• Hey Guest!
    British Car Forum has been supporting enthusiasts for over 25 years by providing a great place to share our love for British cars. You can support our efforts by upgrading your membership for less than the dues of most car clubs. There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Upgraded members don't see this banner, nor will you see the Google ads that appear on the site.)
Tips
Tips

TR4/4A TR4 Weight Loss Program

Share this page

TRMark

TRMark

Jedi Knight
Bronze
Country flag
Offline
The driver and his lovely are down 25lbs from last fall. During the overhaul completed last spring 2018: The Dunlop 195/65-15 on 6" VTO wheels were replaced with Vredestein Sprint Classics 185/70-15 on 5.5" Panasports, 32lb. The stock radiator was replaced with an aluminum one, 13lb. The stock flywheel was replaced with a lightweight steel model, 19lbs. This week I will replace the stock battery with a Miata type, 16lb. All up about 105 lbs. I didn't count replacing the stock rods with Carrillos during the engine rebuild/heatup, probably a few pounds there (that were a joke).
 
That is my next step with the TR250, especially want to take weight off the front. Aluminum engine end plates are being considered other things like those on your list. 100 pounds is nearly 5%, not too shabby.
 
Does your aluminum radiator have higher capacity than stock? That will offset some of the weight savings. If you still have an original type generator and starter, one of the Denso mini alternators will save some pounds, and the gear starters are a weight saver as well. Headers will save some weight. I don't know if the alloy heads are still available, that will save nearly 30 lbs.
 
Alloy head, alloy water pump housing and tubular exhaust manifold would save weight on the engine in addition to what you have listed.
 
The Wizard aluminum radiator looks to have the same dimensions as the original, so I assume capacity is the same. The car has a gear reduction starter, a GM alternator conversion (years ago) and tube headers. I will be installing a Denso alternator on a 1600 Alfa engine going into in my old sports/racer. If it looks like it can be easily adapted I will fabricate some bits and install in the TR, the GM is quite large and a bit of a lump. I purchased the Wizard without the fill neck, should make alternator work a bit easier. The alloy head would be nice and like the Miata battery it would reduce the weight where it is needed the most for good handling, up high. I want the car to be reliable, and not knowing anything about the alloy head I decided against it. The cars occupants will probably drop another 10 lb the next month or two if the primary driver can refrain from summer beer drinking.
 
Wizard says:

[FONT=&quot]Aluminum is a much stronger and more durable material compared to brass. This allows aluminum radiator cores to feature larger, “skinner” tubes which allow a greater volume of coolant to enter the core and be cooled.
[/FONT]
[FONT=Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]I never measured to see how much volume difference there was.[/FONT]

[FONT=Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif]I've had my alloy head for over 15 years, no problems, though I don't put very many miles on my car. But for the last 5 years it has had a supercharger, and no issues with that, either.[/FONT][FONT=&quot][/FONT]
 
The aluminum head is a temptation, but I am going to just drive this year, next winter I will try to finish the sport/racer; maybe after that if I don't come up with another project. I have been working with sheet aluminum quite a bit on the S/R restoration, wheeling, shrinking and annealing, it does move heat very quickly.
 
Back
Top