55.2-59 Sway bar recomendations

[Roarinrat]

Hi
I’m really pleased with my 56 GMC, apart from the body roll during turns.
I have Mustang II front end, and a Ford 9” rear end with a four link and panhard rod. I’m happy with the spring rates because the truck rides well, with a good stance, and no uneven tire wear.
From what I have read so far I think I need at least a front sway bar, but what diameter, and I’m unsure where the sway bar ends would connect to the pressed steel wishbones.
I’d appreciate your thoughts and recommendations, and which kits or own design solutions you’ve come up with.
Thanks

[whitedog76]

I`ve been looking at one for my 54. It looks like e 1" bar is recommended for trucks. There seems to be a couple different styles. The type that bolts to the back of the crossmember and the type that bolts to the front of the frame. There's also a few different widths of bars depending on what kit you installed. It may be worthwhile to call Heidts, TCI or another vendor and see what you need.

I've also heard of guys using S10 bars and making their own brackets.

[mikebte]

Originally Posted by Roarinrat

Hi
I’m really pleased with my 56 GMC, apart from the body roll during turns.
I have Mustang II front end, and a Ford 9” rear end with a four link and panhard rod. I’m happy with the spring rates because the truck rides well, with a good stance, and no uneven tire wear.
From what I have read so far I think I need at least a front sway bar, but what diameter, and I’m unsure where the sway bar ends would connect to the pressed steel wishbones.
I’d appreciate your thoughts and recommendations, and which kits or own design solutions you’ve come up with.
Thanks

Did you use a mustang II clip or did you get a kit from someone? Often times clips from Art Morrison or other companies design it to use the custom built away bars offered by them.

[dsraven]

post up some pics of what you have to work with. a sway bar from something roughly the same width would be a possibility. an S10, ford explorer, astro van, trailblazer, ranger, etc. it would depend on what you have for a set up. front steer or rear steer rack, low slung rad in the way etc. a lot of models of vehicles come with a upgrade available for the stabilizer bar or you could look aftermarket if need be. there is also the transverse bar mounted on the frame with belcrank arms attached to that with splines and then links down to the control arms. depends on what is in the way under there. a mount can be welded to the control arms as required. some dimensions would be good.

[Roarinrat]

The front clip was already fitted when I got the truck.
It looks like stock Ford, being all pressed steel (I.e. no aftermarket tube wishbones).
I’m unsure how a sway bar would attach to the lower suspension arm.

[dsraven]

pics please. you must have a cross member welded in then the installer used original MII control arms to keep the cost down. still, need pics to see how it is set up and how much room you have to work with.

[mikebte]

Originally Posted by Roarinrat

The front clip was already fitted when I got the truck.
It looks like stock Ford, being all pressed steel (I.e. no aftermarket tube wishbones).
I’m unsure how a sway bar would attach to the lower suspension arm.

For sure post some photos. Some of them have welded areas on the control arms for a sway bar to bolt.on, some do not. You can have purchase welded on or you can make up your own design but it will very on what you have on the truck. Keep in mind you have more room than a mustang and can probably bolt on a better sway bar set up.

[Roarinrat]

Hi all
Pictures attached (I hope).
They are of the drivers side.
One is from the front quarter, showing the steering rack mounted on the front of the Mustang II cross member.
The second is a rear view, showing the bottom control arm, with the strut rod mounted to it.
I apologize for the lack of clarity of the pics, but the whole of the assembly is painted flat black.

Steve

[Rickysnickers]

I tried to rotate the photo, but I failed. Sorry

[mr48chev]

Boy Howdy you guys are making the old fat guy work this morning.

First shot is the 76 MII stock front cross member I have out in the stash (genuine V6 fastback Mach I piece)
Second is the lower A arm with the arrow pointing to the holes that mount the strut rod that you showed in your second photo.

Third is the strut rod with the sway bar link (and sway bar) attached to it.

fourth is a bad shot of the whole sway bar and strut rod showing all the dips and bends in the original that you don't need. At least not the one in the middle to clear the MII oil pan.

Last, I took the liberty of flipping your front end over so we could see what it looks like. Those are actually real solid front ends as the upper ball joint is the same as most Big Fords and everything was overbuilt a bit. They were extremely popular in kit cars here in the states in the 80's and a lot of Cobra kit cars built in the 80's have them.

Measure from strut rod bolt to strut rod bolt and that should be the length of sway bar you need.

[mr48chev]

Dang you got it flipped when I was loading photos and typing.

That curve in the stock one loops the sway bar over the rack on the MII

Reading this a stock MII sway bar measures 43-1/2 inches eye to eye.
https://chassisengineeringinc.com/pr...h-stock-width/

You might snoop the UK performance offerings as although the measurements may be off this one looks similar https://mossmotors.com/sway-bar-kit-front-7-8 There may be a car that has real close to the same width sway bar that you can use or adapt without a lot of issues.

[nikwho]

The OP stated that he almost wanted a front sway bar. I think that its wise to fit an appropriate sway bar in the front and rear, as opposed to trying to ask the front sway bar to effectively control the entire chassis. Seems to me (just in my head, at the moment) that adding a rear would make the front sway bar feel heavier, as it would not be fighting chassis roll front and rear, effectively. So, what rear sway bar are guys also running? I'm pretty happy with my current setup (factory Camaro front anti-sway bar), but wanted to upgrade the front with aftermarket, as well as add a rear anti-sway bar. What rear sway bars are you guys running, and what front? I know that they need to compliment one another, but I have no idea. Thinking now, I will probably go search to see if Rob from No-Limit has written anything up on this. I'm hopeful to finally run my truck at an autocross event or two this year, so I'm intrigued by this topic.

[mr48chev]

I'd say that the key there is matched sway bars.

The Camaro/Trans Am rear sway bar is an easy install on an AD or TF truck

Being in the UK he is in the land where handling improvements are as important as performance improvements and maybe more so. He may be able to find something that is easy to adapt that doesn't take a big shipping cost plus import duties.

[dsraven]

mr48, you said what I was gonna say about the mount on the strut rod. no use changing what was already engineered. the trick will be to find one and try it on. for the rear possibly an s10 sway bar would fit too, whatever is cheap and easy (did I just say that)
s10 specs
https://www.s10forum.com/threads/swa...mation.514951/

a pic of what it looks like. easy to bolt up using muffler style clamps or the original clamps that bolt around the axle tube.
https://offerup.com/item/detail/470525981/

[mr48chev]

Finding a rear sway bar for an S-10 in the UK might be the challenge of the week. On the other hand I'd bet that there are some similar size indigenous to the UK rigs that have the pieces that will work great.

There should be some sway bars that will work that are close to 43-1/2 inches / 110.49 cm that are simple and can be mounted to clear the tie rods. I don't assume that anyone has the ability to visualize when it comes to these things. Well maybe you, Joedoe and a few others.

I'm not sure what the width is on this Land Rover discovery sway bar but I'd bet that with the proper links and a few tools you could have it mounted under his truck in short order. The same rigs have a rear sway bar that is similar to an S-10

Thin is that I often think out of the box, in that what will work great that a guy doesn't have to throw a ton of money at. If Rorinrat can measure his to see if it is stock MII width or widened and have a good idea of the + /- he can deal with in width and what he needs to clear the tie rods he can grab his handy tape measure and head to the purveyor of used parts who may have something that will fit. Hopefully with a matching rear bar.

[Roarinrat]

Hi
Thanks for all your contributions, especially mr48chev for the pictures.
I’m going to find a pair of bars, starting at 1” diameter, for front and rear.
I’ll make up a bracket to pic up the strut rod bolt as the factory setup.
Regards to all

[MiraclePieCo]

Originally Posted by Roarinrat

I’m going to find a pair of bars, starting at 1” diameter, for front and rear. I’ll make up a bracket to pic up the strut rod bolt as the factory setup.

I have the same front end as you and also want to add a sway bar, so please let us know what you come up with.

[Roarinrat]

Will do.....

[Driver_WT]

Originally Posted by Roarinrat

Hi
Thanks for all your contributions, especially mr48chev for the pictures.
I’m going to find a pair of bars, starting at 1” diameter, for front and rear.
I’ll make up a bracket to pic up the strut rod bolt as the factory setup.
Regards to all

Generally the rear bar would be a little smaller diameter. Stock S10 had 25 mm (1") front sway bar and no rear sway bar. Blazer had a 33 mm front bar and 25 mm rear bar (as examples).

A little more info on sway bars if you are interested https://www.hotrod.com/articles/how-...and-sway-bars/

[mr48chev]

Just about all vehicles with front and rear sway (stabilizer) run a smaller diameter bar on the rear. if you are looking under UK donors I'd suggest looking for a Matched set from the same vehicle.

The one I showed The Chassis engineering link to in post 11 is nice but shipping and other fees will double the cost most likely.

[skip99]

Ihave the original a arms also, this worked great!

[Roarinrat]

Thanks for the advice on the differing bar sizes front and rear.

Skipp99, after looking the picture you kindly sent, I presume that the sway bar tie rod bolts to the lower arm via an extra dedicated hole, rather than using a strut rod mounting bolt.
I wasn’t keen on drilling holes in the lower arm for fear of weakening the part.
I looked at your build pages - nice work!

[jwhotrod]

Paul Horton welders series has universal cut to fit sway bars. www.welderseries.com
Ive used them in streetrods for a long time good stuff and great people.