Is there an easier way?

[jayro]

Hi all,
I'm putting the SHO on a diet this winter...I have pulled the carpet and am in the proccess of stripping off the tar coating underneath it...down to the bare metal. Currently I am using a wire brush on a drill, but it is extremely slow going. To those who have done this, is there a trick to make it easier?
Thanks

Jeremy

 

[matty]

yea

heatin it up a little,but the real question IS WHY?it seems like you could save it some other way.i think that i t would be to loud and alot cooler in the winter.the most you will save is probably 4 pounds.

 

[SHOKING91]

try dry ice!!!!!!!

 

[NJSHO]

try dry ice!!!!!!!

+1 Ive also heard that dry ice does the trick

 

[hawkeye18]

heatin it up a little,but the real question IS WHY?it seems like you could save it some other way.i think that i t would be to loud and alot cooler in the winter.the most you will save is probably 4 pounds.

Nuh uh. If you take all the carpet and all that stupid tar crap and put it in a big ball, it will easily weigh 100 pounds. You would not believe how much that crap weighs. I'm talking about the carpet, the sound-deadening insulation, and the black gooey stuff that holds it on in the entire car.

as far as that black gooey stuff goes, methods I've tried in the past with some measure of success are: Razor/Goo-gone; Razor/BBQ lighter, Goo-gone/BBQ Lighter/Lots o' paper towels (not recommended for those with sensitive olfactory nerves), or really any combination of the three. The BBQ lighter (I say BBQ cos it keeps your hands away from hot gooey stuff) softens it up remarkably (make sure you don't melt it, though), and the Goo-gone is good for what remains.

FWIW, though, if you want to lose some weight, ditch the stock seats. They weigh 60-70lbs (depending on the change stuck inside) a piece.

After that, you'd want to ditch unneccesary electronics and wiring (it can get to weigh a bunch... cruise control, ABS[if you choose], radio, air bags[not recommended unless racing fo'real], etc). Windows would go as well, replaced with polycarbonate material. Don't forget the trunk carpet material, that stuff really throws the center of gravity out. You should also relocate the battery to the trunk to free up real estate in the front - and give better balance.

The rear seats will give you about 20-30 pounds. You can cut out the mounting brace for the amps and stuff; it's not structural and it'll give you a ski pass-through!

A/C is an obvious delete if you can live without it. The compressor, condenser, tubing, hoses, etc. all weigh a TON!

Any of this helping?

 

[SASHO91]

heatin it up a little,but the real question IS WHY?it seems like you could save it some other way.i think that i t would be to loud and alot cooler in the winter.the most you will save is probably 4 pounds.

It's more than 4lbs.

 

[jayro]

Thanks for the info. I will try some heat and see how it works. As far as the dry ice....do you lay is on top to make it brittle and then chip it off?

Yeah, I'm ditching the stock power seats for some light racing one (car is my toy). I also pulled the trunk lining and spare tire. Next is the AC (never use it) and all that entails along with the hood mat (was torn anyway). I want to keep the CD PLayer and stuff. I'm a little leary of pulling wiring since I'm not too knowledgable about what is what. New tires come spring.

Want to keep the "Somewhat stock at a glance" look.

THanks for the help

Jeremy

 

[HoustinoJillian]

the dry ice trick is jsut that, put it on top, freeze it, chip it off. much faster with a chisel or screwdriver (although that'll mark up the floor pretty good so i'd only reccomend it if you're gonna paint it or put carpet back in with no deadener, or if you don't care what the floor looks like.

 

[jayro]

I'll have to try it...not too concerned about the floors apperance.

Jeremy

 

[whiteman_01]

So... anyone know how much louder it gets with the carpet, but nothing else?

 

[St Louis SHO]

Honestly once you put an exhaust and y-pipe on it wont be much worse.

James

 

[Phoenix]

Times 2 on using heat.

When I had to cut the floor with a die grinder -cutting wheel , it became pretty hot in that area and that goo stuff was getting pretty soft , to a point to be scraped off with a tool.

 

[newby92]

the deadening material makes a huge difference. my brother had a 98 thunderbird that he put two sets of carpet in and two layers of sound deadening and you couldnt even hear the motor running inside the car. the difference was staggering, so i would imagine not having any insulation is going to make for a very loud ride, especially above 4k rpms.

 

[hawkeye18]

the deadening material makes a huge difference. my brother had a 98 thunderbird that he put two sets of carpet in and two layers of sound deadening and you couldnt even hear the motor running inside the car.

You couldn't hear the motor because the car wasn't moving! :laugh_ti:

 

[Jarrod]

the deadening material makes a huge difference. my brother had a 98 thunderbird that he put two sets of carpet in and two layers of sound deadening and you couldnt even hear the motor running inside the car. the difference was staggering, so i would imagine not having any insulation is going to make for a very loud ride, especially above 4k rpms.

Where on earth did your brother get a '98?! lol
MN12 T-bird: 1989-1997

 

[jelloslug]

Thanks for the info. I will try some heat and see how it works. As far as the dry ice....do you lay is on top to make it brittle and then chip it off?

Yeah, I'm ditching the stock power seats for some light racing one (car is my toy). I also pulled the trunk lining and spare tire. Next is the AC (never use it) and all that entails along with the hood mat (was torn anyway). I want to keep the CD PLayer and stuff. I'm a little leary of pulling wiring since I'm not too knowledgable about what is what. New tires come spring.

Want to keep the "Somewhat stock at a glance" look.

THanks for the help

Jeremy

If I were doing something like this I would take out the stock sound system and use an MP3 player and some smaller speakers mounted near the drivers seat. Also, most of the stereo wiring is independent of the cars main wiring looms so it is easy to remove. If it were me I would also see if I could find a Taurus L with crank down windows and swap in those. I'm not sure if any 2nd gens came without power windows though....

 

[jayro]

Ya they come with power windows. I'm starting with the seats, AC, tires and the carpet stuff. Already pulled the spare tire ect. If this makes a good difference then the power windows might be next. I have a feeling this could get addicting.

Jeremy

 

[SHO2NV]

Get a CF trunk and a Cincy SHO FG hood, that'll save ya a ton of weight.

 

[jelloslug]

Ya they come with power windows. I'm starting with the seats, AC, tires and the carpet stuff. Already pulled the spare tire ect. If this makes a good difference then the power windows might be next. I have a feeling this could get addicting.

Jeremy

The wiring really does weigh a bunch. So do things like airbags, rear speaker mounts, rear seatbelts, moon roof parts, etc.

 

[drivinhard]

So... anyone know how much louder it gets with the carpet, but nothing else?

My 89 with sound material stripped, padding removed, and aftermarket (very thin) carpet installed was no louder than my 01 Z06 with full interior cruising down the hwy. In fact, it wasn't much louder than my full interior'd 92 w/ it's loud sunroof.

One thing great about the SHO, especially a low option 89, was that it was reasonably light stock, but had a lot of potential to become lighter for not spending a bunch of $$ (track seats, etc). I'm finding the Z06 to be much harder to find weight to cut (a lot is done at the factory) and a lot more expensive. So far I've cut about 65 lbs, without removing anything (simply adding lighter parts, or adding "lightness" as we call it)