Sean Machado's Daytona in the recent MCG issue

[Mike DC]

I have a question about the white road racer in the September 2011 issue, if anyone knows anything about it.

The article refers to this car weighing 3200 lbs.  How is that possible?  Daytonas are typically 3800-lb cars.  I see nothing serious missing from the car aside from the gutted racecar interior.  It's got full glass, two front seats, etc.  The article says it's a steel body w/o fiberglass or CF parts.  The article even refers to the BB wedge being about a decade old, which makes an alloy block unlikely.  I don't see how anything like that much weight was removed.  Maybe 200-300 lbs but not 600 lbs.

[moparstuart]

sean is a member here maybe he will chime in  ?

  member name          C5X DAYTONA

[C5X DAYTONA]

I have a question about the white road racer in the September 2011 issue, if anyone knows anything about it.

The article refers to this car weighing 3200 lbs.  How is that possible?  Daytonas are typically 3800-lb cars.  I see nothing serious missing from the car aside from the gutted racecar interior.  It's got full glass, two front seats, etc.  The article says it's a steel body w/o fiberglass or CF parts.  The article even refers to the BB wedge being about a decade old, which makes an alloy block unlikely.  I don't see how anything like that much weight was removed.  Maybe 200-300 lbs but not 600 lbs.

You can tell the weight loss from MCG pictures?   Are you a member Barnum and Baily's?    Ever weigh seats, carpet and all that other stuff in an interior?      I was shocked when I weighed the original seats (front and back) and then the new seats.   I wish Daytona's came in at 3800lbs.  My red Daytona was 3980 with a column shift, half tank of fuel and no spare or jack assy.  My white Daytona (clone) has a skin trunk lid and hood.  There are no latches or hinges.  The fenders and nose are also skins.  The vallance is aluminum.  The rear window is plexy and the windshield is 1/2 the thickness of the original piece.   The rear bumper is fiberglass and has no brackets.  It is being held on by the aluminum caps on the bumper ends.  I do know the rear bumper weighs 3 pounds and the original bumper with the brackets was 43ish.  Car has an aluminum drive shaft, bell housing, water pump housing and intake.  No mufflers or tail pipes either.  There are many brackets and parts I have omitted or trimmed to lighten.  Even cut away inside the dash and pads.  No heater.    All this adds up but it is rear hard to get much more weight out of the car without cutting up the car more than I wanted.  I want the car to look near stock and that is why I stopped where I have.  I still have the list of the before and after weights of the car as I was stripping it and installing the new lighter parts.  I stopped weight parts 3/4 the way through the build and was around 500lbs then.   I am guessing between 3350-3400lbs.   The car also has 3.55s not 3.23s. It did have 3.23s in it for the 1/8 mile and 0-60 times.   Also I shift the car at 6400rpms and hit 140mph on the front straight at Willow.  And there is NO cage in the car,  the article said I had custom made one and installed it.   I also came home when I was born in a 68 Charger R/T and not a Daytona.   Just to clear up some of the article.   Cheers 

[Mike DC]

Hi, thanks for responding so quickly & thoroughly. 

I'm sorry if I came across as questioning your honesty about the car, that was not my intent.  I just wondered if that 3200-lb figure was a miscommunication or something.  (Especially after the mistaken rollcage reference in the print of the article, which I also noticed.)  I believe you that the car is pretty light.



The front seats of a '69 are about 50 lbs each, I've weighed them.  The rear bench is about 50 lbs total, 25 lbs top and 25 bottom.  I don't know the carpet & insulation weight but it wouldn't shock me if that was another 30-40 pounds or more.  The under-dash A/C box assy is about another 50 lbs I think, not including the rest of the A/C system under the hood.   

I noticed that the stock hood & trunk hinges on your car were missing but I didn't realize the entire hood & trunklid were skins only.  Ditto for the window mods & fiberglass bumper, the article pics didn't make that very easy to see.  (And BTW how did you end up with a half-thickness windshield?)   

[mauve66]

shocking that a magazine would get so many facts wrong....................... wait for it........................... wait for it................... damn reporters

[C5X DAYTONA]

Can think Stuart for the quick reply.  I am on vacation and he sent me an email.  I just reread what I wrote earlier.  What a jerk in the beginning of that reply..  I remember thinking when I first wrote it that I hope this doesn't sound harsh and tried to figure out a character to make it a funny..  Insert cheesy here..   I really like the guys at MCG, but wish the article was more accurate.   Also,  the motor in the car is the only motor that has been in the car since I purchased it in 95.   Then it said low budget.   A friend of mine said to who is the term low budget for?   He could not afford the tires I am using,  which are almost half the weight of a standard tire...    My father and I read the article and thought (who's story is this?)   About the windshield,  I had ordered a windshield for a Charger about 10 years ago.  When the glass guy came out and was going to put it in I saw how thin it was.  The new cheap glass was as thick as 1 of the 2 layers of the original glass.   I asked him to get me another one for the race car.   By the way,  the windshield leaked like crazy in the other charger.  I glued this one in.   If I remember correctly the carpet, insulation, rear seat belts, headlining, bows and package tray were 70 pounds.  Also cut off one of the roof braces.   I don't remember what the new front seats weight.   I'm thinking 50 pounds for both the new fronts with tracks.