Are the convertalbe heavier or the hard/ttop?

 

I don't know of any convertible that weighs less than its hardtop counterpart. This is due to having to beef up the frame to compensate for no roof.

Chuck

 

mine wieghs 4060 with me in it if that helps any. And i weigh about 190. If you got one put it on the scale. most IHRA / NHRA drag strips have a scale.

 

Mine weighs 3828lbs w me in it 88 Iroc





I weigh about 190-200.

 

Inquring minds want to know... how much without you in it? I know that gives out the secret but...

 

how much do the t top cars weigh?

 

Mine weighs 3490 without driver.

 

Less than a convertible.

 

supposedly the difference is small though. The large piece of glass for the hatch is what made the coup anywhere near the weight of the convertible.

 

200+ lbs seems like alot

 

Have you ever lifted up the rear trunk lid for a vert? The hatch glass by comparison is light. Well, not really but between the tonneau and trunk lid it more than makes up for whats lost, not to mention all the added bracing and the top mechanism and bows arent exactly lightweight parts either.

 

well that sucks I wanted a vert but since i cant find one anyways now I dont fell sobad getting a T top car

 

kinda old thread but my car is in pieces. the top itself isn't that heavy, nor is the trunk lid...why the heck is the tonneau cover so damn heavy?

 

the convertible top itself weighs about the same as the sheetmetal roof.

the tonneu cover,sheetmetal bracing and trunk decklid weigh slightly less then the glass hatch.(but not by alot)

most convertibles are heavier for two reasons.. the hydraulic pump and rams(actuators) for the power top.. and additional bracing.

well, our additional bracing mostly consists of two lightweight stamped U pieces..... and we do not have a hydraulic pump.... this alone wouldnt help... except that in comparison, we're removing a HUGE and very heavy chunk of glass...





then why do most convertibles weigh more?? well, think about it.
what options do the verts have? i dont know about yours, but mine came with leather seats, CD, power mirrors, power windows, uberdelux interior, 16" rims, ect...... its fully loaded...

and thats why the weight compares to..... a fully loaded hardtop... the leather seat option alone makes more of a weigh diff then the convertible vs hardtop...


you take out some extra junk, and you can easily make your vert like mine.. a slim, sub-3,000lb full interior driver..

 

What are the weights on each part?

 

my v6 hardtop weighs 3120 with 1/2 a tank of gas and me out of it.

 

my convertible LS1 weighs 2980 with a FULL tank of gas, in street trim and me out of it.
you can knock another few lbs off when i drop the muffler, swap the bogarts on, swap to a lightweight minibattery, and pull the passenger seat.... also, i usually race with less then half a tank.

 

What are the things you guys removed to go under 3000????

 

the main mod that helped is that i swapped a iron intake, iron head, iron block, automatic transmisson for a alum block, alum head, plastic intake motor backed by a manual.... then i did a bunch of little stuff.. like alum bumper support instead of steel...tubular Kmember/aarms, ditched the heavy leather seats for corbeaus (light and comfy).... my car has minimal sound insulation, but with the top down, you honestly cant tell.. carpet feels the same.... ect.

 

Where did you get the aluminum bumper supports?

 

1982/early83 4cyl camaros came with alum front bumpers in a effort to reduce weight.
startting off of that, i rivited on the lighter and better fitting to the urathane nose 91 support "eggcrate"... i did cut the eggcrate some so that it was lighter.... but its still strong enough to support the frontend at high speed.

the bumper itself i used a holesaw on, cutting its weight almost in half...

 

i watched a video from the 80's and it was about the camaros......they talked about the vert and they said the wieght was the same. few pounds either way depending on accesories butno difference and they did say it was due to the rear glass being soooooo heavy

 

my 87 convertible weighs 3760 by itself because of the extra body stiffening.my buddies t-top weighs 3200 so there is definite weight compensation

 

my 87 convert weighs 3560 by itself, most t top cars of my crew weigh 3250 or a little heavier