January 31, 2010 - Here's the big surprise.
1916 lbs. Wow!
My estimate of 2500-2600 lbs for the finished product was based on a published curb weight of the GT of 2401 lbs. If you stuff one of these engines into a Miata, it gains right around 200 lbs with the sort of accessories I'm using. I know the stock MG engine is a hefty one, so I was hoping I might gain a bit less weight than that. But this number is a bit shocking.
So how was I so far off? This is for a car with no cooling system, exhaust, no fluids at all and no interior. It does include the 26 lb box of Camaro wiring that I pulled out of the donor, however, so there may not be a lot to gain with that. Fluids will add around 100 lbs to the car, figuring 10 gallons of gas plus coolant and others - although the engine does have oil. The Optima battery I'm going to use is another 27 lbs. The interior on an MG isn't that heavy and I actually had a Miata seat stuck in the car but it's probably fair to assume there's a hundred pounds to come there. The front bumper is also off the car and there's no spare. All relatively small things, but it adds up.
Still, I may have saved weight somewhere. It could be that my new front end is lighter than stock. Possibly even the rear. The Miata wheels are definitely lighter than the stock MG ones and I remember the front spindles and brakes being painfully heavy.
Should I change my expected final weight? I think I'll drop it down to about 2400 lbs. There could very well be 500 lbs of bits and pieces left to install. But wow. Simply adding the fuel and battery will bring to car to almost 50:50 weight distribution as well.
I'm starting to look at the car with a bit more respect. At 2400 lbs, it'll end up lighter than Elvis, the LS1 Miata I've had the chance to hustle around the track. And that is one fast car.
tags: weight |
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