The 'weighting' is the hardest part

Jack Olsen · 12-30-2002, 03:24 PM

Well, while I sit, car-less, I'm assembling parts for the new version of my 911. The rear tail light assemblies weigh 3.5 pounds each, a little more with the lenses. Today I got my fiberglass R-style backing plates, which -- combined with a pair of Hella light clusters -- only weigh 23 ounces per side.

4 2/3 pounds saved. And they were put together with the help of Pelican board members in Switzerland and South Africa (thanks, guys).

And as a bonus, the new assemblies are less expensive than the old ones they replaced.

dd74 · 12-30-2002, 03:39 PM

I've always loved that type of tail light assembly.

Can those be had through Rennspeed?

Will they work on a '74?

Jack, are you doing the New Years' run with TRE?

Adam · Adam's Garage

So what is the latest on the car, Jack?

Eric Mckenna · 12-30-2002, 03:45 PM

Hey Jack,
Those are pretty snazy! That a pretty good amount of weight , I had no idea they were that much lighter than the oe tail lamps & housing wow! I like the idea of the weight reduction.. but i don't think those would go very well with a 78 SC but then again what the Hell would I care what some one else really thought of MY car.. I like the weight reduction more than the over concern with keeping it all of the same vintage what does a set of them there light runa feller these days?
they will look sharp on the BBII.
she will be one hell of a car Jack .. one hell of a car..

Eric

dd74 · 12-30-2002, 03:48 PM

I just went over to gt-racing's site to take a look at those housings. They went on the 911 R, and have some good shots.

I'm trying to picture them on '74 and newer 911 models, and can kind of see it. It would definitely be a different look.

Jack Olsen · 12-30-2002, 04:37 PM

Can those be had through Rennspeed?

Yes, but for more than I paid. Then again, the guy I got them from may or may not want to make more. I'll email him and check.

Will they work on a '74?

They'll work on anything up to an 89. Getting the Hella clusters is the other trick. The way I did it can't be easily repeated. But they're stock Hella parts, and cheap.

Jack, are you doing the New Years' run with TRE?

It depends. I have no Porsche, but I could take the Jaguar. We'll see how capable I am of waking up after the previous night.

pwd72s · 12-30-2002, 04:52 PM

I can see it now..Jack runs 911R lites in the rear, and every bumpercar on the board will start running them...gotta laugh. Jack, are you going with the front R set-up as well? I hope you survive tomorrow night...but hell, if you can't party hearty at your young age, when will you?

Jack Olsen · 12-30-2002, 05:40 PM

Adam, the car is at the paint shop right now. You can see it in the current picture from the camera they keep there, here.

Not a lot of progress over the holiday. But January will see the bulk of it get done, I hope.

You might be right, Paul. These things normally sell for so much it's prohibitive. I did it for $55 a side.

I personally prefer the look of the stock lights, but weight is weight.

cstreit · cstreit's Garage

Jack? Are you trying to steal the "most stripped down" 911 title from me?

I've been eyeing the LED brake lights in the auto stores for some time. Don't want to go with the 911R style signals though, so up front I only have lenses with nothing behind them...(no need for lights) and have been toying with the idea of doing this in the rear by fabricating some brackets that come off the bumper and hold the lenses in... Then glueing the LED lights to the inside of the lenses themselves....

I'm fast appraoching that point where I'm going to need a big-a$$ hole saw to save any more weight. (Aside from the door and hood replacement on the "to-do" list...

Jack Olsen · 12-30-2002, 08:55 PM

You still have a steel hood? That's huge.

I was reading the Starkey R-RS-RSR book last night, and it talked about the Porsche engineers cheese-holing the floor of the cabin and using thinner steel in the roof. I wish somebody had a picture of where you can drill out the floor, but I think it would be a little louder than my wife would like.

Your car will always be thinner than mine. I'm planning leather seats, dash and door panels, a center console, a cup holder, exterior deco trim... and AC. All of these newer weight saving tricks are just to compensate for my ongoing need for creature comforts.

dd74 · 12-30-2002, 10:31 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by JackOlsen
You still have a steel hood? That's huge.

I'm planning leather seats, dash and door panels, a center console, a cup holder, exterior deco trim... and AC. All of these newer weight saving tricks are just to compensate for my ongoing need for creature comforts.

Jack: I thought this was going to be a track-only car.

Cup holders?

Just use one of those Starbucks cardboard holders. They're pretty light, and very removable!

Wayne 962 · Wayne 962's Garage

Make sure it's a carbon fiber cup holder!

-Wayne

Jack Olsen · 11:18 PM

Quote:

I thought this was going to be a track-only car.

Road and track.

Cage and cupholder.

Bill Douglas · 12-31-2002, 12:14 AM

Yeah, as Wayne recommended, a carbon fibre cup holder. They're twice as fast as the regular ones.

cstreit · cstreit's Garage

Ahh... but you really can't take advantage of the carbon fiber in a non asia car unless it's painted red or yellow...

Jack are you insisting on air conditioning this time?

Yeah, I know the hood and doors probably could subtract about 30 pounds or so, but untill I lighten the rear some more (or move the oil tank forward), I don't want to upset the balance of the car...

I've never seen drilled floor pans, but I have seen well swiss-cheesed transmission tunnels... ...and those light assemblies ARE heavy...

Tyson Schmidt · 12-31-2002, 02:15 PM

Chris, the hood alone saves 25#'s and the fiberglass doors save over 100#'s. (If you have '73 and later doors.)

Chuck Moreland · 12-31-2002, 04:39 PM

What is the weight difference between '73+ and the earlier steel doors? Both equipped with manual everything (sorry Jack).

Randy Webb · 12-31-2002, 04:49 PM

How much would you save with Al rear deck? How about with fiberglass?

Tyson Schmidt · 12-31-2002, 04:56 PM

Chuck, the side impact standards went up in '73. All Porsches from '73 on have door beams inside them. They look like mini gaurdrails and are very heavy.

And Randy, I weighed all the metal I cut out of Jack's car in the rear seat area. 10 pounds. That doesn't include the upper parcel shelf, just the seat area.

ted · ted's Garage

How much lighter is a cool shirt compared to your A/C system?
You may want a cool shirt anyways as you may not run the A/C while racing.

When you race do you take the A/C belt off or just endure the ever so slight clutch drag.

Driving to the track is cool, Jae Lee has in car video of himself crossing the grapevine in his 73 wide body 3.8 in the snow @ 30mph with no heater. They had left W/S early as it was raining.

I prefer not to have to drive my hot rod 911 more than a hour or so home after a day of racing.

A P/S Ford p/u and trailer are not a bad thing...bring spares and supplies.
If you did use a trailer for race day what would you change on your car?