sway bar questions

[jocko]

okay, technically, an "anti-sway bar" question, but you know what I mean.
I'm curious how many folks have installed them (front and/or back) and, if so, how much of a decrease in body roll did you see when cornering. Don't get me wrong, I'm not autocrossing my truck, but getting a little tired of rolling over like a pumpkin balanced on a pinhead whenever I go around a corner. Appreciate anyone's thoughts/comments/experience with these and how much they did or did not help out. I'm not sure it's worth it, but wondering... thanks!

[hd74]

my guess it cut it down by half

[chevy2man63]

On my 69 i did this just a week ago used a 1 1/4 bar off a 79 c30 i found in junkyard. I was very happy with the results it cut body roll in half i would guess. So IMHO it was worth every single penny!

[TopFuel1966]

I think you'll appreciate the tremendous improvement.

[newbe351]

I initially went with a "cheaper" unit with the end links (from Brothers I think), but had to replace it when I bought new rims. The 4 1/2 inch back spacing on the new rims would rub the tires on the sway bar in hard cornering. I got a 1 1/4" dia stock mount sway bar from Early Classic Enterprise. That cleared everything up and it's one beefy bar. The end link type mount further out on the control arm than the stock mounting location.

[pdxhall]

It's not necessary to buy new. There are plenty of good ones in the junk yards. Just buy some new bushings and you're set.

[jocko]

thanks all, great info - i think it's unanimous that your bars made a worthwhile improvement in handling, or at the very least, decreasing body roll, and tha'ts what I'm lookin for. Will figure out if want to go new/old/whatever - and Newbe, thanks for the comments on the type, that's good info I wouldn't have thought of.

[protrash64]

I added one to all three of my trucks. After the first two, I put a 67-72 on my '66 for el cheepo!!! Drove my 'burb without one when I first bought it and it cornered like a waterbed. Worth the effort IMO.

[markeb01]

I agree. I have a stock 75 sway bar that came with the donor crossmember. It cuts cornering roll at least by half (compared to no anti-roll bar) in my opinion. Before the front suspension swap, I previously added a Mustang II aftermarket sway bar to the original torsion bar suspension and it reduced roll just as effectively.

Originally Posted by protrash64

and it cornered like a waterbed.

That hilarious. Both descriptive and accurate!

[jocko]

What about a REAR sway bar - anyone done that in addition to the front one? I've noticed not everyone offers them, but some places do. Checked out ECEs stuff and I likey, but noticed they have no rears. LMC does though. My gut feeling is it may not be worth the extra $ for the rear because I'm not making a road racer, just tired of wallowing around the cab every time I turn - so front bar will probably be more than enough.

Also, on the front bars, the ECE article Woogeroo posted and some of the other stuff I read - it looks like there are no metal end links to deal with for these trucks like there are for some other trucks - i.e. I've heard a few folks mention them... Looked to me like the sway bar setups offered by vendors anyway simply bolt on and the bar ends slip inside the urethane bushings. For folks that mentioned end links - is that just because they came on the donor bar they picked up? Just cuirous. Install looks pretty simple - Tx Firefighter's article was helpful. I've never, ever had a sway bar in my life... This must be telling me something....

Also, I'm kind of an oddball here in that my truck is not lowered, and I'll probably keep it that way - so I'll need to get the taller stock height brackets. Was wondering if the lowered brackets would work on a stock height truck (i.e. to get the bar up out of sight more) but then it seems the bar ends would be at too much of a steep angle to properly insert into the end bushings... So - I think I'll just get stock height brackets.

[m455sx]

mine has a rear sway bar, but was installed before i got it.

[jocko]

well, could you remove it then and tell me how much worse your ride gets?


JUST kidding... Actually, I would love to see a pic if possible - I'm not familiar with how a rear one mounts.

[jocko]

Here's a follow-on about the front bar...

I have seen two separate mounting (to the A-arm) techniques:

For example (sorry I can't post a pic, it's apparently copyrighted at CPP...), the first one uses the little end links to connect to the control arm (somehow) - does it just bolt into one of the bolt holes on the control arm where the factory mount would have been?
http://www.classicperform.com/Store/...ck/6372SBK.htm

Here's the ECE approach in the picture - they use bushings mounted to the control arm, just like a factory setup (and this makes more sense to me).

Please look at the link, then look at the picture - 2 different methods of attaching to the control arm for the ends of the bar - which is better, either? If using the CPP bar, where/how does it attach to the control arm? Single bolt hole of the 2 available? yada yada.

Interested in your all's opinions.

[TopFuel1966]

The ECE bar is the superior setup. I have this one on my truck and it tracks like a slot car.

[jocko]

excellent, thank you

[protrash64]

I have the ECE bar on my '64SB. I used the CPP bar on my 'burb and it has endlinks. The type that use the bushings are more a factory style. As I mentioned before I used a factory bar on the '66 and picked up the bushings at Autozone for 20 bucks. Just need to know the diameter of the bar.

[losthope]

For for the rear I used a rear sway bar from a camero theres two diffren ways I mounted it in my build thread got it cheap at pick n pull
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[Rich 5150 69]

Her ya go Jocko

[blackedoutharley]

Originally Posted by jocko

What about a REAR sway bar -

I used to have an 8' cabover camper on my '65C10.. an old one too like '71 vintage so it was real heavy.

Getting on the freeway from a cloverleaf onramp felt like the mirrors were going to scrape the pavement!

Replaced the rear springs with Moog Cargo coils... big improvement but not quite enough. Installed the Hellwig rear sway bar and it was like night and day!

So much of an improvement I ended up adding a front bar from a 70's C-20.

Don't forget that shocks also play a role in how it all works too.

For me the money was well spent!

Poor picture of front:

[TR65]

Jocko,

Like everyone has said. The front anti-roll bar makes makes a huge difference. I was amazed. I have a rear bar but I haven't installed it yet. I am in the middle of putting an air suspension on the rear and plan to add the roll bar at the same time. Here is how I did mine.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=322228

I later had to add a spacer to the frame brackets when I converted to power steering.

TR

[jocko]

Awesome info gents, thanks very much for the pics and the help. I'll be getting one of these (the front at the very least), but I may even get the rear one too based on blackedoutharley's resounding endorsement! Thanks again.

[A.T. RockDriller]

Originally Posted by jocko

Awesome info gents, thanks very much for the pics and the help. I'll be getting one of these (the front at the very least), but I may even get the rear one too based on blackedoutharley's resounding endorsement! Thanks again.

jocko..

It looks like ya made up your mind.
It's really one of the key mods you can easily "bolt on "....in an afternoon.....and benefit immediately.

My truck being a bit unique....and quite heavy at about 7K lbs with a high ctr of gravity, along with the added pounds for the GMC V-6 on a K1000 chassis....certainly makes a great candidate for sway control.
Also, having the front leafs, made mine an easy one, as all I had to do was find the front leaf spring caps, with the sway-bar included....swap for OE caps.....and secure the straps to the frame.
Instant happy face.

The only thing I could offer as far as tips...would be, depending on your expectations, make sure you don't go too heavy duty....as they come in multiple sizes for different apps.

Mine's perfect for me, but I know it would be really stiff for a 1/2 ton 2WD with a 250ci engine.

[jocko]

good info AT, thank you. Rather than scrounge the local yards - I did order a bar. It's 1.25", which might be a bit stiff, so hopefully I didn't cornhole myself.
Yep, I can't imagine trying to keep a truck like yours from wallowing around on turns, that thing is really heavy, I had no idea it'd be that much!

I'm still trying to decide if I need a rear bar -some companies don't sell one of those, so I'm gonna see how I like the front one solo and then decide. Hopefully I didn't go so stiff that now my hubcaps pop off on hard turns!! Either way, it's gonna be an improvement, my truck rolls around like it's trying to balance on a bowling ball. Or like a "waterbed" in turns as protrash said

[SIR]

IF you choose to go with a used set up get graphite bushings...NO "CREAKING NOISE"

[hd74]

i got my rear sway bar from brothers on sale,but i do have rear leaf springs