Abigail PROJECT: LITE W8 (get it, lightweight?)

Kinja'd!!! by "-Amateur" (amateur)
Published 01/15/2017 at 21:25

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Kinja'd!!!

So this year’s goal is to strip as much weight from the Beretta for autocross.

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Abby makes 120hp and has a dry weight of 2750 lbs. In keeping with Chapman tradition, every piece not necessary for racing is going bye bye. Except exterior GFX because racing isn’t just about going fast, you gotta look cool while doing it!

It was 30 degrees outside, perfect temp for stripping the rear. That removed roughly 53 lbs from the chassis. I used a cheap dial scale so weights are approx:

All weights are in lbs.
Aftermarket USB only radio: 1
Rear seat 2 pieces+sound deadening backing: 23
Interior quarter panels 4 pieces: 14
Rear speakers 2 pieces: 4
Rear deck panel: 4
Headliner: 2
Lap belts rear: 2
miscellaneous sound deadening: 3

I have a lot more to on this front and perusing the Porsche forums have given me great ideas. Those guys are fanatics when it comes to shaving weight! My goal is at least 150 lbs in weight savings which would probably only equate in just tenths of a second. Because Racecar.


Replies (16)

Kinja'd!!! "DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time" (dc3ls-)
01/15/2017 at 21:27, STARS: 0

That’s a Porsche?

Kinja'd!!! "Funktheduck" (funktheduck)
01/15/2017 at 21:28, STARS: 3

I see unnecessary seat belt brackets and carpet. Bet you could save some weight by stripping the interior paint. Replace windows with plexi glass.

Kinja'd!!! "S65" (granthp)
01/15/2017 at 21:30, STARS: 1

It’s a Chevrolet

Kinja'd!!! "-Amateur" (amateur)
01/15/2017 at 21:32, STARS: 1

If by Porsche you mean Chevrolet, then yes! It’s a 1995 Chevy Beretta, I was just sifting through Porsche forums to get ideas. The things they do is nothing short of amazing in terms of weight savings.

Kinja'd!!! "415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°)" (415s30)
01/15/2017 at 21:36, STARS: 3

Holes in all the things!

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Kinja'd!!! "-Amateur" (amateur)
01/15/2017 at 21:37, STARS: 1

Yes! This was just the starting steps, it got to cold outside so I left it at this. Everything you mentioned is coming out and yes, only the rear quarter windows will be lexan. There’s a lot of spots I can trim weight from this thing. In the end, I want to take it to get weighed to see officially where I ended weight wise.

Kinja'd!!! "DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time" (dc3ls-)
01/15/2017 at 21:38, STARS: 0

Oh.

Kinja'd!!! "DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time" (dc3ls-)
01/15/2017 at 21:39, STARS: 0

Oh never heard of it.

Kinja'd!!! "-Amateur" (amateur)
01/15/2017 at 21:41, STARS: 1

A lot of people haven’t. It’s a car you rarely see on the road anymore and the last ones rolled of the assembly line in 1996, which was 21 years ago!

Kinja'd!!! "crowmolly" (crowmolly)
01/15/2017 at 21:43, STARS: 0

This gonna have a roll bar/cage in it?

Kinja'd!!! "-Amateur" (amateur)
01/15/2017 at 21:44, STARS: 0

This is awesome! Those people aren’t playing around!

Kinja'd!!! "-Amateur" (amateur)
01/15/2017 at 21:51, STARS: 0

Down the road, I want to kit this thing with a proper rollcage, seat, and a racing harness. I’ve already owned it for 7 years, upgrade progress has been a slow simmer!

Kinja'd!!! "merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc" (merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc)
01/15/2017 at 22:09, STARS: 0

What class will you be running in autox?

Kinja'd!!! "HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles" (hondasfordsvolvo)
01/15/2017 at 22:52, STARS: 1

What about a NASCAR style fiberglass front clip!

Kinja'd!!! "-Amateur" (amateur)
01/16/2017 at 00:23, STARS: 1

They actually sell that for this car! This car used to be really popular dragsters back in the day. The current price tag on a fiberglass front section is $900. I could even get a pure fiberglass hood, but that retails for $300 for the pin on and $600 for the oem latch one. I want to see how far I can get as is first.

Kinja'd!!! "-Amateur" (amateur)
01/16/2017 at 00:24, STARS: 0

I’m DSP right now but I’m usually thrown in the tire limited class