jl4020

Trying to put my old truck on a diet. cause i cant get the diet to work for me!!! it a 71 gmc mud truck right now the way i got it gutted it weights4200. If i was to put a frame out of a 1987 half ton truck and cut the floor and gut the bed to just the skins and take out the front part of the bed out of the 71 bed. Would i be gaining any thing or much? I want to go faster!!!!

TheRabbit

Not enough to go through all the work.

You can gut the one that you have down to about 3,300 to3,400lbs with a big block.
You gotta loose every ounce that's not needed in the cab, doors, front clip, remove all the glass. Drill the frame and cut off all of it that you don't have to have. Cut the frame off at the back of the rear axle and mount your shock on the back of the frame. Cut the floor boards and firewall and replace with sheet metal. Cut out the back of the cab and replace with sheet metal. Narrow the rear axle (run a 9" not a dana 60) a dana 30 up front. Gut the 208 tranfer case and weld it up. Bed skins only, 1 battery, 3 gal fuel cell, light weight brakes and rotors on rear, aluminum hubs on front, small tires on the front, light weight wheels and the list goes on and on and on ...

itsabird

Neat setup there rabbit.

TheRabbit

Thanks. It's an old pic, but shows what I was trying to explain to him.

jl4020

it wood be a little lighter but a lot of work but need to be done to go faster. but thinks for the in put

TheRabbit

"A little lighter" It takes a ton of work to build a light truck.
It's also not cheap. There is no simple way to drop 1,000lbs off any truck.
It takes a bunch of work and planning. Before my truck was ever built every rivet and every bracket was planned and weight savings was the major factor.
I still have a few places I can loose weight, but like I said light weight parts aren't cheap.