I'm thinking of selectively removing some metal from my cortina upright. Has anyone put theirs on a diet before and have some suggestions where to start? I can pick my front end up on my own - there's hardly any weight on them - unlike the donor....
i wouldn't! ok, so there's probably a lot of metal on there that could come off, but remove just a bit too much and it'll be dangerous!
besides i don't think there'd be much of a weight saving to be had from it
remember they hold your wheels AND Steering together. either of those fail an you've had it.
remove the disc backing place, replace with some lighter calipers, and some alloy hubs, but don't go grinding th upright itself, or rather, i
wouldn't
[Edited on 24/7/07 by blakep82]
If you can pick up the front end - why bother.
Not sure if it's worth the risk.
Pat...
No, no, no! There's not that much weight to them anyway. If you are desperate just go to Rally Design and buy a pair of their alloy ones for less
than £200 - far safer than butchering your ones.
I wouldnt attempt it. You wont be able to to take enough off to make a difference. Not safely anyway. It sounds light enough already.
If u must loose somemore get the ally ones or just the ally hubs..
Also consider your wheels and tyres - they will play a large part in your unsprung weight which is what you should be aiming to reduce for improved ride and handling.
Cortina upright is HEAVY but the massive ammount work involved to make it lighter isn't worth the gain.
If you do attack it with a grinder use a flap disc and make sure all the angles have nice smooth generous fillet radii.
If you have access to to decent sized lathe the stub axle could be centre drilled without reducing the stiffness to any noticeable degree.
If they're forged a lot of the strength is in the outside 2 or 3 mm so I wouldn't touch them.
If you're desperate to save weight, as others have said here, look at alloy hubs, lightweight callipers and most especially wheels and tyres -
tyres can vary by as much as 9 lbs between makes. 
As said, too much pain for little gain and potentially dangerous.
Have you not considered fabricating your own uprights? That way you could keep the weight down, and probably improve the geometry at the same
time.
Have a look at Rorty's site for inspiration. also common practice on many racecars, Jedi's and the new sprint R have fabbed uprights.
Al.
I'd sell the standard ones- you'ld probably get quite a way towards some alloy ones!!!! Much easier and safer!!
quote:
Originally posted by Ivan
If they're forged a lot of the strength is in the outside 2 or 3 mm so I wouldn't touch them.
If you're desperate to save weight, as others have said here, look at alloy hubs, lightweight callipers and most especially wheels and tyres - tyres can vary by as much as 9 lbs between makes.