Cars & their weights… – Anderson Analytical

Want to build a LeMons car? There’s a lot to think about. Weight is very important. Because Mike constantly dreams about building this junk, he compiled this table with cars he thinks would be fun to build, and their weights, plus some dumb ones, and some that he thought were interesting. Here’s what he says:

Cars & weights (lbs)

Gen 1 Mustang 2,800 – 3,200 (increased each year from 65-73)
Gen 2 Mustang 2,800 – 3200
Fox Body Mustang 2,600 (once again, increased every year)
Gen 4 Mustang 3,100 – 3,700
Gen 5 Mustang 3,400 – 4,000 (GT 500 Convertible is 4,040)
Gen 6 Mustang 3,600 – 4,200 (GT 500 is 4,183; carbon 4,081)
Gen 7 Mustang 3,600 – 4,000
Pinto, early 2,100
Pinto, late 2,600
Gremlin 2,600
Vega 2,200
Fiero 2,500
Fiero GT 2,800 (aluminum honeycomb floor, my ass)
Triumph Spitfire 1,800
Triumph TR6 2,500
Triumph TR7 2,500
Triumph TR8 2,700
MGB 2,100
Sunbeam Alpine 2,300
Saab Sonnet 1 1,100 Ties with the early Fiat 500
Saab Sonnet 2 1,600
Saab Sonnet 3 1,800
Honda Insight (gen 1) 1,900
Hillman Minx 2,300
Opel GT 2,100
Gen 1 Camaro 3,300
Gen 2 Camaro 3,300
Gen 3 Camaro 3,000 varies a lot with trim and engine
Gen 4 Camaro 3,500 “
Gen 5 Camaro 3,900 “
Gen 6 Camaro 3,400 varies a lot. Some up over 4,000lb
Gen 1 Miata 2,200
Gen 2 Miata 2,300
Gen 3 Miata 2,500
Gen 4 Miata 2,300
Geo Metro xfi 1,600
Honda Civic (1995) 2,000
Honda Del Sol 2,300
Citroen AX (1986) 1,400 This has potential!
E30 BMW (1986) 2,300
Audi S4 (2005) 3,900 pig
Fiat 500 (1970) 1,100 Wheel base just in for LeMons
Fiat 500 (2012) 2,400
Subaru Impreza (1995) 2,600
Hyundai Veloster (2015) 2,600
Chevy S10 (1992) 2,700
Datsun Z (1970) 2,000
Nissan Z (2006) 3,600
Ford Model T 1,200 – 1,500
Buick Roadmaster (1956) 4,500
Buick Grand National 3,400 Some conflicting data, ballpark figure
Corvette (1957) 3,000
Corvette (1964) 3,100
Corvette (1972) 3,300
Corvette (1986) 3,100
Corvette (2001) 3,200
Corvette (2006) 3,100
Corvette (2015) 3,300 – 3,600
Porsche 914 2,100
Porsche 924 2,400
Porsche 944 2,600
Porsche 911 (1964) 2,400
Porsche 911 (1974) 2,400
Porsche 911 (1984) 2,700
Porsche 964 (1990) 3,000
Porsche 993 (1995) 3,000
Porsche 996 (2004) 3,000
Austin Healey Sprite 1,500 wheelbase 80”, too short for LeMons
Citroen 2CV 1,300
Trabant 601 1,400
VW Bug (1967) 1,800

As I have worked on LeMons cars, I have begun to see weight as the true limiting factor of a platform. It’s just about impossible to get a heavy car to run fast. And if you do, it’s expensive. You have to run wide tires. You need a ton of power. You’re going to chew up expensive brakes, etc.

It’s also harder than I would have thought to pull large amounts of weight out of a car. We worked for hours one time, trimming, changing glass for plastic, getting rid of everything we didn’t need… And pulled 86 pounds out of our car. 86 pounds is a lot. I’m sure it took a couple tenths off our lap times. But the difference between an early 70’s mustang and pinto is more like 700 lbs. You aren’t going to trim that mustang down to anything like the weight of the pinto. But you can get early 70’s mustang power out of a pinto without adding weight by using a modern engine. So if I had to pick one, I’d pick the pinto.