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Weight & balance of my Speedy

FM Former Member
So I met up with local Intermeccanica owner Stan and we bench raced for awhile. We talked shop for a bit then on a whim I asked what the weight of a full tilt Intermeccanica was. He was not 100% sure so I broke out the race scales!

It was great. Two Speedys both from different makers and constructed completely differently available for inspection. We had a great time just looking them over & comparing notes. PLUS I got a chance to see what my scale numbers were too.

Here is what I have:

2005 Vintage, well equipped and gone over.

My total weight was 1694 road ready with a 1/3 tank of fuel.
The balance was superb at 370 LF - 361 RF / 489 LR - 474 RR
Cross weight worked out favorably too with a 50% ~ on the money.

I cant recall Stan's numbers exactly but perhaps he will post too as I know he wrote his specs down. And speaking of Stan. Great detail orientated gent with more things to look at on his Speedy that I can count! Gorgeous spun aluminum wheels, gas heater, individual cylinder head temp gauges, electrically switchable exhaust, foot well lighting, power windows, big bore (did I say BIG) power, etc., etc. Its mind numbing how special constructed it is. Best one I have seen. Bravo.

It was a great meet up and I had a ball. I did find a wheel that was a bit untrue on my steed so I got it straightened out and tested it with a quick run down my driveway. It felt great right up to speed (and then some). So a win win day! Go enjoy your Speedster now!
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FM Former Member
So I met up with local Intermeccanica owner Stan and we bench raced for awhile. We talked shop for a bit then on a whim I asked what the weight of a full tilt Intermeccanica was. He was not 100% sure so I broke out the race scales!

It was great. Two Speedys both from different makers and constructed completely differently available for inspection. We had a great time just looking them over & comparing notes. PLUS I got a chance to see what my scale numbers were too.

Here is what I have:

2005 Vintage, well equipped and gone over.

My total weight was 1694 road ready with a 1/3 tank of fuel.
The balance was superb at 370 LF - 361 RF / 489 LR - 474 RR
Cross weight worked out favorably too with a 50% ~ on the money.

I cant recall Stan's numbers exactly but perhaps he will post too as I know he wrote his specs down. And speaking of Stan. Great detail orientated gent with more things to look at on his Speedy that I can count! Gorgeous spun aluminum wheels, gas heater, individual cylinder head temp gauges, electrically switchable exhaust, foot well lighting, power windows, big bore (did I say BIG) power, etc., etc. Its mind numbing how special constructed it is. Best one I have seen. Bravo.

It was a great meet up and I had a ball. I did find a wheel that was a bit untrue on my steed so I got it straightened out and tested it with a quick run down my driveway. It felt great right up to speed (and then some). So a win win day! Go enjoy your Speedster now!

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Stan GalatStan Galat
Michael-

It was great to meet you and your son today. I had a blast- thanks! I had NO idea there were other guys like me in this part of the world.

My car weighed 1986 lbs with a full tank of gas. The corners were off- the left, side was quite a bit heavier, even without my fat butt in the car- but the f/r weights were great (51/49- 1017 fr, 969 rear). I didn't look at or write down the cross weights.

Once I make a final decision on the front end, I'd really like to come back and do a corner balance and alignment. After today, I'm really thinking of standing pat on what I've got. I've got more than enough to keep me occupied over the winter- perhaps we can do it next spring.

Thanks again!
Panhandle BobPanhandle Bob'57 VS Supporting Member
Michael and Stan:

Boy did I miss out!

Would have joined you guys if I could have. Surprise guests (wife's family) from out of town kept me tied up all day. Michael, I'll see you one morning this week at the shop. Stan, sooner or later buddy!

Did get to take a spin thru the state park near home early this morning and irritated a park ranger as he disapproved of my "acceleration and cornering" on the twisties that run through the woods. Then he wanted to know about the car and all was well, no ticket!

Bob
Lane AndersonLane AndersonMt. Pleasant, SC Supporting Member
Mine is a Beck with a tube frame, and the car's weight is 1700 pounds with no one on board and a half a tank of gas. It looks like Michael's VS with a pan is within a few pounds of mine, so I don't think the frame is the difference. Some of the cars we weighed a couple of years ago at Carlisle were around 2200 pounds, but they were SAS cars with a significantly different frame including door bars. They also had Subaru drive trains and lots of options like power windows, A/C, stereos, etc. I think the IMs with similar equipment were ~2000.
FM Former Member
The different weights probably have a lot to do with the thickness of the fiberglass and the amount of reinforcement from one car to another. The shell on my car is now light enough that I can carry either end by myself with one hand -- and I'm not exactly Charles Atlas -- but that's with all of the interior reinforcement cut away. Some of that 'glass was a half-inch thick!
When it was still a tub, not cut up or skinned out, it weighed so much that two of us needed mechanical advantage to lift the body off.
Not all fiberglass is created equally, either. Paul Rich's Thunder Ranch seems to be a fairly uniform, very thin and superbly laid fiberglass that wouldn't take much work to provide a finished surface on the inside -- and if I had to bet, I'd say the TR's body was on the skinny side of a quarter-inch thick at most.
I think a lot of the 'optional' weight difference from car to car is in the little things, too; how much do you think the stereo system weighs, with all of the wires, speakers and associated hardware? How many use the comfortable, heavily-framed seats? How much does the windshield, convertible top, fog lights, carpet, interior vinyl or leather, three or four extra gauges (and the wires and doodads they use for picking up their information), steel gas tank and all the extra metal you don't really need weigh?
Individually, not much. By the time you add it all up, there's an easy couple hundred pounds of extra weight.

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FM Former Member
I think I could get the scale to go a bit lighter. My VS has an aftermarket hidden stereo with 10 disc changer and giant amp. Plus the harness to go along with it. And I was carrying the full cockpit cover, and car cover, and had the top & side curtains on, plus double mats on the floor & even the rear seat pad w/ safety belts too. I dunno, maybe another 50 pounds I could remove? I never use the radio anyhow...

But in reality this is not my racer, so I will leave well enough alone and enjoy as-is.

And boy is it enjoyable.
Stan GalatStan Galat
... I've been thinking about this for a week now. I'm doubting my numbers- not the totals, but the f/r and side to side.

I don't know, but I suspect that the leads were plugged into the scales incorrectly when we looked at my car. It was kind of hurried, and we had some difficulty getting the car up, etc.- and I think I may have been mistaken. I'd like to look again.

Even with the full tank of gas, the spares in the nose, the engine being a couple inches forward, etc- there's no way the car weighs more in front than in back.

We'll try again next spring after I get the fire suppression system installed.
FM Former Member
Stan, I dont think the harness was routed backwards but... The numbers could have been written down incorrectly - since it was pretty casual & we just kept talking about all things speedy related.

And Stan & I did speak about weighing with driver... And we commented that IF we were to make any adjustments (this day was just to check weights) that we would indeed do it with driver weight representation in the drivers seat before adjustments were made.





Stan GalatStan Galat
Michael-

I'll definitely be taking you up on that, and a lot more! As you know, I'm nowhere near finished with this car.... and plan to never get to that point.

Daniel-

You have no idea of this guy's shop. Michael has quite nearly everything a guy could ever want or need at his disposal. I appreciate the kind offer- but as of a couple weeks ago, I'll probably not need anything...
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