Lighting the body 5/1600

[Motelcambodia]

OK I have been thinking about how to lighten the body of my 5/1600.

How heavy is all the paint the the factory uses? And all the seam sealer.?
I just steamed cleaned off all the under coating and when I picked up all the pieces it was more weight then I would have thought.

I know there is a processes they use for classic cars a acid dip , Would it be worth the money to have my Baja bug body done?

What about drilling 2 or 3" holes in the inner body panels or removing some of what is not needed ? how much can be done? I don't remember seeing any thing in the rules about that or did I miss that?

What do you guys do to keep the dirt and dust from collecting in the heater ducts along the floor? Could they be cut open?

I'm thinking with the full roll cage the body is not doing much for holding the pan .

All input and comments welcome pic's if you got em too.

Bria

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[loose_nut]

we did several bodies on a 5/16 that way. i do know that the louvers under the rear window vent are suppose to be there according to "ARTS" tech inspectors. no body ever said anything about all the roof material i removed, on the inside of the body where the headliner goes is a pretty good size piece that goes front to back on both sides. after the last roll over we didn't lighten up the new one it was a lot of effort for what you gained, we can't tell the difference with or without all the holes and cutting in the way the car handles.

[NIKAL]

I believe the Score rule book states you can only cut / remove enough of the body to install the Baja Bug fiberglass body. Same deal with the rear fender wells. You my cut them out and box them in with the same gauge material, but you must stay 1 inch below the rear fender bolt holes and you may not cut into the package tray.

I would have to think any removal if inner body material would be illegal, if someone called you on it. With the way some of these guys are cutting corners I doubt if anyone would protest you on it. But one other thing to think about. These old VW body's are not easy or fun to weld on. They will crack under normal race conditions. By cutting out the inner piece of the body you are only going to be chasing cracks and the body is going to be flexing all over the place. Many teams ours included will tie the body into the chassis to help make it more ridged.

[Motelcambodia]

I guess I should bring my rule book with me when I work. I spend a lot of time away from home In hotels waiting to be rested to head back home. So I do most my research then and not having the rule book handy I just ask away not remembering if it covered in the rule book.

I guess the only thing I can do to the body after the Baja cut would be to have it chemically striped of all paint and seam sealer . I remember a youtube video of them building the old type 1 VW and if I remember I think they said it had like 30 or 40 LBS of paint on it.

I dont know if 40 lbs of weight would even be noticed . But all the weight savings would add up.

Guess I need to rename my post to LIGHTEN the body not light

[jamesdfo]

You may be able to shave a few lbs by having the body acid dipped, but:
1) they don't do it for free
2) I know that back in the day, they used to do this to drag cars, and talking to some fellows at the races in Seattle years ago, they told me that car had problems later with panels cracking.....and I would imagine an off road car takes much more of a beating than a drag car does.....so you have to ask yourself if it's really worth the time & trouble??
I think if you took the cost of the acid dipping. priming/repainting, and uused the $$ to buy lighter bolt-on components( anything, from wheels, intakes, gun drilled axles, etc, you could likely lose comparable weight without sacrificing the structural integrity/longevity of your body.........

James

[Ramsey_ElWardani]

Acid dip is also covered in the SCORE Rule Book - a no no.

[Motelcambodia]

I guess I could do better if I just go on a diet and leave the baja body alone.

Any way the way things are going now it looks like I will never get it finished.

Brian