some call it a crank girdle, and yup its cast iron. D you come up with some wacky ideas don't get too caught up in theory - a CA18det in a 1000 would hammer. 320hp at the wheels a series?! you might get away with running no girdle but i'm not sure its worth it. You could save weight in manifolds, good light (evo etc) intercoolers, maybe flywheel, you'd probably add weight with the alloy sump. all this taken into account (if its for the 1000) it'd probably struggle to go around corners well and all the tiny steering and suspension parts as well as the body itself might likely bend.

other than that its not a bad idea

I saw your wagon out at the workshop the other day. why don't you show it off more?

Something else that may be worthwhile noting is if you use a DE block the absence of squirters will result in reduced oil windage and therefore more power. If you're going to knife edge the crank, I supose that would be less of an issue anyway. But it's still food for thought.
What car will this motor be going into? Although I understand how better weight distribution can make a tremendus impact of handling, (like seconds per lap on a race car) I think you might be making life harder than it needs to be for the sake of trying to be too clever. I think for what you're attempting to do here, the CA18 might be the wrong engine to use?

:))) its not for the wagon LOL.
That wagon just needs the handbrake connected but they wont finish it off yet.
Mammi know the secret of the rear disc brake conversion so I left it with them
since they did the homework I dont want to deny them the efforts.
I will show it off on the next cruise for sure.
how is your wagon going? its going to be a treat with the inj setup.

Its going into a 1000 2 door sedan.

I figure if I can get away with less
6kg lighter flywheel
6kg lighter crankshaft
3kg lighter manifolding
2kg alloy pulleys and hollow camshaft
3-5kg lighter head (yet to be confirmed)
1.5kg lighter alternator and starter (billet items)

-3kg ? no ladder brace/ crank girdle / main bearing bedplate

2+ heavier winged alloy sump with reinforcements

118kg - 20kg = 98kg or about a15 weight territory

The trick is also to use a lightweight gearbox instead of the stumpy
5 speed like the T50 someone on this site is trying to adapt.

the DE bottom end is not really much different to the DET bottom end. pistons, oil squirters and the holes for turbo lines are about the only thing thats different

most people dont use the oil squirters when making lots of power anyway, as there is probably more important places for the oil to be

Thanks Nick, I heard the same from Honda drag racers.
I was thinking of notching the rods 2mm on the journal
so they spit some oil in the bore and under the piston
before getting work done on them.
Coating the pistons will help with temp experienced with
boost and LPG.

I will weigh a twin cam head vs an sohc for my pedantic
weight reduction project.

(for those wondering Im now lighter than when in my teens
thanks to my ball and chains cooking :)

i was going to say fibreglass front end D but the 1k already has paper panels as is

and lucky you have a ball and chain, i just got the chain, she took the rest.

Why not just fit a GA18DE?

LOL I knew Mik the heavier bit was gone from ya!

DD love to but gearboxes are non-existent except for the rare A sereis 5 speeds.
Also the qg18de is the bigger brother of the ga16de which is what I think you meant?
They are coming into wreckers now with low klms and crashed.

Hey D do you mean Mammi Motors in Somerville?

instead of doing all that fiddly #OOPS# and spending heaps of money on it, just put a rotary in it.