How do you remove the crash bars on late doors? Options

[dan10101]

Yes, I have a cage and I will have door bars.

So I looked and looked, but can't find a write up on how to remove the factory crash bars on late doors? I have 1/2 of it out, but the door latch side is a puzzlement. So far I've cut them in half and was able to cut out the front hinge side.

Can someone help?

[Mike Bellis]

I don't think the weight savings is worth the safety trade off. Especially since with your HP & torque, you will never feel the difference.

[dan10101]

I don't think the weight savings is worth the safety trade off. Especially since with your HP & torque, you will never feel the difference.

Probably not, but I can't get out of my head how much a porker it is. Almost 2600# before I started with it. heck, my 944 was 2900.

What does yours weigh?


Joe Sharp, I can't get over your's being 1000# lighter.... I'm enjoying reading your thread.. Thanks.

[Mike Bellis]

I don't think the weight savings is worth the safety trade off. Especially since with your HP & torque, you will never feel the difference.

Probably not, but I can't get out of my head how much a porker it is. Almost 2600# before I started with it. heck, my 944 was 2900.

What does yours weigh?


Joe Sharp, I can't get over your's being 1000# lighter.... I'm enjoying reading your thread.. Thanks.

I'm just under 2300 lbs. Not sure where you extra 300 came from. Although I could be a little heavier since I added caging up front and tied in my tow bar connections. Still your going to be close to 500ft lbs pushing that thing. You won't feel the added couple pounds.

[dan10101]

I don't think the weight savings is worth the safety trade off. Especially since with your HP & torque, you will never feel the difference.

Probably not, but I can't get out of my head how much a porker it is. Almost 2600# before I started with it. heck, my 944 was 2900.

What does yours weigh?


Joe Sharp, I can't get over yours being 1000# lighter.... I'm enjoying reading your thread.. Thanks.

I'm just under 2300 lbs. Not sure where you extra 300 came from. Although I could be a little heavier since I added caging up front and tied in my tow bar connections. Still your going to be close to 500ft lbs pushing that thing. You won't feel the added couple pounds.

I'm not sure that everything fiberglass is saving any weight. It's nice solid fiberglass, thick stuff, not the flimsy stuff I've seen. That said, except for doors, A pillars and sail panels, everything exposed is fiberglass. Oh, and the engine lid is stock. But the cage is very well constructed. Full interior with 4 speaker stereo. Plus a few added pieces that probably are heavier than they need to be.

I'm curious about how your added bars up front. That's one area I will likely be adding tubing.

Back to cutting on the door. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sawzall-smiley.gif)

[rgalla9146]

I don't think the weight savings is worth the safety trade off. Especially since with your HP & torque, you will never feel the difference.

Probably not, but I can't get out of my head how much a porker it is. Almost 2600# before I started with it. heck, my 944 was 2900.

What does yours weigh?


Joe Sharp, I can't get over yours being 1000# lighter.... I'm enjoying reading your thread.. Thanks.

I'm just under 2300 lbs. Not sure where you extra 300 came from. Although I could be a little heavier since I added caging up front and tied in my tow bar connections. Still your going to be close to 500ft lbs pushing that thing. You won't feel the added couple pounds.

I'm not sure that everything fiberglass is saving any weight. It's nice solid fiberglass, thick stuff, not the flimsy stuff I've seen. That said, except for doors, A pillars and sail panels, everything exposed is fiberglass. Oh, and the engine lid is stock. But the cage is very well constructed. Full interior with 4 speaker stereo. Plus a few added pieces that probably are heavier than they need to be.

I'm curious about how your added bars up front. That's one area I will likely be adding tubing.

Back to cutting on the door. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sawzall-smiley.gif)

Full cage, empty doors...... full interior....four speaker stereo ? 2600 lbs. ! Very confusing. What is it ?

[dan10101]

Full cage, empty doors...... full interior....four speaker stereo ? 2600 lbs. ! Very confusing. What is it ?

Actually, I was saying that everything was fiberglass except the doors and the other things mentioned.

but Now they will be empty! Mostly...

In my Signature is the (re-)build thread.
But it's this car on it's way to a new life after a unfortunate meeting with some pine trees.



looked like this when I got it.


check my thread for the latest update.
I started this thread because I had a need for additional info on doors.

[rgalla9146]

Full cage, empty doors...... full interior....four speaker stereo ? 2600 lbs. ! Very confusing. What is it ?

Actually, I was saying that everything was fiberglass except the doors and the other things mentioned.

but Now they will be empty! Mostly...

In my Signature is the (re-)build thread.
But it's this car on it's way to a new life after a unfortunate meeting with some pine trees.

looked like this when I got it.

check my thread for the latest update.
I started this thread because I had a need for additional info on doors.

Now I know why it weighs 2600 lbs......an LS engine.
I drove the car when Paul owned it.
I didn't notice the four speaker stereo.
I'll bet the pine trees ran out onto the road.

[dan10101]

Now I know why it weighs 2600 lbs......an LS engine.
I drove the car when Paul owned it.
I didn't notice the four speaker stereo.
I'll bet the pine trees ran out onto the road.

Realllly?!

You're one step ahead of me. I've only driven it up and down the driveway. (and left some marks.)

So tell me your impression of the car overall and I'm curious of your thoughts on the engine tapping. It seems to have been there even when Bill first built it according to youtube videos.

Yeah the speakers are top notch, not the lightweight cheapies. I'll likely replace them with easily removable pods that will go behind the drivers head. between the stereo and the door work, I just saved 100#. Yay Me!

[rgalla9146]

Now I know why it weighs 2600 lbs......an LS engine.
I drove the car when Paul owned it.
I didn't notice the four speaker stereo.
I'll bet the pine trees ran out onto the road.

Realllly?!

You're one step ahead of me. I've only driven it up and down the driveway. (and left some marks.)

So tell me your impression of the car overall and I'm curious of your thoughts on the engine tapping. It seems to have been there even when Bill first built it according to youtube videos.

Yeah the speakers are top notch, not the lightweight cheapies. I'll likely replace them with easily removable pods that will go behind the drivers head. between the stereo and the door work, I just saved 100#. Yay Me!

I don't know much about the engine. It is not stock. It had been disassembled and
some incompatible or non-streetable parts were changed.
Tapping ? don't know.
The clutch was heavy and difficult to modulate. The pan around the pedal cluster
was flexing. A fabricated reinforcement bracket was a 'bandaid'
The gearshift linkage barely worked. My efforts were experimental with existing
equipment. Little if any improvement. Limited time and budget.
The car then went to a well known east coast shop.
Big opportunity for development.

[dan10101]

Realllly?!

You're one step ahead of me. I've only driven it up and down the driveway. (and left some marks.)

So tell me your impression of the car overall and I'm curious of your thoughts on the engine tapping. It seems to have been there even when Bill first built it according to youtube videos.

I don't know much about the engine. It is not stock. It had been disassembled and
some incompatible or non-streetable parts were changed.
Tapping ? don't know.
The clutch was heavy and difficult to modulate. The pan around the pedal cluster
was flexing. A fabricated reinforcement bracket was a 'bandaid'
The gearshift linkage barely worked. My efforts were experimental with existing
equipment. Little if any improvement. Limited time and budget.
The car then went to a well known east coast shop.
Big opportunity for development.

Thanks for your insights. I really appreciate it.

A couple of those items were worked on when Paul owned it. I don't know if they were done before or after you drove it. the clutch was changed to a lighter one. A smaller cam was installed but it's still over 500 crank hp. The gearshift brackets were improved. But I agree that there is room for improvement in the shifting. Seems stiff to me. The engine is still a bit noisy, but it could be forged pistons/rod/crank in an aluminum block with headers and aluminum heads. or so the "Internet" says...

[Zippy69]

Just as a FYI Rgalla drove it in July 2011 prior to all of the work done to improve clutch operation. For all the detail of the work done in this area have a look at the paperwork that I complied and supplied with the car. In a nutshell We got rid of the "band aid" bracket, welded crack in floor, got rid of cobbled together pedal assembly, changed the master and slave cylinders with new ratios and high heat seals, re-enforced the floor by welding a plate by pedal assemblies tied into longitudinal and center tunnel, replaced pedal assembly with Wilwood 2 pedal assembly, rerouted and replaced shifter cable and new heim joint, installed lighter pressure plate from Kennedy Engineering, resurfaced flywheel, sent 930 trans to California Motorsports for rebuild, measured and built properly sized bronze impregnated pilot bushing to replace needle bearings supplied by Kennedy to better support main shaft, fabricated transmission/shifter/exhaust mount tow and jack point nicknamed "the octopus", added delrin shims and new hardware on clutch release arm, fabricated new clutch release lever with multiple adjustment points added all new mounting hardware etc... Still after all of that work we couldn't feel it notch into gear until I wandered on the problem of the side to side shifter cable was bound up because it didn't have a conical washer! The combination of all of these things reduced pedal pressure and increased shifter feel. Could it be better? I don't know but not sure what else you could do to improve it?

Motor has tapped a bit since I had owned it form the beginning.

Keep up the good work. Plenty of power to weight ratio! I wouldn't be too concerned with putting the car on a diet. I believe it weighed 2550 lbs. with top off if I remember correctly. Motor, trans, cage, larger, brakes, hubs, wheels, tires and water cooled parts all add to weight total.

Happy to discuss if any questions.

Paul

Realllly?!

You're one step ahead of me. I've only driven it up and down the driveway. (and left some marks.)

So tell me your impression of the car overall and I'm curious of your thoughts on the engine tapping. It seems to have been there even when Bill first built it according to youtube videos.

I don't know much about the engine. It is not stock. It had been disassembled and
some incompatible or non-streetable parts were changed.
Tapping ? don't know.
The clutch was heavy and difficult to modulate. The pan around the pedal cluster
was flexing. A fabricated reinforcement bracket was a 'bandaid'
The gearshift linkage barely worked. My efforts were experimental with existing
equipment. Little if any improvement. Limited time and budget.
The car then went to a well known east coast shop.
Big opportunity for development.

Thanks for your insights. I really appreciate it.

A couple of those items were worked on when Paul owned it. I don't know if they were done before or after you drove it. the clutch was changed to a lighter one. A smaller cam was installed but it's still over 500 crank hp. The gearshift brackets were improved. But I agree that there is room for improvement in the shifting. Seems stiff to me. The engine is still a bit noisy, but it could be forged pistons/rod/crank in an aluminum block with headers and aluminum heads. or so the "Internet" says...

[dan10101]

Just as a FYI Rgalla drove it in July 2011 prior to all of the work done to improve clutch operation. For all the detail of the work done in this area have a look at the paperwork that I complied and supplied with the car. In a nutshell We got rid of the "band aid" bracket, welded crack in floor, got rid of cobbled together pedal assembly, changed the master and slave cylinders with new ratios and high heat seals, re-enforced the floor by welding a plate by pedal assemblies tied into longitudinal and center tunnel, replaced pedal assembly with Wilwood 2 pedal assembly, rerouted and replaced shifter cable and new heim joint, installed lighter pressure plate from Kennedy Engineering, resurfaced flywheel, sent 930 trans to California Motorsports for rebuild, measured and built properly sized bronze impregnated pilot bushing to replace needle bearings supplied by Kennedy to better support main shaft, fabricated transmission/shifter/exhaust mount tow and jack point nicknamed "the octopus", added delrin shims and new hardware on clutch release arm, fabricated new clutch release lever with multiple adjustment points added all new mounting hardware etc... Still after all of that work we couldn't feel it notch into gear until I wandered on the problem of the side to side shifter cable was bound up because it didn't have a conical washer! The combination of all of these things reduced pedal pressure and increased shifter feel. Could it be better? I don't know but not sure what else you could do to improve it?

Motor has tapped a bit since I had owned it form the beginning.

Keep up the good work. Plenty of power to weight ratio! I wouldn't be too concerned with putting the car on a diet. I believe it weighed 2550 lbs. with top off if I remember correctly. Motor, trans, cage, larger, brakes, hubs, wheels, tires and water cooled parts all add to weight total.

Happy to discuss if any questions.

Paul

Hi Paul. Yes I'm having fun!

The clutch seems fine. I may move the clutch pedal and maybe brake pedal over an inch or so, but I'm still up in the air on that. In the build thread I talk about that where I removed some sheetmetal.

I'm not even that worried about the tapping. I'm really wondering if it was built loose due to the forged components. I don't know that much about built LS engines. I do know that it's been that way a long time, I even have videos of it. And I knew that going into this adventure.

The shifter takes a bit of effort, but I really haven't driven it and gone thru the gears, so it maybe something I just get used to. I'll take a look at the cables and the washers, I have the trans out so I'll have to be careful to get it back together correctly.

I've been on a weight loss thing all year, so I guess it just rolled over to the car. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sawzall-smiley.gif)

I know the brakes, hubs, spacers, wheels/tires, oil and water cooling systems, and of course cage, all add up to more weight than normal. But I'm glad they're all there. Well, I am looking for wheels that will work without the spacers... Yeah, that's a lot of added weight, all that fiberglass is doing the job to keep the weight down.

Starting at 2550, I think 2450 is real doable. Maybe even 2400. Weight is a factor for me for handling and braking. In EMod, we have some really light hot rods in the local SCCA. I don't plan on beating them but I would like to at least get close. Track days will be fun either way, but every bit helps.

[Zippy69]

Just as a FYI Rgalla drove it in July 2011 prior to all of the work done to improve clutch operation. For all the detail of the work done in this area have a look at the paperwork that I complied and supplied with the car. In a nutshell We got rid of the "band aid" bracket, welded crack in floor, got rid of cobbled together pedal assembly, changed the master and slave cylinders with new ratios and high heat seals, re-enforced the floor by welding a plate by pedal assemblies tied into longitudinal and center tunnel, replaced pedal assembly with Wilwood 2 pedal assembly, rerouted and replaced shifter cable and new heim joint, installed lighter pressure plate from Kennedy Engineering, resurfaced flywheel, sent 930 trans to California Motorsports for rebuild, measured and built properly sized bronze impregnated pilot bushing to replace needle bearings supplied by Kennedy to better support main shaft, fabricated transmission/shifter/exhaust mount tow and jack point nicknamed "the octopus", added delrin shims and new hardware on clutch release arm, fabricated new clutch release lever with multiple adjustment points added all new mounting hardware etc... Still after all of that work we couldn't feel it notch into gear until I wandered on the problem of the side to side shifter cable was bound up because it didn't have a conical washer! The combination of all of these things reduced pedal pressure and increased shifter feel. Could it be better? I don't know but not sure what else you could do to improve it?

Motor has tapped a bit since I had owned it form the beginning.

Keep up the good work. Plenty of power to weight ratio! I wouldn't be too concerned with putting the car on a diet. I believe it weighed 2550 lbs. with top off if I remember correctly. Motor, trans, cage, larger, brakes, hubs, wheels, tires and water cooled parts all add to weight total.

Happy to discuss if any questions.

Paul

Hi Paul. Yes I'm having fun!

The clutch seems fine. I may move the clutch pedal and maybe brake pedal over an inch or so, but I'm still up in the air on that. In the build thread I talk about that where I removed some sheetmetal.

I'm not even that worried about the tapping. I'm really wondering if it was built loose due to the forged components. I don't know that much about built LS engines. I do know that it's been that way a long time, I even have videos of it. And I knew that going into this adventure.

The shifter takes a bit of effort, but I really haven't driven it and gone thru the gears, so it maybe something I just get used to. I'll take a look at the cables and the washers, I have the trans out so I'll have to be careful to get it back together correctly.

I've been on a weight loss thing all year, so I guess it just rolled over to the car. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sawzall-smiley.gif)

I know the brakes, hubs, spacers, wheels/tires, oil and water cooling systems, and of course cage, all add up to more weight than normal. But I'm glad they're all there. Well, I am looking for wheels that will work without the spacers... Yeah, that's a lot of added weight, all that fiberglass is doing the job to keep the weight down.

Starting at 2550, I think 2450 is real doable. Maybe even 2400. Weight is a factor for me for handling and braking. In EMod, we have some really light hot rods in the local SCCA. I don't plan on beating them but I would like to at least get close. Track days will be fun either way, but every bit helps.

The key when reassembling the shifter cables is to make sure the heims can articulate thru their full range with conical washers or else you cant really feel it notch into gear.

Understood about adding lightness.