mk4 on a diet.

[mcgee9t2]

out of interest, whats the crack with insurance and doing this. as obviously if you add stuff to your car you have to declare it ect. what about it you take the back seats out does that have to be declared?

[jamie16v]

is it a modification or a de-modification?...
insurance companies will argue the toss regardless! best tell them and they can take all your ugandan dollars from you!

[mcgee9t2]

is it a modification or a de-modification?...
insurance companies will argue the toss regardless! best tell them and the can take all youre ugandan dollars from you!

any body whos done this what was it like on insurance? was it just admin fees or will it be compleatly not worth it, i know everyones insurance is different but im going out now and busy all day tomorow and just wondering

[Wayne]

One small point if you take the rear seats out I believe (did read this somewhere honest) that you also need to remove the seatbelts as it will fail the mot.

[Chris#101]

Surely the 'more trips you have to take to fill up etc etc on only ever filling up with half a tank' isn't really an issue and going to use more fuel, maybe a bit more time, I mean in this day an age its not like you have to travel far and wide to find a petrol station. I'm sure the majority of routes we take will deffinitely have several petrol stations on and as long as you keep an eye on your fuel gauge and fill up when needed and on route would be more 'efficient'

[Grand Master Patch]

Get the sound proving from under the bonnet out and you'll have a shock if you take out the underlay beneath the front seats and dash,that is very heavy.

I ran like this for a while when i was fixing water leaks,car felt like it had been mapped..............

[jamie16v]

One small point if you take the rear seats out I believe (did read this somewhere honest) that you also need to remove the seatbelts as it will fail the mot.

you have a valid point and i think youre right, but i`m not 100% sure as i think it could be, if there are rear seats then belts must be fitted if the car was registered post something in the late 20th century?..

[Wazzzer]

My dad's '61 Vauxhall Victor has no belts in the front either 

[jamie16v]

i just edited the list, i took out the carpet and underlay earlier, carpet weighs 4kg and the underlay a shocking 10kg.
total weight so far at least 115kg, i havent weight everything ive taken out as they felt quite light but im sure if you add them all up..
for example, i didnt include the centre console, both front and rear parts weigh 1kg each which is quite a lot for a chunk of plastic.
next on the list to take off is the door cards and inner skins, i would probably need polycarbonates to do that unless i can find a light weight alternative. But whats the point?, if i am going for light, then i may aswel go for the plexi`s.

[jamie16v]

sorry to dig this from the grave, but it`s an interesting topic.
just had a good read over and since ive driven the car after being stripped all i can say is, if you dont need it, bin it!
to answer some questions.
rear seat belts are not required if no seats are fitted, that means all parts of the seats must be removed i would include the seatbelts too to be sure (and to save weight).
you need to declare ALL mods to your insurance!
by saving weight you not only increase power to weight ratio but it also improves handling.
when my tax comes through the door i plan to take a trip to the local weigh bridge and get the car weighed for a rough idea of how the car weighs over stock.
i`ll keep you posted.