the 250 I6 motor? lots of little things that can help get you closer. get rid of the factory front disk brakes for some aftermarket disk brakes. what ones you get depend on what your using the car for. usually its handling so you should look at willwood brakes. they are less than half the weight of the stock disks. get a light weight starter, the one for a 93 mustang 5.0 is about half the weight of the 70s starters. they make light weight alternators. you need to look at every single idem in front of the rear axle and make it lighter or eliminate it. get rid of the rear seat. get the lightest front seat. the dash is removable, remove it. the steering column can be replaced with a simple steering shaft. the brake pedal/steering shaft support is heavy and can be remade lighter. ditch the windshield wiper motor and system. the stock steering box is heavy. their are aftermarket aluminum steering boxes. they could be adapted or goto a light weight rack and pinion set up. use a manual transmission. use an aluminum flywheel on the motor. choose a light weight motor. a modern all aluminum turbo 4 cyl. get the lightest hood and fenders possible you can get race fiberglass front ends. move the battery to the trunk and get a light weight Odyssey battery. the 8" rear is lighter than most rear ends. it can be made lighter. you can get an aluminum case and pinion support. you can get the ring gear back cut to remove weight. you can have the axle flanges cut to remove more weight. get rid of the drum brakes for light weight disk brakes. you can get fiberglass leaf springs. fiberglass bumpers and trunk lid. plastic fuel cell. light weight wheels. also consider the tire weights. their is a magic lightest weight tire wheel size but consider the sidewall height for handling also. to reduce rear weight
What do you plan to do with this car? What's it's end use? How much money do you have to spend? SPark
Weights have been a debatable subject in the past. I would give little credence to factory published specs. My Sprint has been weighed on a certified CAT scale and tipped the scales at 3010 lbs. It is a 302 with aluminum heads, intake and radiator. Manual transmission (4 speed), 9" rear and steel wheels. Also had a full tank of gas. No options and no insulation other than what came with ACC carpet. The weight distribution was 52.5% front and 47.5% rear.
Moneymaker 1 thanks for the update Bryant thank you so much great information I am staying with the 250 I6 motor. It is all stock. It has original 98,589 miles on it. I am planing the drive it more often, and have a blast. I really enjoyed driving this car when I was in college. However, I always felt ford company got a bit lazy with certain aspect of the car. This car can be really be improved. It always felt a bit like a boat with attitude. I wont race it in track, but I really like cars that surprises you, cars that can handle. I cant spend much, but I can be resourceful. I have been sanding the engine bay to bare metal in order to spray bed liner, as I am doing that I am debating cutting the front end and making a tubular front end. And see if it is feasible to make it front mid engine. I removed the AC and will put the battery in the trunk. Great start... It has been six months tinkering here and there. front disk brakes, complete rear drums, master cylinder. New shocks. New rims, and tires. Whole new bushing set and sway bars, leaf springs. complete bushings, carburettor adjustment I thought about cleaning the engine... valve cover gasket, oil pan gasket etc... then wondered about getting it clean in a machine shop all over. I priced it around... I figured I can pick a modern all aluminum turbo 4 cyl. much cheaper then cleaning straight six... At one point... instead of using 250 straight six, I consider hon'da v tec from a S2000. It is shorter, lighter. You can pick a used hon'da v tec k24 engine for $400-$600, then gotta add the transmission another $400-600, add electrical, computer, wiring - total $3000 cross breed At one side... I want to make it a great solid ride, and at the same time, I want to drive it already. There is no reason why it should be 3-5 year project where I spent time and money. Finish the project and enjoy driving it.
Im pretty sure grabber gt's maverick is at 50/50 or close, not that much done to lighten it up actually.
