Lightening up a slant

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Slantsix64

Slantsix64

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Hey guys was thinking about lightening up my slant six I have a cast iron manifold was going to switch it up with an aluminum manifold and switch out my starter with a mini one. was wondering it anyone knows the weight difference Of a cast iron Intake Vs Aluminum And The big old starter VS the mini Starter And if there is other things i can do to lighten up my slant six THANKS.
 
Just turbocharge the slant and weigh won't be your issue
 
Back in Time said:
For what purpose ?The gains would be minimal for the money spent.
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just trying to help improve mileage and over all weight i am nothing trying to get really crazy just little things that would help out like the starter and intake i know its not much but its something i was even thinking some headers
 
I would think that those 2 changes along with tubular header would save at least 50 lbs.Some guys like to put duals on the slant. I believe that a single 2 1/2'' exhaust is lighter than doing duals. If you get into head work it has been reported that a easy 5 lbs of excess cast can be removed. A guy over on slantsix.org will weigh his parts down to the gram.That might be splitting hairs.Just a few ideas for you BUT a weight savings of maybe 100 lbs won't show much in fuel savings.
 
The Dodge Dart Lites and Plymouth Feather Dusters had 300-400 lbs shaved off of them to help the fuel economy a bit, so that is the realm of weight savings for making any real dent in mileage. The weight savings actually did make them move out better. (I drove one for many, many years.)

Those cars got their biggest mileage improvement with the OD trans, and 2nd with the lean carb and other tuning. I haven't exact weights, but I doubt you will save even 20 lbs on the AL intake; the iron one doesn't weight much more than that.

If it mileage you are after, see what you can do to install the 4 speed OD trans. And, the AL case on that will save as much or more than the intake change.
 
There is no harm in dumping weight. The mini starter will save you about 10 pounds. I don't recall what the intake weighs off hand but I can check when I get home. I replaced a 7 blade fan with a 5 blade fan and saved 4 pounds there. I weighed a bunch of stuff between a 65 Belvedere and a 79 Volare Wagon (both slant six cars). I will post some weights when I get home this evening.
 
Badvert65 said:
There is no harm in dumping weight. The mini starter will save you about 10 pounds. I don't recall what the intake weighs off hand but I can check when I get home. I replaced a 7 blade fan with a 5 blade fan and saved 4 pounds there. I weighed a bunch of stuff between a 65 Belvedere and a 79 Volare Wagon (both slant six cars). I will post some weights when I get home this evening.
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Cool ya just trying to get the excess weight off my slant my buddy put on a mini on his slant and loves it
 
Drive slower, and put an egg under the pedal.

Those early A's with slantys, are pretty light as is.

TIMING. Get the timing fixed, and most especially the vacuum advance. Set the valves a little loose. Pump up the tire pressure. Drive as if the car didnt have brakes. Make the engine run as hot as you can get away with.Lean out the cruise circuit. Make sure the ignition circuit is 100%, and the plugs are new and the correct heat-range. Put on a monster coil and start opening the plug gaps. If you still have points-get rid of them. Theres nothing wrong with points, if you keep them adjusted and clean,which on a slanty is a PITA. Keep the windows rolled up. Lower the front a hair. Make sure the brakes are not dragging. Keep the u-joints greased.Take wide turns. Plan your trips and routes. Shut it off when "Oh honey, this will just take a minute".Oh honey doesn't know the meaning of a minute.
These are all relatively cheap and easy tricks.
 
I know its not apples to apples but, on a small block V8, the difference between the cast iron intake manifold and an aluminum edelbrock was a full 30 lbs.

Definitely single exhaust and mini starter. One of those aluminum bladed flex fans will cut some weight, too but you have to consider the cooling effects.

There are other advantages to dumping excess weight. I relocated the battery out of the front of my Volkswagen GTI and the feel in the steering was night and day. I just don't really know of any other appreciable ways to ditch weight from under the hood. What you do with the interior could net you some extra ounces, though.
 
The e-beam welded aluminum intake, commonly on late 70's -80's trucks is much lighter than the cast-iron intake and feels almost half the weight of the 4 bbl Offenhauser aluminum. Problem is that people say the welds can be porous, causing a lean condition. Those welds sure are ugly.

The 70's Feather Duster used aluminum bumpers and aluminum sheet hood, as I understand. But those parts are extremely rare and not as rugged.
 
Iron 1bbl int&exh w/carb; 45lbs.
Welded 2pc. alum. int 2bbl,6-1 header,w/383 2bbl& linkage; 31lbs.
Iron supersix 2bbl int. bare; 21lbs.
Powermaster starter savings over V-8 OE; 7 1/2lbs.
Most alum. rims that would fit your ride would be 14" and just as heavy
as the factory 13" rollers,if that's what you're running,and not really lighter
if your on 14'ers now.Maybe heavier depending on the rim.Plus you'll not
realize any change losing rolling mass unless it is dramatically better.
Ditching the steel inner fender shields worth about 10lbs.
The OE seats are ridiculously heavy,mounting lite man. late model buckets
would save you30-40lbs easy.
Bare slanty head w/tubes; 68lbs.
Bare slanty head w/exposed plugs; 75lbs.
Aluminum cast parts are generally 44% lighter than iron, heads would save
you 30-33lbs,if only somebody would cast them.With fast burn chambers,more
meat for larger valves,& higher ports of course! :)
Aluminum block? Did you really go there? Have some compassion..., please!
 
those E-beam welded AL intakes weigh about 4 lbs. Man they are light! The cast ones are about 20. the mini starter weight half of a big old Mopar gear reduction and cranks twice as fast. If you want to lose some weight, chuck those seats, especially the buckets. they weight a ton. Go with a van seat or a light foam bench out of a Jap truck. After you lighten it up, get off the 2.76 rear.

Ha, just read the above post on seats, we are right!
 
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