Sorry about the thread title: I couldn't resist.

I've removed most of the interior from my 95 Z28, and I'm looking for some suggestions as to what else to strip. This is going to be a dedicated track car, and I'm looking to lose just about as much as I can.

So far, I've removed the seats, carpet, door panels, windows/motors, hvac controls, vents, glove box, center console, pillar covers and headliner.

I'm inclined to remove the airbags. Is this a good idea?

Next to go will be the heating/air conditioning. Anything else I can remove from under the hood? Will removal of emissions cause computer problems?

Finally, the dash is in abysmal shape: the top pad is gone (prior owner covered with a pre-fit carpet pad), and the gas guage is shot. Has anyone removed then entire dash and replaced the guages with, say, autometers in a column-top "pod". Is this even really possible or desireable.

As always, thanks for indulging me, and please don't hesitate to tell me where I'm approaching this from the wrong angle.

Best,
Andrew

I removed my airbags in my street car (autox carsd still have them due to needing to be compliant in the stock class)

1. remove fuses (may or may not be in a fuse block, if not then they should be under the steering column above the pedals.
2. let sit for a few minutes (just to be safe, should onlystore energy for ~10 seconds
3. remove. In my metro there was a plastic cover on the steering wheel i undid and was able to unplug the airbag. The airbag was held in the steering wheel by 2 external torx bolts.
4. on the metro on the passenger side i removed the glove box, then unplugged the electrical cables to that airbag. there were several screws holding this to the dash, but once removed it slid up and out.
5. take notice of where those wires (probably wrapped in yellow) go to and you can remove the black box that controls them. there's some more weight there.


do a search for weight, mostly likely in the RR section.

Aaron

I'd do a search on weight as Aaron suggests, but when you remove the A/C, air pump, and EGR you'd be amazed how much cleaner it will look under the hood.

I'd also remove the cruise control. The control box is just below where your stock airbox would be. It's worth a couple of pounds and again removes a cable you just won't use anymore.

Do remove your airbags. You don't want them going off if you hit another car on track and need to be able to see and steer to avoid something else afterwards.

Consider either installing a Hawker battery in place of your stock one or moving your stock one to the interior of the car.

How about a fiberglass hood?

Your fun has just started.

Like everyone else, there is a ton of weight behind the dash to take out. The entire HVAC system, from the A/C condensor/compressor to the heater core and blower motor is a large amount of weight. All the air ducting adds up too. The drivers side airbag was 4-5ish pounds and the passenger side was around 14, well worth taking out for a racecar.

On mine I also took out the front bumper. I don't have my logbook in the house so I can't tell you how much it weighs exactly. Of course, if you plan on running into something this may not be for you. Every single emissions device can go and the cruise control like 94Bird said.

I took the approach on my racecar weight removal like this; remove everything from the car and put back only what I need. My only two conditions for the car was that the engine runs and the lights work. Anything else is just extra weight. So far I have a pile of crap NOT going back into the car that is 355 pounds, no joke. The weight just keeps flying off the car.

Also I thought about leaving the dash out and fabbing a panel for some gauges and my switches, but I got the emptied dash on the scale and it was right at 20 pounds. I'll gladly keep 20 pounds so I don't have to stare at a metal firewall.

In a couple weeks we will have my piece up on a dirt track racer friend's 4 corner digital scales. I'll report back with what I end up with.

I'm in the same boat, cutting, removing, yanking. Don't forget the little things that add up. All that globbed on body sealer, spot welded brackets that aren't used anymore, plastic clips, unused wire leads, etc, etc, etc. I've also been lightening some parts that are way overweight and engineered, such as lca relo brackets. You can't go crazy, but you can remove weight in certain places and have no negative affect on strength. My next thing to remove is the body side molding. I wonder how hard that will be? I hope its not something I wish I didn't start.

My bare Firebird dash was 13 lbs. Guess that's one of the few things lighter in a Firebird than a Camaro.

Well all i can say, is the more the merrier! I just removed everything in my 96 SS and can pretty much walk you through any issues you may come across.

don't hesitate to give me a PM or email for how to's on removal / what has to be hooked up to run the car afterwards.

Good luck

Once again, outstanding advice, guys. Many, many thanks.


John, I'm likely to be asking a bunch of questions. Thanks for the kind offer.

OK. How do I remove the A/C compressor? I assume I need to get a different accessory belt?

Also, what's that black box on the tranny tunnel? Is that the airbag control module?

Any suggestions as to whether to keep the heater and fan for defogging purposes? It can get pretty humid down here during the summer months.

After the AC is gone, you just get a smaller belt,

and the airbag module is (I believe) further towards the front.

Remove everything under the dash and you can get a smaller fan for moving the air around.

to remove the AC compressor you'll need the 1LE A/C delete pulley. About $40 from samtaylor.com/parts.
you can't just remove and use a smaller belt on an LT1. You could get a spare idle pulley from a junk yard and fab your own bracket/plate in place of the condensor.
Surf my website for pics of the delete pulley mounted on the engine.

http://www.vilipend.com/~frrax/Assembly-Pa...C_27_014?full=1