What brand of sway bar to use?

[stoly]

What brand of front sway bar are you guys useing and what size. I am going to order one but want some feedback before I do. Thanks Stoly

[chevman57]

I believe mine are Addco and measure 7/8". It made a huge improvement in the driving of my 57. I do have front and rear on mine, but fronts only make a big difference.
Terry

[belairrudy]

Here is the one I put on my '57 and I am very satisfied with it.

http://www.classicperform.com/Store/...ars/CP594U.htm

[daves55]

I bought a CPP sway bar and plan on installing it this spring once it warms up enough to work out in the garage.

Dave

[carls 56]

put 3/4 addco on mine. best imprvement you can do. noticed cpp sells 1in front sway bar for $130, looks like a good price.

[carls 56]

here's a pic

[bigbopper]

Originally Posted by stoly

What brand of front sway bar are you guys useing and what size. I am going to order one but want some feedback before I do. Thanks Stoly

Hello, The most important thing in purchasing your sway bar is there have been some threads on here that have talked about tires rubbing when using a 2" dropped spindle. If you are not using the 2" dropped spindle the addco seems to be the best buy. The main thing is, this is the most important way to improve ride and handling for the money. I really like adding the rear bar too in combination with a rear shock bar off the frame you will be quite surprised the way you old 55,56,57 rides and handles.
As far as the front goes I am a "Old Hot Rodder" and have been building these cars since before there was all these parts available. So On my BBC 57 150, I went to the junk yard with a measuring tape and bought me a 1976 Z-28 Camaro bar for $20-$25 stopped by the Auto Zone store and bought a rebuild kit out of polyurethane that included new bolts for $12 and used a piece of angle iron to attach to Lower A-frame and for less than $40 have a very HD 1.25" sway bar that looks like it was made for my car and then I can say "I did it myself". And yes I have 2" dropped spindles.
Hope this helps, and maybe gives you some ideas.
Mike

[Rick_L]

Any sway bar is a good thing.

The stock 3/4" bar is sold as a repro, and it's the least stiffness out there.

The Addco bars are a bit bigger, kind of a middle deal.

Hellwig has some 1-1/8" and 1-1/4" bars that are pretty stiff but still not outrageous. There's also some tubular 1-1/4" bars that will be pretty stiff but save weight.

The stiffer you make the front bar, the more you may have a need for a rear bar. The rear bar is all about balance, it can give you the driving feel you want by matching the rear stiffness to the front. If you've moved the springs in with a pocket kit, you're more likely to need a rear bar because moving the springs in increases body roll.

Hellwig has adjustable rear bars, as well as bars for cars with the springs moved in with a pocket kit.

[MightyMouse57]

I'm going to go with front and rear Hellwigs when I get to that stage of the game.

[frogman21758]

I went with Hotchkis sport suspension.....based on an article written in Classic Chevy magazine. The suspension is unbelievably tight now...absolutely no body roll and no boat feeling going down the road. Takes turns super flat.