What swaybar to use after A-body disc brake swap on my '68

[palindromes]

Hey guys - Doing some front-end work on my '68 & have a question...

I'm in the process of doing the 'mopar action' disc brake swap from a '76 valiant.   I've quickly noticed why they say you'll have swaybar interferance with the caliper (it's actually the upper link bolts that hit the back of the caliper - pic below).   It says to simply go with an aftermarket swaybar to remedy the problem.

Anybody ever done this swap (without switching the right & left knuckles so the calipers are in the rear) with an aftermarket swaybar?   I was wondering exactly what swaybar you can use & whether you had to cut off the stock mounting tab to get it to work.   I could just switch the knuckles & deal with the hose routing(& having to remove the damn thing again), but would prefer to have the calipers facing forward if it's a simple aftermarket swaybar installation.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

[blue69]

Something like this swaybar would work good for a front mount. I didn't see one in the summit webpage for a charger that didn't use factory mounting brackets. http://www.carreview.com/projectdart^swaybarscrx.aspx . You might have to remove your factory brackets though. I rear mounted my calipers to avoid that problem. You have slider caliper brackets so you can use 80 volare calipers which locates the bleeder screw at the top for a rear mount. I don't recommend using 80 volare hoses. They hit the wheel with my reproduction magnum 500's. I ended taking Black Sheep from moparts.com advice and buying a set of stainless hoses to fix that problem. The stainless hose route costs about half as much as getting a new swaybar so if there is anything wrong with your old swaybar a new one is the way to go.

[Chryco Psycho]

you could add the mounts for the 70 up sway bar to the lower control arms

[THE CHARGER PUNK]

we have all the stuff to do that swap to but dads sellin the 68 now-MATT

[palindromes]

From what I'm hearing here & in other posts, it's going to be less of a headache (and $$) dealing with hose re-routing than the swaybar.  When I got home from work, I went ahead & pulled the knuckle back off and will switch sides so the calipers face the rear.  Sounds like the brake line is really the only issue caused by switching them.

Thanks!

[blue69]

Heres a summit parts list for the stainless hose.   AER-FBM2939   STEEL #3 FLARE/7/16 BANJO
RUS-641291   ENDURA 3/8 X24#3 FE BRAKE FIT  
RUS-655022   ENDURA 12"90DEG #3 TO STRAIT#3

It took some moving around to get them where I want them but they work great.

[bull]

From what I understand pretty much any after market sway bar will work. Most of them bend inward from the front brackets and then come back out to connect at the back. I assume that bend is there in part to accomodate caliper swing. Factory sway bars just have the 45-degree bend at the front brackets and then go straight back to the rear brackets. If you get one with the extra bend it will clear.

This one by Firm Feel doesn't appear to have the extra bend but maybe the links in the rear are longer. Don't know. Anyway, they say it will clear the front-mounted clipers:

[palindromes]

Bull-  Thanks for the info!  The pic helps a lot too.  Looks like they add a little bracket onto the link with a bolt going perpendicular to it and then that bolt just goes through the lower shock mount.  You'd think they'd just sell that little bracket along with slightly shorter links so you could use the stock swaybar...I'm sure there's some kind of problem with doing that.

My original swaybar is in good condition, so I'm still leaning towards switching right & left sides as the easiest/cheapest route.  You guys have given me some good advice on getting the hoses figured out with that route, so hopefully I'm set.  Thanks again!

[bull]

Seems to me that most of the disc brake swaps are very forgiving when it comes to fudging on the "rules" made by those who invented them. There's an ongoing debate about whether the Volarie spindles will screw up the geometry of the front suspension because the center point is taller but I know there are guys who have done it without any problems. Then there's the debate on whether or not you can swap the A-body spindles side to side without screwing something up but there are probably more guys who have done that one without any problems. These cars obviously don't have the exacting tolerances of a space shuttle so if a guy doesn't want to lay out $200 for a sway bar he can just swap the spindles and go.

By the way, if you want a low-cost alternative, I used a new pair of Tru-Stop brake hoses for the 1980 Dodge St. Regis on my calipers (that have been swapped side to side) from Napa and they look like they will work fine. Napa also carries United but they're almost twice the price for some reason. I think they're made by the same company. They're both about 15" long.

Tru-Stop Brake Parts Brake Hose - Front
part no. UTS4136828  $ 14.49/ea.

NAPA United Brake Hose - Front
part no. UBP36828  $ 26.99/ea.