Chevy Tri Five Forum banner
Status
Not open for further replies.

Made my own front sway bar!

67K views 22 replies 14 participants last post by  maddogs1965 
#1 · (Edited)
So since i have been reading all the great re-views on Tri 5er's who have installed a sway bar on the front of there car, i figured it was time to install one on my 57. I really figured out i needed one after i whent over Donner Summit on my way to Don's house in Sacramento to give him a hand with firing up his new 350 in his 57. Or should i say drink all his beer!!

So i started to research all the sway bars out there, and i just couldnt see spending 150 to 225 dollars bye the time I had it shipped to my door step. Nothing against the companies out there that make the kits, i know they have R&D time, material, and employees, but i just wasnt going to spend that kind of cash for something i could fabb myself, plus i am a firm beleiver in "its a what you make, not what you buy" I guess that comes from my 20 years of rock crawling background. Anybody can go out and bye bolt on stuff for there new Jeep Rubicon and take it to the trails, but my satisfaction is saying, "I fabbed and designed that myself"

So since mother nature decided to ruin my 3 day weeknd bye raining for the next 5 days and not being able to enjoy the car show in Quincy, i decided if i couldnt drive and enjoy my new found love, i would spend the weeknd working on her.

So Friday morning i whent down to the Reno Pick-N-Pull, and spent 2 hours crawling underneath every mid and full size Chevy car they had measuring and trying to find to correct sway bar for the 57. As it turns out, the frame width in the front of a 57 is 33"s from center to center. Ofcourse every car they had was between 25 and 31"s wide. I did go look at a couple of Ford Lincoln's, and imagine that, there frame width was exactly 33"s wide. But there sway bar had a weird hoop in it down bye the lower A arm, and i was afraid it would hit the bottom of the frame, but more importantley, you couldnt pay me enough money in the world to install a Ford product on my :bowtier: :sign0020:

So i decided i would split the differnce on the width of the sway bar were it actually bolted to the frame, and just fabb my own mounting brackets on the inside of the frame rail to bolt the sway bar too. So i ended up grabbing a sway bar off of a 89 Camero, it was 29"s wide, and would work perfect with my own mounting brackets. I did look at a sway bar on a 90 Camero that was a RS model, but the sway bar itself was atleast 2"s thick, and i thought it would be to big and make my 57 ride like a dump truck, the one i grabbed is a 1" & 1/8th thick. The RS edition might be good for the guys running the B.B.'s

So not counting my time looking for the propper sway bar, I maybe have 12 hours in fabbing the brackets and mounting the sway bar under my 57, and even better, i only paid 30 bucks for the sway bar, and 20 bucks for the new bushing kit from Napa that im still waiting for.

So since i installed the sway bar, i havent been able to drive the car because its pouring rain, but i could put on hand on the fender and make the car bounce up and down like it had hydraulics in it before the install:sign0020: but know it takes both hands and half of my body to make the suspencion move up and down. Once the rain goes away and the roads dry up, i will take her for a little rip on the Hwy and see how she does.

So the next project, replace all the worn out leif spring bushings and shackles with the new set i have sitting on my work bench, and remove the rear shock's from the trunk body and mount them on the frame like they should be before they rip out the other side!!


Passneger side sway bar mount to the frame. I used 1/4" thick metal, so i dont see any of the brackets or tabs bending anytime soon.


Drivers side sway bar mount.


mounting bracket for the sway bar to the lower A arm.


Sway bar finshed and installed. The bend in the center of the sway bar matches the contour of the car pretty good, It almost makes it look like it came from the factory installed.

 
See less See more
5
#2 · (Edited)
Good install article Mad Dog.....I like the way you think outside of the box....Thanks for passing it on to the rest of us do-it-yourselfers.

Oh...BTW....If you're looking for your hat, you left it under the car:)
 
#4 ·
So i ended up grabbing a sway bar off of a 89 Camero, it was 29"s wide, and would work perfect with my own mounting brackets. I did look at a sway bar on a 90 Camero that was a RS model, but the sway bar itself was atleast 2"s thick, and i thought it would be to big and make my 57 ride like a dump truck, the one i grabbed is a 1" & 1/8th thick. The RS edition might be good for the guys running the B.B.'s
Hi Maddog, I see that you used a sway bar from an '89 Camaro. We have a local guy selling a used sway bar off an '87-89 Camaro for NZ$30, which is a bargain. However the picture looks different to yours. Do you know if there were different bars on these models, as i would like to fabricate my own like yours if I could?
cheers Russell
 
#6 ·
So i ended up grabbing a sway bar off of a 89 Camero, it was 29"s wide, and would work perfect with my own mounting brackets. I did look at a sway bar on a 90 Camero that was a RS model, but the sway bar itself was atleast 2"s thick, and i thought it would be to big and make my 57 ride like a dump truck, the one i grabbed is a 1" & 1/8th thick. The RS edition might be good for the guys running the B.B.'s
Hi Maddog, I see that you used a sway bar from an '89 Camaro. We have a local guy selling a used sway bar off an '87-89 Camaro for NZ$30, which is a bargain. However the picture looks different to yours. Do you know if there were different bars on these models, as i would like to fabricate my own like yours if I could?
cheers Russell
Hey Russell!!!

So according to my local Napa there were 3 differnt differnt sway bars for the 89 Camero. and they were all a differnt thicknes, maybe thats why your sway bar might look a little differnt. Im not positive, but i bet there was a differnt sway bar for the V-6, V-8 and the RS model. I know the 1990 RS edition was atleast 2" thick.
 
#7 ·
I've heard that the rear sway bar from those year Camaros are easy to fit into lots of cars and will handle even better.

Nice job on the front bar. Today with all these catalogs we often forget about doing this kind of thing using the brain vs the credit card. Thanks:congrats:
 
#9 ·
I thought about plating them in, but then i wouldnt have been able to acces the 2 holes on the inside of the frame, they are acceses to the front bumper support bar. And i do plan on removing the front bumper down the road to have it re-chromed.
 
#10 ·
Maddogs, I have the same bar to install on my 57. Looks great and should work well. I am like you I would rather modify something to work rather than just use the credit card. Wondering if you could tell me what car the end links at the control arm are from? Most I have looked at are to long.
Thanks
Tom
 
#13 · (Edited)
So i fianlly have my tranny problem solved (for know), and i took my 57 for a test drive today, what a world of differnce, she handles and corners so much better with the new sway bar, and i dont feel like im floating down the road anymore!!

They sway bar is off a 89 Camero, the rod ends came off the same car, but were to long for my tatse that hook up to the lower A arm's, so i cut the medal sleeve in half that goes in-between the bushings and the rod ends, then i bought 2 grade 5 bolts 5 1/2" long .
If it does bend the grade 5 bolts, i will have to go down to Reno and pick up a set of grade 8 ones, my hardware store here in Truckee didnt' have the wright size for me in grade 8.
 
#16 · (Edited)
You have inspired my Maddogs, I'm going to try it, just as soon as the weather clears this spring. :tu
Im sure you will have no problems making your own sway bar brackets Auggie, it wasnt a big deal......

Im getting ready to remove the entire rear end and leif springs since the 3rd memeber leaks, and the leif spring bushings are all but missing, and at the same time i will be making my own rear shock bar to get the shocks out of the trunk, i will start a thread when i start the project...

and bye the way, i purchased another set of jack stands for this winter project, so know i have a set for the front and the rear....no more concrete blocks.....:sign0020:

Rick
 
#19 ·
last weekend I went out to the bone yard where I have an 80-81 firebird there. I dug through about 2 ft of snow to get to the front end where I measured the inside width of the bushings on the frame. It was 30" which is almost exactly what my 57 poncho frame is. I now have the bar in the garage waiting for me to attach it!
Thks for the idea.
Dennis
 
#20 ·
Recently installed front sway bar

Hi Dave, I had noticed that you had recently replied to one of my posts as to what color my 55 was in which I did reply back and stated that it is a House of Kolor Candy UK8 (Tangerine) over BC 11 (Cinder Red). I thought that it would only be fair to tell you of my install on front stabilizer bar that I had recently purchased and installed. Well, to make a long story short I don't think that there are any after market parts out there that either don't fit or need to be remanufactured. I had purchased the bar from Jeggs and had to heat and bend and treat the ends to fit my end pins. After buying a certain part thinking that it is made for the car and having to remanufacture is really a disappointment. Just like the Ididit tilt column that I also recently installed. I had to take a die grinder to the electrical harness hole & make it longer so the wires would not pinch. I could go on & on. Looks like a sweet 57 that you have going on there. Your Tri Five Friend Dave from Kalkaska Michigan. PS I would gladly take rain right now over the snow and freezing cold that we have now.
 

Attachments

#21 ·
Hi Dave, I had noticed that you had recently replied to one of my posts as to what color my 55 was in which I did reply back and stated that it is a House of Kolor Candy UK8 (Tangerine) over BC 11 (Cinder Red). I thought that it would only be fair to tell you of my install on front stabilizer bar that I had recently purchased and installed. Well, to make a long story short I don't think that there are any after market parts out there that either don't fit or need to be remanufactured. I had purchased the bar from Jeggs and had to heat and bend and treat the ends to fit my end pins. After buying a certain part thinking that it is made for the car and having to remanufacture is really a disappointment. Just like the Ididit tilt column that I also recently installed. I had to take a die grinder to the electrical harness hole & make it longer so the wires would not pinch. I could go on & on. Looks like a sweet 57 that you have going on there. Your Tri Five Friend Dave from Kalkaska Michigan. PS I would gladly take rain right now over the snow and freezing cold that we have now.
Very nice color by the way. I think that the term " bolt on kit" is the second universal lie right behind "the check is in the mail" thing. Some of the stuff fits ok and it may just be the original fabrication tolerences from GM but some of the stuff does seem to need major work to get it to fit and my flustartion is that I am paying for someone to engineer me a part at a cost to me and I stiil have to take time to make it fit. I hear you.

Joe bowtie-trifive
 
#22 ·
Nice job Rick !! bet she handles them mountain roads nice now Brother !

Wayne
Hey Wayne!!!

The sway bar was in the car when we met up in Reno for HAN's last summer, i guess i did such a good job you didn't even notice.....:sign0020:

But the handling is night and day....:tu

Now i need to find the time too replace my poor worn out lief spring bushing's and remove the shocks from the trunk/body, and install them on the frame, then i think she will ride like a Cadillac. :)
 
#23 ·
Nice going, Rick! You should feel an immediate difference when you get the chance to drive it. I could not believe the difference after I installed mine and I only used a 1" bar.
Hey Jim!!!

I did notice a big difference wright away when i installed the sway bar back in June of 20011 :sign0020: Somebody brought this thread back up to the top again......

I'm pretty sure the sway bar was 7/8th's thick on the one i robbed from the Camero, they also had a R/S Camero in the junk yard, but it was a 1" 1/2 thick, and i figured it would make the 57 ride like dump truck, so i went with the smaller one.

So how did the work bench turn out?

Rick
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
You have insufficient privileges to reply here.
Top