C H E A P Front sway bar idea: This is what I did.

[Kern Dog]

I had an 1 1/8" Addco front sway bar in my 70 Charger, but I wanted more roll control. The only vendor that offers a 1 1/4" front sway bar is Firm Feel, but the price was a little more that I wanted to pay. Besides, I like doing things on the cheap when I can.
I bought a 1 1/4" front sway bar from the junkyard. It came from a mid 80s GM 1 ton 2wd truck. I laid the Addco bar atop the GM bar and cut off the excess material. After tapering the ends and drilling the mounting holes, Its in the car. I spent $33 for the bar, $20 for the bushings and $17 worth of beer to a guy that drilled the holes. $70 for this upgrade versus $300+ for the new one. Pretty cool!

[Fred]

We need pics.........

[68X426]

Did you get the roll control you wanted - or - does it handle like a 1 ton GM ?

[tan top]

     

[Cooter]

Working on a rear sway bar from a Ford Exploder for the Challenger as well...VERY nice, but like mentioned, I need pics.

[Ghoste]

Yes, yes, pics and real life useage report.

[elacruze]

Did you get the roll control you wanted - or - does it handle like a 1 ton GM ?

Have you ever driven a 1 ton GM *without* that sway bar? I have and it's a bit scary. 

Photos!

[c00nhunterjoe]

Working on a rear sway bar from a Ford Exploder for the Challenger as well...VERY nice, but like mentioned, I need pics.

And I need pics of this too

[Kern Dog]

Here we go....
The bottom bar is a stock 74 Duster unit. it measures 7/8" and is similar to the stock sized 70 Charger bar.
The middle is the Addco bar. it measures 1 1/8"
The top one is another GM bar that I am using in a Duster. It measures 1 1/4"

[Kern Dog]

Sorry, I didn't take any pictures of the GM bar before modifying it. THIS shot sorta shows how it was formed before any work.

[Kern Dog]

I took a DeWalt grinder to the ends to taper them, then had  a shop drill the 7/16" holes. I radiused them at home with a deburring bit in the drill.

[Kern Dog]

Fitting the thicker bar through the K member wasn't easy. I had to have the car up pretty high. Once in there, it fit nicely.

[Kern Dog]

I used 1/2" thick aluminum plate stock for mounting brackets at the k member. The Zerk fittings should reduce the squeaks.

[Kern Dog]

Another shot.

[Kern Dog]

Last one.

[mpdlawdog]

 ......nice work...

[ChargerST]

Very clever! how did u find out that the GM would fit?

[tan top]

nice Work   

[68X426]

That rocks. 

[Kern Dog]

Very clever! how did u find out that the GM would fit?

I HAD an '84 Chevy truck from 1993 to 2002. It was a half ton with a 1 ton sway bar and a trailer package rear bar. I was changing the oil and noticed that the shape looked similar to the one in my Charger. I took measurements and went from there.
I made one of these for my car several years ago. My efforts back then were a little crude though.  I cut one side a little shorter than the other, and I figured that it might result in some inconsistancies in the slalom. This one measures 10 1/2" on each side.

[Fred]

Two thumbs up. 

[Kern Dog]

Thanks guys!
The install is complete and I'm happy to report that the car feels great. I installed the 7/8" rear sway bar with poly bushings too. The rear stays planted in the turns and simply follows the front with no drama... unless I lean on the loud pedal. It corners flat and neutral just as I had hoped. I don't know what the cars limits are at this point. When a car UNDERsteers, you simply back off of the throttle until the front grip improves. With OVERsteer, you lift the throttle and coast or stay in it and countersteer. With a neutrally balanced car, I suppose you keep incresing speed until you run out of road?? Who knows. I don't have the stones to push the car like that on a public street. I'll have to run it on a closed course and report back. Thanks again, Greg.

[Big Sugar]

Wow.   Pretty creative.       



Ron

[Ghoste]

Good work! 

[Steve P.]

Did you get the roll control you wanted - or - does it handle like a 1 ton GM ?

My bet is that the ride just became very tough.. Car -VS- truck is a big difference. Not just weight, but also center of gravity control.. That may sound odd, but it has to do with heat treatment... I watched a show on it long ago.. Something that looks so simple actually has a shitload of science in it...

Have you driven it on a crappy road yet or just smooth?

Looks great under there. Nice job....

[Kern Dog]

Keep in mind that it is only 1/8" different from before. The ride is slightly firmer on rough roads, but the steering response is incredible! You turn the wheel and the car responds with no body roll. The rear end stays planted unless I lean on the loud pedal a bit. No drawbacks and minimal investment!

[Dino]

Thanks guys!
The install is complete and I'm happy to report that the car feels great. I installed the 7/8" rear sway bar with poly bushings too. The rear stays planted in the turns and simply follows the front with no drama... unless I lean on the loud pedal. It corners flat and neutral just as I had hoped. I don't know what the cars limits are at this point. When a car UNDERsteers, you simply back off of the throttle until the front grip improves. With OVERsteer, you lift the throttle and coast or stay in it and countersteer. With a neutrally balanced car, I suppose you keep incresing speed until you run out of road?? Who knows. I don't have the stones to push the car like that on a public street. I'll have to run it on a closed course and report back. Thanks again, Greg.

I'll run it for ya!  Unfortunately I have some recent experience being an idiot on public roads.

I have a 1 1/8" front sway bar installed and have a 7/8" rear sway bar in the box.  Do you feel that my car would benefit from having that bar installed?  I was told by a member here that it would make the car understeer.

[Kern Dog]

Probably just the opposite. I HAD that setup in my car, but it made the car want to spin out in the curves. I had to be real careful to not come in too hot. Luckily I'm pretty adept at dirt tracking cars off road, Bo Duke style! I never spun the car, but I sure have had to keep awake.
The 70 model front bar runs through the K member and uses shorter levers, making the bar more effective than the 66-69 models. You, having a 69 car, would REALLY see a greater chance of OVERsteer if you use the 7/8" rear bar. In simplest terms, you'd be making the rear suspension far more roll resistant than the front. For you to achieve a similar front to rear roll resistance as mine, you'd need a 1 3/8" front bar along with your 7/8" rear bar. The larger front bar is necessary to make up for the longer lever arms on the 66-69 sway bars.

[Mike DC]

Yep, the end of the car with more roll stiffness is actually the one that breaks loose more easily.

The car will ultimately handle better with more roll stiffness than stock.  But you have to stiffen it equally on both ends at once if you want to preserve the characteristics.

The leafs & torsion bars will affect it too, although to less of an extent than the swaybars.  The roll resistance of each end of the car is the sum total of the swaybar and the wheel springs on that end.  

[Dino]

I'm probably mistaken and was told oversteer instead of understeer.  I guess I will leave it off then, it's not like I'll be racing the car but at times I do like to take a turn a bit more sporty.  I guess the car handles just fine as it is and that's with bad shocks and skinny 14" wheels.  I have new shocks to go on and will wait until I have new wheels and tires before I decide to do with the rear bar.

Thanks guys