C H E A P front sway bar for 1970-72 B body, ALL E body and 73-76 A body

[Kern Dog]

I love a good deal.  I also love making something work on a car that wasn't designed for it. This sway bar cost me LESS than $100 to buy, modify and install.
The following here is a brief tutorial on how to make a front sway bar from a truck fit a 1970-1972 B body, the 70-74 E bodies and even a 1973-1976 A body models.
New sway bars are available for these cars but sometimes they are out of stock or as is the case lately, they are so behind with back orders, who knows when you'll get what you ordered
In 2000 just after I bought my first Charger, I was changing the oil in my '84 Chevy truck and I noticed that the front sway bar was similar in shape to the one in the Charger. The stock Charger bar is just shy of one inch in size, something like 15/16". The 1973-1990 Chevrolet 2 wheel drive ONE ton models came with a beefy 1 1/4" front sway bar. The trucks could be Long bed regular cab, long bed crew cab, flat bed regular cab or flat bed crew cab. These trucks look like this:

[Kern Dog]

The reason for this little project is a little about availability and a little about saving money.
These Chevy/GMC trucks are not super common but they do show up at the junkyards occasionally. The  designation is C-30 for 2wd (C) and One ton (30).
The 3/4 ton C-20 trucks sometimes have the large 1 1/4" front sway bar but most that I have seen have the 1 1/16". That one is still a great choice for a light A body and all modifications to make the 1 1/4" bar work also apply to the smaller 1 1/16" bar

Note the way that the ends of the bar turn back towards center. Those get cut off.

[Kern Dog]

The straight part of the bar fits through the K member in the aforementioned models. It is tight but it does fit K members that are not pushed in, bent or damaged. IF it rubs, thin shims can be slipped in for clearance.

First up, with the car resting on the tires or with jack stands under the LCAs, I measured the distance between the sway bar end link brackets.
I came up with 39"

[Kern Dog]

The ends of the bar were cut off using a steel cutting disc in a Skilsaw. A chop saw will work but the one I had was taking too long.

[Kern Dog]

Notice the difference in size. Top bar is a GM 1 1/4", gold bar in the middle is an Addco 1 1/8", the stock sway bar is on the bottom.

[Kern Dog]

Including this one,  I have made 7 of these bars. For my red Charger as well as this one, I made aluminum brackets to mount it to the K member.

[Kern Dog]

The "D" bushings are from Energy Suspension and have Zerk fittings to cut down on squeaking.

Test fit to make sure the ends will rest right below the LCA end link brackets. Good to go!

[Kern Dog]

This site sucks ass to post pictures. This thread could have been done in half the time if the stupid Harbor Freight forum software didn't throw error message about file sizes or posting the same fucking pictures twice.

[Kern Dog]

There is a little bit of fore/aft movement in the "D" bushing mount brackets. The more rearward, the shorter the sway bar "lever-arms" need to be. The shorter they are, the stiffer they will be....Basic principle of leverage at play here.  Your clearance in the K member may dictate actual final placement.
I did have to cut a little more off each end to get them to rest directly below the LCA brackets. Once the sway bar was cut to size, I used  a flapper disc on a 4" grinder to taper the ends for the end links.

I tried to drill through the bar but my bits barely got 1/4" in before giving up. I took the bar to my local machine shop and for $30, he drilled 2 holes 7/16" in diameter. I took a Dremel and bit to the holes to taper the openings. THis will allow articulation without putting the end link bolts in a bind.

[Kern Dog]

Using some bolts and end link stuff I already had, the bar was bolted in and tightened up.

[Kern Dog]

During regular driving, the bar does shift left to right a slight amount.
Cost for the bar at a self serve junkyard: 41$. Frame mount "D" bushings: $26. Machine shop to drill holes: $30 for a total of $96.


Firm Feel sway bar :

'70-'72 Front: 1-1/8" DIA.
SBFB83......$350. ADD $20 for 1 1/4" diameter.

Plus tax, plus shipping.


Hotchkis Sport Suspension Anti-Sway Bar Kits  $287.99

Sway Bar, Black, Steel, Front 1 1/4 in. Diameters, Mopar, Kit
See More Specifications | Check the Fit

Not in Stock at Sparks, NV
Estimated Pickup Date: 7/19/2021
Estimated Warehouse Ship Date: 7/16/2021



Hellwig Anti-Sway Bars  $218.99

Sway Bar, Gray Hammertone, Chromoly Steel, Front, 1 1/8 in. Diameter, Dodge, Plymouth, B/E-Body, Kit
See More Specifications | Check the Fit

Not in Stock at Sparks, NV
Estimated Pickup Date: 7/13/2021
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Even the cheapest one, the Hellwig....isn't even available for 2 months and it is an 1 1/8" unit. They sell a 1 1/4" tubular bar that is supposed to be equally effective as the 1 1/8" solid.

[odcics2]

Nice work!   

[b5blue]

This site sucks ass to post pictures. This thread could have been done in half the time if the stupid Harbor Freight forum software didn't throw error message about file sizes or posting the same fucking pictures twice.

Kinda funny you spend weeks cobbling truck crap to fit but bitch about posting pics....

[Kern Dog]

? ? ?

[Kern Dog]

This site sucks ass to post pictures. This thread could have been done in half the time if the stupid Harbor Freight forum software didn't throw error message about file sizes or posting the same fucking pictures twice.

Kinda funny you spend weeks cobbling truck crap to fit but bitch about posting pics....

What an rude type of response.
This didn't take weeks but it did take a little bit of skill. I didn't post about it to brag but to offer a cheaper solution for the forum members.
What have you ever done to help anyone?

[b5blue]

  Okay I'll help you. Go to Big Lots and get a 15.00 1 Meg. camera and use it instead of tiring to pound high res 32 Meg pics of your crap into this site's server. Insulting the free forum because you do not understand Troy PAYS for everything, every aspect of equipment and power/service and asks nothing in return is incredibly rude and offensive. Your constant over the top, fowl mouth crass remarks prevent others from possibly sharing things at this site with children (Like my grandson.) who may be the next generation to care for Chargers.
  Whatever is wrong in your world right now I hope you get help or figure it out, I was laughing WITH you not AT you Dog.     

[Kern Dog]

When a crusty old curmudgeon jumps into a tech thread to insult someone, it reflects poorly on HIM, not me.
The picture posting program here sucks. It is a fact. Many people have complained about it. I'm aware of the size limitations. Every other site that I have posted pictures either automatically resizes pictures or has a higher limit. Okay, that is fine. The real problem is that any time you want to post a picture a second or third time, this site requires you to change the name of the "file" Why? What possible reason is there for that? If you are a lurker or a guy that never posts a picture, you'll never encounter the problem....But then again, you'll never be helpful to others either.
Sometimes a specific picture is needed to showcase something again or in a different sub-forum. Who remembers every picture that they post? Getting repeated error messages when all one is trying to do is share a repair or an upgrade is a slap in the face to the members.
Yeah, I'm aware that the forum is free. Most of the time it is a great place. Other times, it is worth the price of admission.