Has anybody cut apart the rear deck?

benebob · #1 06-07-2005, 12:06 PM

Our racing hood/deck pins will arrive next week. I'm planning to remove all hinges and latch hardware and would like to cut the inside of the trunk lid apart to lighten it up. Has anybody done this or better yet does anybody have a junk lid they don't mind cutting up. I just want to be sure that the outside will be strong enough to hold its own. I'd imagine muce of the strenth is needed for the opening and closing which we will no longer have as it'll simply lift off.

Earthworm · #2 06-07-2005, 12:32 PM

Didn't Mike have a few extras?

Radar · #3 06-08-2005, 03:51 AM

I added a few parts to my trunk lid and realised the material is about 4 mm thick but crumble easily

If you still want to open it, I'd not take out all structural parts in the trunk lid but rather go the classic way: leave the hinges and latch and drill lots of holes into the inner parts of the lids. You can even use a circular saw up to 4 - 5" (hope that's the right expression) and take out larger sections.

huck369 · #4 06-08-2005, 06:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Radar

I added a few parts to my trunk lid and realised the material is about 4 mm thick but crumble easily

If you still want to open it, I'd not take out all structural parts in the trunk lid but rather go the classic way: leave the hinges and latch and drill lots of holes into the inner parts of the lids. You can even use a circular saw up to 4 - 5" (hope that's the right expression) and take out larger sections.

He means a "hole saw" to those of us in the US...and that sounds like a good ideal to me.

I believe Paul (SVXHunter) gutted his trunk lid on the SVreX, might PM him

svxhunter · #5 06-09-2005, 09:02 PM

I did it.

You'll be surprised how little you save. You will add almost as much in the hood pins as you remove.

The rear deck is plastic. All of it. It is no where near as heavy as it seems. The hinging is sort of a reverse leverage which makes it seem heavier than it is.

We ground all the structure off both the front and rear hoods. They are just skins attached by hood pins. They have a high cool factor, but no real significant weight savings. They are pretty weak. The hood is worse than the trunk.

Here's a pic at this year's GRM Challenge

Rd96SVX · #6 06-09-2005, 09:09 PM

not to hijack the thread, but has anybody tried molding some lexan to replace the windows.. that could save some weight if that is in fact the idea...

BTW.. man SVREX looks cool.. awesome spray job

svxhunter · #7 06-10-2005, 04:15 AM

Thanks!

benebob · #8 06-10-2005, 06:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rd96SVX

not to hijack the thread, but has anybody tried molding some lexan to replace the windows.. that could save some weight if that is in fact the idea...

BTW.. man SVREX looks cool.. awesome spray job

Have experiemented with it but we're still thinking Targa Newfoundland for ours so we kinda need to keep the glass legally at this poing. Besides, it is quite expensive to get it and bend it right.

#9 06-10-2005, 08:25 PM

I thought someone posted that the windows were actually very light?

benebob · #10 06-10-2005, 08:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by THAWA

I thought someone posted that the windows were actually very light?

Not really, the windshield alone I'm guessing is about 20-25lbs. Keep in mind that this weight is pretty high too so by dropping it here it really helps lower the center of gravity. All told I'd say there is about 100lbs in glass unscientifically of course.