is it possible to remove the front inner bumper without the nose basically loosing its shape. i thought of just cutting the middle section out of the inner bumper bar. i just wanna try and get some weight of the front end.

 

Unless it is a drag only car I don't think I would remove the inner bumper.

 

You are only running high 13's. Get more HP and then think about stripping the car out. That bumper might just save your life. However I would also like to know the answer too. Just out of curiousity

Think of it this way you could take 900 lbs. out of your car and run a 13.0. It doesn't seem worth the hassle to gut you car for a 13.0 time slip. Good luck though.

 

umm actually im building a motor over the winter. but weight reduction will help the car go faster, handle better and get better gas mileage. saying that someone shouldnt take weight out of their car because its in the thirteens is stupid. also that time is from a year ago the car is capable of going around 6 tenthes quicker and 4-5 mph.

actually the first things anyone should plan on doing is reducing weight. these are my plans, this will help straight line acceleration, handling and gas mileage:

tubular A arms
tubular K member
power rack and pinion conversion
aluminum driveshaft
aluminum heads
lt1 starter
4th gen plastic gas tank
spare tire and jack removal
fiberglass hood
take out sound deadening
loudmouth exhaust
battery relocated to the trunk
inner bumper removal.

that my friend is not a stripped car but rather one that replaces stock heavy stamp steel junk with very nicely built and strong aftermarket peices.

 

Wasn't trying to rip you . I run high 11's in a full interior, power windows and locks pump gas, street driven, stock suspension car on horsepower through full exhaust and I was just saying I would look to other ways of making a street driven car fast before I cut things off of it. I KNOW how to make a car fast and I know how to lighten it up safely. Also if you are removing weight for speed it is a good thing. Don't get defensive

 

oh the car will have all the luxury options and stuff. actually im making my AC functional cause its nice to have in the heat . not really gettin defensive but i just wanted to point out a car doesnt have to be "stripped" to reduce weight. it weighs 3390 with me in it right now, if i could get out 200lbs and get it to 3190 thatd be excellent. just like those mustang guys with the notch back style that weigh 3100 lbs with driver stock, light weight cars with power engines, they fly. they arent the only light weight rwd v8 cars tho they way i see it the lighter the car is the less work to the engine u have to do to go as fast and u can brag about only having bolt ons and doin high 12s rather then having a built up engine that can barely idle. makes more sense to me.

 

My car weighs 3190 exactly. 82 Camaro w/ factory glass hood. glass seats. Insulation is gone and spare tire is gone. No P.S. no A/C. It does have a mild steel 6 point and the back seat is there with cars seats for the kids. My bumpers are still there and so are the orig. glass T tops. Front sway bar is gone and I do have draglites but not skinnies on front. 3190 is easy to attain. Like I said I do have PW and locks. Hope that helps with your goal weight. I wasn't getting testy but I am simultaniously on a street racing site and arguing with some knuckle head. Good luck on the project.

 

thanks man, the front inner bumper will probably stay in, i thinkt he nose needs it for support anyway. oh well its not really heavy anyway.

 

glad to hear ya say that....

cause in the event of a front end collision (buda forbid!) thats the only thing keeping the engine from being rammed into the passenger compartment..
[g o d was censord so i said somthing else ]


after working as a volenteer firefighter for a just few years, ive seen more then enough of what can happen.... removing the bumper on our cars isnt too smart..


feel free to take one off a tank like a chevelle though... ive seen a elky (same frontend) hit a ford SUV in the side and not look too bad afterward...

 

Just trying to save extra work- despite the rumors you might've heard, taking the padding out from underneath the carpet won't help anything. That padding weighs -maybe- 2 pounds. Might as well just skip lunch and take a leak before you go down the 1320...

 

good to know.

 

the coolest cars (to me atleast) are the ones that drive to the track, make a sub 12 sec run, and then drive home... with all the modern comforts of AC, power windows, stereo, ect...

 

yeah i like that too. im in the process of painting my car cause it got hit in july. im goin for the stock look. i also want the interior to be bone stock as well, right down to the delco radio, i originally deleted my AC but i decided to put it back in i cant stand sweating in the heat anymore and i figure for a daily driver it should have it im not even going to get aftermarket gauges unless its totally nessisary, my shift light will be hidden in one of the vents in the dash, all my switchs for fans, line lock, etc will be hidden as well. the car is subtley lowerd, the face of the stock wheels polished, antena is shaved. basically subtle mods that most people will over look or think to them selves hmm is it supposed to be that way? i like originality so much that i wont give up the 305 engine. i do like mods tho, the way i look at it is if no one can see it without lookin for it its ok in my book. the whole suspension will be revamped with aftermarket peices. tubular a arms, k member, power rack and pinion conversion, tubular rear LCAs, adjustable panhard bar etc etc. if it does mid 12s, looks stock and kicks *** ill be happy.

 

I removed the inner bumper to allow more air to radiator and I've had no problems with the nose shape. I'm sure if I hit something it will be a lot worse then if i had it, but for now its good.

 

Next time you hit the racetrack, put someone at the far end of the bleachers, near the end of the 1/4, and have them take a picture of your car. The nose might be squashing in. Hot Rod Magazine a few years ago had a set of pictures like that... some famous racers had the nose of their car distorted as they came up to top speed. If I recall correctly, one guy's hood was even flexing!

 

ILL give you this weight reduction secret for free..


OK WHY Not do the best of both worlds....In earlier years that Part was aluminum... For $110 last I checked from classic induestries you can buy an ALUM front inner bumper...Its much lighter yet still provides protection..

 

Any idea what years those were? My bumper's off an '84 v6 (my parts car); it was shaped differently then my '86 bumper was. The '86 bumper was flat steel. This '84 one has holes cut into it that are flared out; almost like the flares would strengthen the bumper. (laughs) Well hell I guess I could just crawl under with a magnet, eh?

Thanks for the tip!! That's awesome!

 

Ill have to check at home...Its a certain EARLY year with some kind of option package....Hell I think I posted it here back in like 1997 or so on the really old thirdgen board....LOL

My thing is this...A junkyard will charge at LEST 50 bucks for it...PLUS ID have to remove it...which sucks and is a PITA on a junkyard rusty *** old thirdgen... It was easier to pay $120SHIPPED for a new one...

What I like is that everything bolts to it and it "looks"and acts stock...but its lighter...

Those are the tricks that I like...My car has a FULL interior with regular carpet and backing etc...LOOKS HEAVY as hell....But the dollars are in the details....I could go on forever on this...While my car is full of alum, plastic, and titanium if you saw my car in person you would never fiind the first PART...It all looks stock....BODY that is....Obviously turbo and stuff does not >>LOL

 

I remember someone saying the L4 cars were candidates for the aluminum bumper. And the front end does get squished out of shape without some kind of support.
A buddy of mine did that to his 11-second 83 which has an 88 IROC nose; the front spoiler was almost hitting the track by the end of the ¼ and spider-webbed the paint. He was a little ticked off - thought someone had backed into it or something until someone told him how the nose looked while running. He ended up welding a bar across the frame horns, and added some tubing to brace the lower front part of the nose.

Pete

 

no prob with my alum one...

Plus Guido used 1 piece of tubing that he welded up...Very small...and he ran into the 10's without a Inner bumper**just the rod*** and NO problems...The Bumper PUTS most of the weight of AIRFLOW against the quarter panel... The inner bumper does not recieve any real pressure unless someone RUNS INTO THE front end....

If what your saying was done from windspeed then the PLASTIC imbetween the inner/outer bumper would be BROKEN on every thirdgen running fatser than 12 second 1/4 mile...

Sounds like he got hit...then RAN it ..??? thats my guess...

 

my 82 Z28 indy pace car didnt have a alum front bumper....


was it a performance option, or just somthing they did for the 4 banger?

 

I dont know about the 4 banger part....BUT the thing that I had showed it grouped with an option package....Not like an ADVERTIZED benefit...Just like a dumb luck option....


Kind of like My toyota has leather seats....Not because I wanted leather seats...It was because I wanted a sunroof....Dont ask why...I dont know...But for my car if you wanted a sunroof you got leater seats...?? LOL seems stupid...but thats why I dont work for an auto manufacturer..

 

im very interested in this aluminum front inner bumper, can we try to dig up a part #

 

oh come the hell on, go buy a sheet of aluminum and bend yourself one, it's not voodoo magic. You'd rather search junkyards for months or buy it from gm for like $300 when you could just make one and save yourself $275?

There's not a whole lot to give a bumper cover support, there's the crush deal thats attached infront of the inner bumper, and theres the headlight bar across the top, I'd say all together, the bumper and crush zone weigh 10lbs.

 

again $120 shipped as stated above

I do make most of my own parts However I dont have a metal brake..I dont do hack job work...And At least on my TA PArts of the bumper bolt to it...SO It would cost me more than 120 worth of my time to make one... Now if I were a burger flipper making 5 bucks per hour then 120 might be a problem...but at least in my car modding world $120 is a DETAIL you dont sweat..


I do however agree with not looking forever in a junkyard...AS stated above its not worth it for me to pay 50-100 for a junkyard part I have to unbolt 500 things to get to...Plus crawl under 500 different cars to find it...Waste of time

As for the part number above..Get a classic industries catalog...FREE...Look under bumper support...They sell an ALUM REPRODUCTION one for like $110...

 

The stock class autocross people like the factory aluminum units.

Jerry

 

im lookin at their on line catalog, finally found the front inner crash bumpers, but they description says:
"reproduction of the steel bar that installs behind the front bumper cover and acts like as main front bumper structure"
1668024 83-84 $59.95
1668025 85-92 $79.95


is this the one u guy are talkin about?

 

Sounds like it except is SAID something like (ALUM) in brackets like that....Said it was REPRO of steel just as POSTED...BUT HAD (ALUM) in brackets... $79 is great...even lower price now...I guess I should have waited...