Well....I just finished my first year in TTB with NASA about a month ago. I won 1st place for the Great Lakes region and got Rookie of the Year in TT. I am looking to remove some more weight from the car and prep for a roll cage. This winter's money is pretty much all going to safety. I have removed just about all of the interior that you can. I have actually cut open some of the wire harnesses and removed unused wires too. (I am not quit done with all that yet, still got more to do) I am going all out in removing anything possible that is not being used. All of the small things add up to a lot when it's all said and done.

As of now, I have removed all of the sound deadening on the drivers side and I am working on the center console and passenger side. This is a very tedious task, but I somehow have the patience for it. I probably have about 12 hours in it already. I use a head gun and scrapers to get most of the big stuff out and then wire wheels to finish it off. I take it all the way down to bare metal to make sure I get everything. I have just "rattle canned" it for now. I grabbed some paint that looks closest to the Daytona Blue. I didn't realize the interior is many shades lighter. It's all good though. I am not that worried about it. As long as it's painted and protected. I may just paint the whole floor this color because it does match the outside of the car pretty well.

I plan on doing all of the sound deadening in the trunk too once I'm done in the cabin. After that, I am going to finish up the wire removal and take it to get caged. I am taking it to rollcageguy. com. He is only about 2 hours from my house. I have heard many good things about him. Since i am doing all the prep and all the interior is out he said it would be about $2k, which I think is pretty fair. If his craftsmanship is as good as everyone has told me, then it will be well worth it.

Here are the pics of what I have done so far. I will add more as I complete more work all the way up to when the cage is done. You can see my bucket full of the big chunks in some of the pictures. Probably weighs about 10-12lbs right now.

 

More pics

 

More

 

Last ones for now....

 

I know how tedious this is, and I was not nearly as thorough as you!!!!
I assume you had a roll-bar already. Did you take that out????

 

Are you saving everything to get an exact removal weight? Curious what that will be...

 

I'm glad to see a cage going in! Good luck.

 

Nice, keep us updated!

 

I just finished up removing a good amount of that tar/sound deadening... its a good 20lbs off for front foot wells, rear trunk, and some under the center console.

i used dry ice though and boy was it a hit or miss when for the tar to come off as a clean chunk or leave residue. Especially where there was seam sealer that tar did not want to budge... shaving down to the metal might have been easier, cheaper, and a welder can easily stitch weld where the seam sealer use to be with ease! I still have spots here and there i need to finish up!

 

Very cool. I say leave the paint out of the interior - it will just add weight. Something to protect the bare metal though.

 

I had a harness bar and that was it. Going to have full cage with NASCAR bars in the doors too.

 

Absolutely! I think when it's all said and done, it will be around 20-25lbs. Well worth it IMHO.

 

I was heavily considering using dry ice. I wasn't sure how well it would work.

About that seam sealer....I removed some of it. Is it necessary to be there? I think it just makes everything air tight, but I don't really think it's needed since the whole floor has spot welds everywhere.

 

Where was your sub belt mounted ? I'm in the process off mounting mine, and the uneven floor on this car is going to be a PITA.

 

looks nice Dominic! When I get some free time I should come down to visit and give you a hand!

 

Fixxxercask...what class are you planning to run in the future?

I ask this because my car needs 25lb of ballast to make race weight for NASA-PTB. i.e., 3250 lb with fuel and driver after a race...for PTB

In the sprint races I start with a full tank and end up with more than 1/2 to 5/8 remaining depending on the track and how many green laps we get.

So don't waste too much time taking off weight because you likely don't need to for TTB/PTB....and weight down low like that doesn't hurt much.

Anyway, good luck and drive FAST!!!!

 

Sub belt? I am not sure what you mean. Sorry

 

I am going to run in TTB again next year. I am removing all my aero and a few other things and take points in weight. My comp weight is going to be 2988. I am getting the car tuned to run on 110 unleaded or race gas. Not sure which yet. I am hoping to get around 270-280whp on the Dynojet. I am trying to get as close to the top of TTB's power/weight as possible. I was no where near it this past season. Actually, at my lowest allowable weight and highest hp I was in TTC's power/weight. I had a dyno reclass and it had me at 3190lbs and 265whp. I am not doing the reclass next year. It's hurting me too much. The guys in 1st and 2nd at Nationals were at the top of power/weight. They were great drivers too so I couldn't hang. I finished 5th out of 6. From 2nd place to 6th was all within 1 second too. The guy who got 1st, is an insane driver. He drove a C5 base with A6's. That's all he could do to stay in TTB.

I am hoping the car will feel more nimble. I plan to take the car out before the first race and see how it feels. I don't think not having the aero is going to be that noticeable at Mid Ohio. There are two turns that it helps a lot, but I think having a much better power/weight is going to be more significant and will help on the whole course. If the car feels terrible with no aero, I will just add 7 points worth of weight back to the car and put it back on. I have a bracket that I made that has all thread in the middle where I can slide bar bell weights into and secure them. The ends of the bracket has holes that line up with the passenger side seat bracket holes and I bolt it to there and stays pretty secure to the floor.

I may get my comp license and run PTB too this year. Not sure yet. I might just do TTB one more year before I go to PT.

You should come up for Nationals next year. Competition in NASA is getting really tough. My eyes were wide open to that after Nats. I thought I would do better because I do very well at regionals, but I know now that doesn't mean squat!

 

Come on down anytime. I am always open for some help!

 

looks good.
I used dry ice in the past and it works great. I couldn't imagine deal with the sticky gummy tar.