IIRC: The earlier cars had either no crossbeam in the door or a smaller crossbeam in the door. This would save weight but may compromise safety in a T-bone accident.
Heh heh... my other car is a 68 hearse, 6000lb all-steel tank that is specifically banned from demo derbies (along with Imperials), my car before that was a 71 Fury, my SMALL SPORTY car was a 72 Charger... as far as i'm concerned, even the latest, heaviest, biggest Pinto wagon is a total death trap. As far as i'm concerned, driving a Pinto in open traffic is no less dangerous than a motorbike... so door impact beams and bigger bumpers seem to me like putting a helmet on before you jump off a tall building. Might as well shave weight!
The 77-78 bumpers combined drop almost 100 pounds from the 74-76 cars.
WOW... i had heard that the 74-76 bumpers weigh 140lbs, or even shave 140lbs off swapping the earlier ones, which is true i dont know. But you saying this... WOW. I'm popping them suckers off tomorrow!!! My car was 2400 even on the local scale... i bet i'm a helluva a lot closer to 2200 without 'em.
The hood from the 74-78 cars bolts to the hinges on the 72, but the radiator support and latch are different (earlier model latch is on the hood, no cable. late model is on the radiator support).
Well, until i source some quality fiberglass parts (not flimsy racing ones) i might just use the earlier stuff EVERYWHERE i can swap it. The earlier hood must weigh less, even less with some work i bet. You think there is a way to use the 71 hood on my 76 AND keep the remote hood-latch? I wont be affording FG any time soon anyways.
There were a few places Ford looked for weight savings as 'fuel economy' became the buzzword around Detroit. If you're looking for weight savings, here are a few things you could delete to shave pounds:
Passenger door mirror
Bright trim around side windows, wheelwells, rocker panels
Radio, antenna and speaker(s)
Cigarette lighter
Any air conditioning components(if you're not using it, or it doesn't work)This one adds up!
Back seat (common in drag cars)
Done, done, done, done, done, and done. Plus more already. I had the interior panels out, but they weighed A POUND a piece... might as well leave 'em in. Back seat belts, jack and spare, some underhood stuff, sound deadener, ANYTHING not in use... already gone. ALL the trim is off, even emblems (and EVERYONE asks what the hell it is.... haha). If i get a good parts car i'll do bumpers, doors, hood, fenders, valences, grille (likely not lighter, but cooler lookin'). My wheel and tire combo is probably heavier, but small tires are against my religion. At least my rims are aluminum and on the lighter side. A full exhaust (aftermarket header, 2 1/4" pipe, Borla, no cat, etc.) sounds like it would be a tad lighter, depending on what that exhaust manifold looks like. The smog stuff will disappear...
Gotta get this thing as light as possible before i start adding weight (bigger tires yet, subframes and other welding, heavier duty suspension pieces, bodywork, etc). Maybe a T5 swap over my stock 4spd will save some weight? i dont know.
Depends on your intended use for the car.
There are fibreglass front end parts, dashes, hatches, trunks and bumpers available for the Pinto, but that could add a chunk to the price tag.
Fiberglass is on the list, but not for a while. While small and relatively undesirable, i bet the rarity drives the price up. Right before i bought this car i missed a set ov quality FG fenders and hood for a couple hundred. Dammit...