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Reply to "I wonder How Ralph Nader Feels About This?"

According to Ray's info, at 284 lbs., a (somewhat stripped down) Corvair engine weighs about 60 lbs. more than a VW engine (with heater boxes and dual carbs).  The members' Speedsters that have been checked for front/rear weight bias (that have been reported here) have come in anywhere from 39/61% (666/1032- total weight 1698 lbs- Lane Anderson's) to 41.4/58.6% (Gordon Nichols' car at Carlisle, 2,000 lbs fully loaded- how much junk was in that thing?).  A couple of others (Jack Crosby, Pauleric) were in the 40-41/60-59 range.  Car & Driver weighed a real Speedster (a '56?) and f/r bias was at 42/58 (total weight 1680 lbs- I have seen other literature listing non- Carrera Speedster weight at 1675 lbs.).  The P f/r weight bias is probably a good figure to strive for.

Taking Lane's former Speedster and adding 60 lbs to the back changes the weight bias to 37.88/62.12- definitely NOT the direction most people would want to go, considering there's really not any more power to be had.  I imagine it would feel even a little more tail happy, and with it being so hard to put substantial rubber under the rear fenders, I don't know- if you really want that much power, it's not that hard these days to get 180 hp out of a big (2.3- 2.4 liter) VW without the weight penalty...

Last edited by ALB
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