Lightening idea

[widebody911]

Got out the hole saw and went at it the other night, drilling some holes in my trunk to lighten things up a little. Well, for about 20 minutes anyway until I broke the mandrel That bigger channel underneath the holes I just drilled will be my next victim.

Having never dealt in alternative pharmaceuticals, I don't have a scale accurate enough to weigh the resulting discs; I guess it's 1/4 lb or so.

[Bill Verburg]

Like the man said "you'll know when you have removed too much material when it breaks"

[Tyson Schmidt]

You scare me with the thread titles of your posts.

I worry when you're starting to think for yourself, Thom.

That piece you cross drilled isn't even there on early cars. For maximum lightness, you could remove it. But it's part of the added in structure for crash worthiness.

[masraum]

Thom, you are one of the kings of DIY. You actually do so many of the things that many of us probably think about but don't have the cojones to actually try.

You're my hero, man!

Keep up the good work! We don't get to see enough pictures of your method or your madness these days. You used to be second in picture volume only to JO.

[widebody911]

Originally posted by Tyson Schmidt
[B]I worry when you're starting to think for yourself, Thom.

I'm lazy - I just let you do my R&D for me

I'd checked out some cars in the junkyard, and saw the early ones didn't have the piece. I was tempted to remove it altogether; that was the basis of my idea of running bars from the shock towers to the a-arm pickups.

Not all of my ideas are winners, some border on the comical once I stand back and look at them; like epoxying big CPU heat sinks to my oil cooler...

[slater]

You are a braver man than I! I always think about that stuff but I would probably have to take some serious medication before I could let myself do it. Good work!

[Tyson Schmidt]

Believe me, I'm just like you, except further along in recovery.


Some advice:

Reinforce the rear shock tower cross member where it is spot-welded to the longitudinals. Seam-weld the attachment points. Top, and especially bottom. I've been seeing a lot of them cracking away here, and these aren't even coil-over cars. It's from running stiff shocks, and also torsional flexing of the chassis. I think your car is a great candidate for this.

[Tyson Schmidt]

Well, I just did it recently, but the car is gone.

I'm getting a client's car back from the frame shop after straightening soon, and I'll be seam welding it. I'll take photos of each step and post it here.

[Bob's Flat-Six]

Swiss Cheese, please

[kach22i]

I love the innovation, plus take comfort in the fact that I am not the craziest guy on the board.

If anyone remembers my training wheel idea, the casters failed but the pan survived intact, to be sealed backup soon.

Keep trying.

[thrown_hammer]

Now your engine is gonna fall out! Oh wait.....wrong thread.

[Eric Mckenna]

Originally posted by thrown_hammer
Now your engine is gonna fall out! Oh wait.....wrong thread.

ahahahahahh!

[kach22i]

Found this:
http://www.harwoodperformance.bizland.com/1941buick/091204.htm

Check out the holes in the hood bracket, don't look stock, and the weight savings? Nothing new here, please move along.

[Ove]

Thom,

Great idea!
I think I'll have to break my own rule of not drilling in the body and make similar holes in mine.

For that bigger channel you mention (underneath the holes) I would consider flanging the holes to maintain strength.
Take a look here: http://users.lmi.net/~ryoung/Sonerai/Belling_or_Flanging_Dies.html

I hope there is a more convenient flanging tool available somewhere. One you can use without taking the whole car apart.

And did you see the September 2004 issue og 911 & Porsche World? There is an article on a 911 with drilled inside sills!

Let us know how your project turns out

[Randy Webb]

The wt. savings is minimal and not in a very effective place.

But my main concern is what are you doing to crash protection - PAG put that piece in there and must have had a reason to do so. The added it during a time of increased safety awareness, so....

[banjomike]

The metal in the gas tank is pretty thick. I think you should drill a bunch of holes in it. Save you lots of weight!

Other items that are good cadidates for drilling hole into...

wheels (unsprung weight!)
tires
torsion bars
windshield
engine block
driver's head...

[Craig 930 RS]

Don't let Souk hear you say these rational things...... he'll say you are squashing the inner child of the person whose idea it originally was

[thrown_hammer]

Originally posted by Craig911
Don't let Souk hear you say these rational things...... he'll say you are squashing the inner child of the person whose idea it originally was

You left out the part where everybody dies.....

[Hoffman912]

Originally posted by banjomike
The metal in the gas tank is pretty thick. I think you should drill a bunch of holes in it. Save you lots of weight!

Other items that are good cadidates for drilling hole into...

wheels (unsprung weight!)
tires
torsion bars
windshield
engine block
driver's head...

dont forget the engine sheet metal. sure the engine will over heat because of heat comming up from the exhaust, but just think about how much lighter the rear end will be

[Ove]

Originally posted by Randy Webb
... my main concern is what are you doing to crash protection

Nothing that a Gruppe B Safety Seal can't fix