weight reduction. not to sound ricey

Macdave06 · Post by **Macdave06** » December 24, 2008, 11:46 pm

I'm sure all of you are well aware that a slick isn't exactly a feather weight, especially a 250. according to my door tag I'm at 3880 empty.

I'm looking to cut that down to maybe 3500, without completely gutting the truck. think its possible?

I was thinking possibly switching to a stepside short bed and shortening the frame to match. does anyone know the approximate weight difference between a short and long bed truck?

Also the truck will be chopped some time down the road, not for weight reduction but obviously that'll take some of the fat off. The giant FE big block will also be gone, and replaced with something more than likely in the small block category.

feel free to call me crazy.

Fordman · Post by **Fordman** » December 24, 2008, 11:51 pm

fe to a 302 will drop a few hundred pounds. i dont know if i would trust what the door tag says though. i would weigh the truck myself and get a correct weight.

Post by **Greg D** » December 24, 2008, 11:51 pm

For the sake of traction the rear is not where you want to lose weight.
Swapping in a Windsor is a good plan for lighter front, right setup and you will gain alot of fuel mileage in the bargain.
There are fiberglass front fenders out there for these trucks and a fiberglass tilt front end. US Body has the tilt front and maybe the fenders.

ICEMAN6166 · Post by **ICEMAN6166** » December 24, 2008, 11:59 pm

sounds like a lot of work you wont get much out of. a few pounds of frame and minimal loss from the bed change.

MadMax took his bumpside 250 down to the track at slickstock and did 17.64 in the 1/4 with a 6 cyl.

Macdave06 · Post by **Macdave06** » December 25, 2008, 12:01 am

yeah I've been told the FE is something like 700+lbs? I don't think I'm gona go with a sbf though, but I dont wanna piss anyone off, so I wont say. I can tell you it probably won't be a sbc either though.

I've looked into a tilt nose, but I'm not sure, because I'm kind of a metal guy. Of course if they have numbers that show significant weight reduction I may be swayed. The place I looked at is www.showcars-bodyparts.com, I dunno if that's the same as where you mentioned, but if not i'll look into them too.

ICEMAN6166 · Post by **ICEMAN6166** » December 25, 2008, 12:06 am

could swap out the d60 rear for a 9", that would lose some weight too.of course you would need to get 5 lug drums or rotors for the front then.

Macdave06 · Post by **Macdave06** » December 25, 2008, 12:10 am

that was another thing I've read about. 70lbs lighter I think. It doesn't seem like there's close to as much available for the dana either, or at least its not as easy to find.

I'm either doing a front clip swap or a mustang 2 crossmember in the front so the 5 lug swap would be done anyways. 8 lug makes it much more difficult to find wheels I like.

don morris II · Post by **don morris II** » December 25, 2008, 12:45 am

you only gain 1 10th of a sec. per 100 lbs in a 1/4 mile. i really wound't worry about it but a 351w is a good swap

Macdave06 · Post by **Macdave06** » December 25, 2008, 1:02 am

I'm not reducing the weight for racing.

I have a 2500lb toyota pickup for that.

DCarr · Post by **DCarr** » December 25, 2008, 2:21 am

FE is lighter than you think. With aluminum heads and intake it is the lightest big block engine-gets it down to the small block(all iron) weight range. If your truck is a flareside you can use aluminum for the bedsides & glass fenders like the off-road boys do.Lose both front & rear bumpers&brackets-use roll pans. aluminum radiator,light bucket seats,dump the heavy twin I, Ford 9-the possibilities are numerous. Keep us posted.

Macdave06 · Post by **Macdave06** » December 25, 2008, 2:41 am

DCarr wrote:FE is lighter than you think. With aluminum heads and intake it is the lightest big block engine-gets it down to the small block(all iron) weight range. If your truck is a flareside you can use aluminum for the bedsides & glass fenders like the off-road boys do.Lose both front & rear bumpers&brackets-use roll pans. aluminum radiator,light bucket seats,dump the heavy twin I, Ford 9-the possibilities are numerous. Keep us posted.

I wasn't even thinking about bumpers, but I am at least going to do a rear roll pan, if not both, otherwise maybe a fiberglass front bumper. I have a styleside bed, which I like the look of more, especially comparing the two long beds.

as far as the motor I'm leaning towards more modern, but not TOO modern. thinkin maybe 3.8 turbo buick, or possibly a 4.9 cadillac(aluminum block). something different. If any of you guys have ever been in a grand national then you know about the torque of those 3.8s

6166 Junkyard Dog · Post by **6166 Junkyard Dog** » December 25, 2008, 8:30 am

Maybe loosing 30-40 lbs off the driver

sorry could not help myself

Ford4jack · Post by **Ford4jack** » December 25, 2008, 9:34 am

You could save some weight by going to a F100 frame.
If my memory is correct theres a difference of .035 thickness between them.
The rear leafs on a F250 are bad heavy as well some 100 springs would save quite a bit
but I seem to remember reading a post saying there is a length difference between the F100 & 250 springs

And as Iceman said a 9" rear

Good luck with your project.

Macdave06 · Post by **Macdave06** » December 25, 2008, 8:14 pm

Ford4jack wrote:You could save some weight by going to a F100 frame.
If my memory is correct theres a difference of .035 thickness between them.
The rear leafs on a F250 are bad heavy as well some 100 springs would save quite a bit
but I seem to remember reading a post saying there is a length difference between the F100 & 250 springs

And as Iceman said a 9" rear

Good luck with your project.

hmmm, possibly, but I think that may be difficult to get ahold of for a good price. I dont know yet if I'm even gonna stick with a leaf suspension. I'll figure that out after I get my other truck together and drive it. It's got coilovers all around, so if I like that more I'll probably do the same to the slick. I have a hard time leaving things how they are.

Actually just tonight I cut up one of my older models to rebuild it different. 49 merc, chopping it, might even do functioning suicide doors

back to the slick. are the I-beams fairly heavy?

Ford4jack · Post by **Ford4jack** » December 26, 2008, 7:24 am

I don't think I beams are bad weight wise but this is coming from an x heavy equipment mechanic.

You might be able to slip off the hubs etc and replace them with 1/2 ton stuff on the front.
When I went with disc's from a 73 on our 66 I do remember seeing there was a difference in some of the
later model 3/4 ton truck front brakes & spindles depending on the trucks rating.
This is what I read anyway our swap was 1/2 ton to 1/2 ton stuff but I do remember that I could have used
discs from a standard 3/4 ton truck but the higher rated ones had different spindles etc.

A frame might not be that bad to locate most folks are after the bodywork on these old trucks.

BarnieTrk · Post by **BarnieTrk** » December 26, 2008, 10:31 am

MacDave,
Sounds like maybe you should consider simply selling the F250 intact and buying a F100 without an engine/trans.
Then you could go from there.......

BarnieTrk

DCarr · Post by **DCarr** » December 26, 2008, 11:11 am

Good idea on the v-6. I'd like to see a nice turbo v-6 in a slick conversion. Maybe use the big ranger 6.

Macdave06 · Post by **Macdave06** » December 26, 2008, 2:15 pm

BarnieTrk wrote:MacDave,
Sounds like maybe you should consider simply selling the F250 intact and buying a F100 without an engine/trans.
Then you could go from there.......

BarnieTrk

I'd rather have the more chunky chassis though.

plus this ones pretty damn straight without any rust.

Macdave06 · Post by **Macdave06** » December 26, 2008, 2:19 pm

DCarr wrote:Good idea on the v-6. I'd like to see a nice turbo v-6 in a slick conversion. Maybe use the big ranger 6.

I'd probably use the buick. I know its GM, but my grandpa had a gnx and ever since I've wanted to stuff a turbo buick in something. If it can fling a big ol regal around it should do fine in a truck I'd think. The only thing that would keep me from doing a v6 is the sound, cause I'd chose a cackly v8 over a 6 when it comes to just that feeling you get when you hear it.

Post by **Greg D** » December 26, 2008, 2:42 pm

About you best bang for the buck, dead reliable, Decent fuel mileage, and good power drive line for a Slick is a 5.0 & AOD or T-5 from a Mustang.