Stippy17

iTrader: (6)

Does anyone know what a Rear Hatch off of an 86' Firebird S/E ACTUALLY weighs? My car was an S/E when I bought it, but had Trans Am Front/Rear Bumpers already to transform it into a Trans Am. Instead of buying Firebird Bumpers to switch it back I bought the rest of the ground effects he hadn't found from local junkyards and finished the transformation. Yeah it added a lil weight, but I like the Trans Am look more than the Firebird.

Now Im asking about how much my hatch weighs, because I have an opportunity to pick up a parts car Notchback for next to nothing.

He used it as a parts car not knowing what they were worth lol. He sold the front clip. Used the T5 Tranny for his rat rod project. Sold me the 3 in. exhaust that was on it, and the 16" Gold GTA Wheels. He wants the seats, and the rearend still but wants nothing to do with the rest of the car.

Now I hear the Notchback Hatch's are lighter than the regular ones, and this hatch will need the window put back in, but is it something to look into doing? How much do they ACTUALLY weigh? If I do this I plan on putting my regular hatch on the 85' I just picked up. The 85' needs just a wing, but instead of drilling for it, because it had the whale wing, and mounting a wing I can just switch out Hatchs especially if my old one from my 86' is just laying around.


My Blue 86' is getting a 400 SBC swapped in, and a TH400 tranny. I plan to run 11s, so in addition to the decent HP ill be making Im trying to lose weight where I can. The Purple 85' will just be a cruiser with a H.O. 305 from the Notchback.

AlkyIROC

Mine is still sitting in my back yard. I never weighed it but I would guess it's in the 80-100 pound range.

Stippy17

iTrader: (6)

Now is that the Notchback or the regular hatch your talking about?

1brd2brd3brd4

Notch back probably weighs as much or more than the glass after all the 82-83 fiberglass hood weighs more than a steel one. seemed to me anyway didnt actually weigh it. just from picking it up

paul_huryk

I weighed my notch when I swapped out the stock decklid and glass - it was 70lbs lighter. But the wing added 20lbs, netting a decrease of 50lbs on the *** end of the car. This is an aftermarket, fiberglass notch, not the TA factory one.

AlkyIROC

When I removed the glass hatch, I replaced it with a piece of Lexan for a window and a sheet of aluminum for a deck lid. It did remove a lot of weight off the rear of the car and the car is still very nose heavy but it's also a total weight saving for the car. With proper suspension tuning, it can overcome a nose heavy vehicle. I've seen very nose heavy pickup trucks pull the front end 3 feet off the ground.

1brd2brd3brd4

Well...........I have been wrong once before.........LOL

Stippy17

iTrader: (6)

Im almost positive (but I could be wrong) that the Hatch Ill be using off of the parts car is factory, so I would think itll weigh more than your aftermarket notchback but Im curious as to HOW much..

Stippy17

iTrader: (6)

Damn Im surprised nobody knows a definitive answer. I even searched and couldnt find anything. Some say it weighs as much, some say it weighs more, and some say it weighs less. I guess if I do this Ill be the first to know a definite answer lol.

AlkyIROC

Very few people have a factory notch back and fewer still have one off to know the weight.

I have my rear glass hatch and deck lid sitting in my back yard but don't have a scale to weigh it.

If you want to know what the rear hatch weighs, remove it and weigh it. Get someone to help. It's heavy.

Stippy17

iTrader: (6)

Yeah I kinda figured that seeing so few were made. Like I said if the car wasn't butchered Id think about restoring it, but its just a parts car now. Besides, Im not into numbers matching and all that. If I can let good parts live on from one Thirdgen to another thats all I care about.

I dont really have a scale to weigh mine if/when I take it off, but Im pretty sure I could take it down to my local scrap yard I use. Im pretty good friends with them, so maybe theyll let me set it on their scale for a min or two. I could weigh the Notchback at the same time too. Not sure how accurate their scale is, but it should be pretty damn close to accurate. Its a small scale that pods filled with scrap are sat on, nothing like a car scale or anything like that.

Hopefully I decide to pick the car up. Just have to talk to him and see how I can get the parts I want/need and him get the rearend he wants. I have a plan just have to see if he's ok with it.

Guro 305

Uh! I remember researching this before. If I remember correctly it's about thirty pounds in between ie. 100lbs. for the factory rear glass, 70lbs for the factory notchback and 40lbs. for a rear glass made of lexan keeping the factory deck lid.

I recall reading several people complaining about the loss of traction due to the huge loss of weight from the rear so most would relocate the battery to the back. Or do the better approach in my opinion if what you are looking for is total weight loss and goto an aftermarket fiberglass hood. That should redistribute the weight all around a little better.

Stippy17

iTrader: (6)

Already picked up a Fiberglass Hood. Found one on Craigslist for $200, its a 2 1/2 Harwood Cowl Hood.

soultron

iTrader: (2)

My after market notch weighs about 45 or so lbs, but I think the factory one was actually a bit heavier because it had glass in it. Don't quote me on that.
I do know there was about 70lbs of glass in my shopvac when I vacuumed up my busted hatch.

chevyracingrox

i'm pretty sure metal or fiberglass is lighter than the glass hatch.

Orr89RocZ

iTrader: (20)

Who cares what it weighs, make it a notchback! I love those cars!

Street Lethal

iTrader: (16)

Agreed, the Hawks notch is a tad lighter. I just installed a notchback that I had from awhile back, and the factory hatch off of the GTA weighed a tad over 100 pounds. Now, the scale that I used isn't as accurate as most of them out there, but it's pretty damn close though. That stock sucker is freaking heavy....