Minivan weight reduction

[1BADVAN]

I am planning on gutting my van and i know the basics removing carpet, stereo etc, but what are some other things i can do? I know some cut metal out, how can i tell what i can cut and what not to cut? I also remember Gary Donovan going at his K-car with a hole saw, again any tips on where i can cut stuff out?


Thanks!

[RoadWarrior222]

Spare tire holder can go.

I'd do 3/4"- 1" holes in the sides of all the cross pieces underneath but that's kinda chasing ounces. Cut off all spare bolt threads.

There's probably a way to get rid of the side slider door mechanisms and rails and just have it bolted or welded shut.... or top hinge it.

[Vigo]

Behind the body panels the vans are just big empty cans. Honestly, the most, easiest weight you could take out besides stripping the interior would be replacing all the back windows with plexi or lexan. Luckily they are pretty flat so it is not a complicated one to do.

[1BADVAN]

ok thanks guys i will have to try some of these things.

[ShelbyLancer282]

Call Corby lol he would know I mean he HAD the worlds fastest minivan lol

Corby(Hint Hint)

[RoadWarrior222]

Fill the interior with helium balloons

[1BADVAN]

Call Corby lol he would know I mean he HAD the worlds fastest minivan lol

Corby(Hint Hint)

Yeah i have talked to him i know he got his van down to like 2400 lbs

Fill the interior with helium balloons

LOL thats awesome!

[BadAssPerformance]

Subscribed... keep us up to date with how much weight each item is so we can make a KC article the next time someone asks!

[1BADVAN]

Subscribed... keep us up to date with how much weight each item is so we can make a KC article the next time someone asks!

OK i will try and document what i do, I am not sure if i will do lexan yet, or tear out the dash but i have some other good ideas that i will try, here in 2 weeks when school gets out i should have a bit more time to do it.

[Vigo]

Are you keeping Ac? I honestly dont think the dash is worth it.. it would be the last thing id remove, even after just going to one racing seat.

The seats are a major weight. I want to say a non power front van seat weighs 50+lbs. Power is worse.

If you dont need a 20gal tank you can put a fuel cell in it.

[RoadWarrior222]

Lots of crap you can do if this ISN'T a DD... less if it is. Race only van = wipers gone, washers gone, HVAC gone, cruise gone, door trim and handles gone... ... ...

[1BADVAN]

Ac has been gone since before i owned it. I will keep the dash for sure. What in the van seats are so heavy? The base or the seat itself? What have others used as a replacement seat

[Ubmbass]

Well, the seats are crazy heavy. I'm pretty sure it's the base and seat as an equal weight set-back. I only had one seat in the van, with every possible square inch of metal saw-zall'd out that didn't carry some structural importance. You need lighter rims, my tire/rim combo was around 20 pounds on the rear and 28 in the front. lexaning the rear windows isn't that big of a deal, other than the appearance. The stock tank should go in favor of a fuel cell. I had no dash, the interior latching mechanism was removed from the sliding door. If you would like I could come over and show you a few things to get the weight down.

Out of curiosity, what are your goals with the van?

[RoadWarrior222]

Steelies with stock tire size weigh around 50lb a corner, pumpers with 215/65s weigh around 45lb a corner... should be easier to go lighter, even for cheap, GM sunfire etc alloys seem to be lightish for a stocker you can get for pocket change on craigslist etc.

[1BADVAN]

Ac has been gone since before i owned it. I will keep the dash for sure. What in the van seats are so heavy? The base or the seat itself? What have others used as a replacement seat

Thanks for the tips, maybe when i get the basics done i will hit you up for some tips. I don't really have any goals for the van as of now, other than have fun. I want to go as fast as possible on less than 17psi for now. I want to wait until i am not in school to crank it up much more than that as i don't want to break stuff all the time. As of now my van is down with the 3rd blown tranny, in the last 2.5 years i have only had it working for like 4 weeks. I have given up on having it be a daily driver, so that is why i am looking into weight reduction and stuff. But as of now i want to keep the defroster as i need it as an extra car in case my daily driver breaks down.

I also do have some light-weight wheels for the front slicks but i still need to get some lighter wheels for the rear.

[Vigo]

Are you rebuilding these trannies or just throwing in used stockers? We can help you get a more durable trans in it if you're willing to take it on.

[1BADVAN]

Are you rebuilding these trannies or just throwing in used stockers? We can help you get a more durable trans in it if you're willing to take it on.

2 of the 3 were stockers with a RMVB, one had some upgrades then i think my torque converter self destructed cause i had copper bearing pieces stuck in my valve body and i am guessing that is what caused that trans to start slipping. I have a case with the bigger diff bearing installed and only like 40 miles on it. I am going to go through it and put new seals through it.

That said I would like some help in that department. In the past all I have done is swap out hard parts and seals and just "hoped" that the tolerances and such were good. My biggest question would be what parts need the clearances checked, and if i find that they are out of tolerances, where can i get parts (and what are they called) to adjust the tolerances? I have heard of shims and such but i just don't know where to get them.

Also i have heard of many doing the 5 disk clutches in one of the packs, How much does that really help? I understand that some people don't do it and hold down some good power levels. Also all the things i have read are pretty vauge about TBI this and that but, I wonder where i get the thinner metal rings and the 5th clutch pack? and What year trannies can i look for that have the bigger clutch drum that will fit the 5 clutches.

I hope that makes since as it is about midnight and i just finished 2 hours of Physics homework so i am sure my brain is a bit fried

[Vigo]

The only clearances you really need to 'measure' are the clutch pack clearances. I say this because while there are some thrust shims and a lot of shaft bushings, etc, the rule for those is if it looks bad, replace it. You dont really need to measure them if you use that rule.

The clutch pack clearance you just measure with a feeler gauge. You adjust the clearance by using selective snap rings or top plates. Basically you can get snap rings of different thicknesses for a few bucks, and on some trannies there are a few thicknesses of top plates (the plate that rests against the snap ring). So you lay all the clutches and steels in there, put the snap ring in, and then stick the feeler gauge in it to see what your clearance is, and then order a snap ring to adjust that into spec. People who have a bunch of spare parts around can mix and match stuff to get it into spec but for most people that's how it's done.

As for the adding clutch discs thing, it just adds torque capacity to that clutch pack. People do it by running thinner steel plates to get one more clutch in there while maintaining similar overall height for that clutch stack-up. I dont know that it's necessary either. Most people arent running as much line pressure as they could and arent making CRAZY power. But, if it's easy, why not?

as for the TBI this and that and the bigger clutch drum, all it is is that on the tbi clutch drums, the groove for the snap ring was machined farther down into the drum, so that you have less depth underneath it to put clutch plates in. The drums are physically the same other than the difference in snap ring groove locations. Any turbo trans will have the drums you are thinking of.

[Ubmbass]

Thanks for the tips, maybe when i get the basics done i will hit you up for some tips. I don't really have any goals for the van as of now, other than have fun. I want to go as fast as possible on less than 17psi for now. I want to wait until i am not in school to crank it up much more than that as i don't want to break stuff all the time. As of now my van is down with the 3rd blown tranny, in the last 2.5 years i have only had it working for like 4 weeks. I have given up on having it be a daily driver, so that is why i am looking into weight reduction and stuff. But as of now i want to keep the defroster as i need it as an extra car in case my daily driver breaks down.

I also do have some light-weight wheels for the front slicks but i still need to get some lighter wheels for the rear.

I remember my third tranny. LOL.. I am on my 14th rebuild/ new transmission now. It seems to be holding up, but I destroyed my TC this last time so I decided to freshen it up this year. It's a DCR tranny, but nothing is bulletproof.,

[1BADVAN]

Any tips on where to buy the snap rings of different thicknesses? I have replaced all the washers and stuff in this tranny so it should be in good shape there but i would like to check it.
I also have on my plans to check/ adjust the line pressure as i have no idea what i am running. Anyone got the numbers i should look for when i hook up a pressure gauge? I think it is pretty high already but i want to check. The first time it died was cause it broke the 3/8" thick pin the low/reverse band clamps against, and reverse barely worked at all.
Three days after i put it back in the TC let loose thus plugging the valve body and causing the trans to slip. I hope those clutch disks are still good and i can just clean it out and put new seals and o-rings through it.