Day 6 ~ Adding Lightness

A motto for Lotus for many a year is not to reduce weight, but rather to add lightness. Well, I'm not sure we haven't just reduced weight on this one so far, but my Jetta is looking a bit more Lotus-esque these days. After all my setbacks this weekend I'm feeling good anyway. Having helped move my best friend yesterday, and soaking in some Olympic coverage, it was a busy weekend to get anything done. Nevertheless, the list of removed things increased dramatically today:

Rear shocks
Rear wheels
Rear springs
Rear axle w/calipers, hubs, rotors, etc.
Fuel tank, evap assembly, and filter
Trunk surround cutout
Top and rear shell
  It took me a while to sort out just where to make the rough cuts, referencing the finals. I'm fairly confident with the reciprocating saw, but no sense trying to do the final cut with all that weight on it. I did, however decide to cut out the trunk surround in one cutting before I rough cut and removed the shell. It seems a much easier idea to get that taken care of while everything's still solid and at a working height.

TIP: Removing the rear window proved super helpful in making that cut for the trunk surround. It's really just starting the big horizontal cut that's the issue there. Keep that blade parallel to the ground on that one also so it cuts through only 2 pieces of sheet metal. Goes pretty good here.

TIP: Use standard 9" blades. I tested out the carbide tip blades because I use the regular ones often and wanted to try it. Unfortunately it cuts (grinds really) about an eighth inch wide path instead of about half that, so the cutting takes a lot more pressure and time. Not really worth it in my opinion. I was happy to go through 4 regular blades instead. I did all the rough cuts, and trunk surround in 3, but since I'm working by myself mostly, and occasional help from my super-patient wife (she's pretty strong too, I've found out), I made a few more cuts to take as many manageable pieces off the trunk to save weight. Payed off as I have all that scrap in the bed of my truck now ready for the scrap yard.

DAISNAIDO: (Do As I Say, Not As I Do) You remember how Mark warns against damaging brake lines as they're hard to replace? Yeah, well I disconnected them at the rear-axle connectors, but apparently I missed a crossover that goes up and backward right along the rough cut for the rear. I got distracted and took a break after the fuel tank was removed. Getting excited about finally getting to the cuts I failed to take one last look from underneath - just to be sure. Well, I guess that "Lines and Fittings" class I took in college will come in handy. I probably wont bother trying to source one out unless I happen to have a spare on one of my other frames. I don't really mind flaring a new tube, but it's definitely not on my recommend list. Remove ALL the brake lines just to be safe. Don't buy into the "I'm gonna get it cut tonight" mentality. You just might rush and skip that one detail like me. Feel free to take the extra time just to check everything again before you start sawing.

  I took a few more pictures than normal that are in my folder, but I want to double check a couple things with Mark before I post much about them. I think I have some helpful notes, but want to pass them through the master filter first just to be sure. Essentially, though the pics will show you where I chose the rough cuts, and you can see from some of them that I picked there because we're trying to avoid those double-layers and welds. Not much sense in a rough cut going through all that extra metal if you can avoid it.
  Also, there should be another video in there that shows 2 segments on the start of my rear rough cut. You might find it helpful if you're going to cut yours soon. The first segment shows the location I chose as a reference, and the second shows a trick to get that 90 degree turn without trying to twist the blade like a crazy man.
  There is also another picture from the rear that shows my cutout for the trunk surround. You'll notice in that one that on the section below the right tail lamp I made a straight down cut first, then I went back up and cut a little diagonal just wide enough to bend that point down so I could turn the blade horizontal for my right-to-left cut across the bottom. Various other angles show all the other cuts made to get that trunk surround out nicely. I shouldn't have much if any trimming to do. Feel free to cut leaving generous helpings of scrap though if you're not getting the reciprocating saw to do your bidding confidently. You can always use some aviation snips, grinders, or another saw cut to take material off. It's a lot more difficult to add material back in. Be sure of your cut and just roll with it. Buy some extra 5-packs of 9" blades and practice on the roof if you want to figure some curves out before your start. = )

  Well the next things for me should be getting that dash moved out the rest of the way so I can mark and final-cut the front. I'll also be looking to remove the engine (careful to label and cap off all hoses, and label all the wiring up there) so I can make my cuts on the front shock tower areas. I have found a replacement VR6 from a town a couple hours away. I don't have time to pull it, so he's giving me the whole car. The frame is a bit twisted up front, so we won't be saving it for a later project, but I'll cut a trunk and surround out of it, grab the front K member and other steering/suspension bits, and maybe keep the front doors if they're good. After I snaerk all the goodies out, it's off to the scrap yard to get a hundred or two from the sheet metal. It's a good deal, so I'll probably go grab it tomorrow. I'm not likely to post any progress here though as it will likely take all evening to mess with that. I don't have any spare room with all my other projects going on, so condensing that one will have to take priority. Check back mid-week probably for more updates here. Or you can just choose to follow this one via email so it will notify you to click in here as I post progress.

FWIW (for what it's worth) ~ I took the top & rear rough cutaways to the metal yard and weighed in about 240 lbs. of sheet metal. There's a bunch more weight in sound-deadening material and glass that's being removed, but with glass going back in, the reduction will be minimal compared to the sheet steel.