sway bar question

[hoffman912]

ok, what kind of sway bar bracket is this? it doesnt look like any i have seen. is it home made? aftermarket? early factory? Is it OK or is it suspect?

my car doesnt have a sway bar, so this is one of the few things i wouldnt mind keeping from the parts car, but want to know what it is before i decide to put it on.

[Mr9146]

It's an adjustable lever for the sway bar. They were made in a few different styles by a few aftermarket companies to help stiffen up the 15mm bar.

They work okay, but they increase the tendency to "POP" the drop rods, which are already prone to breakage.

I installed a set on my father's car at the softest setting with a set of Weltmeister adjustable drop links and they seem to work fairly well. The holes and hardware are usually SAE, but I just re-drill the drop link holes to metric size for ease of use. I leave the clamp part American because you mess with it so rarely.

I'd say they're worth about $150 bucks for the pair in clean, cad-plated condition. As in the photos ... $75-100, tops.

[hoffman912]

what size bar do you have on your dads?

I take it the farthest hole form the bar is the softest and the closest is the stiffest?

[ttweed]

I take it the farthest hole form the bar is the softest and the closest is the stiffest?

Yes, that is correct. It is easy to intuit the function from the geometry involved. The shorter the lever arm (i.e.--the closer the droplink connects to the axis of rotation of the bar), the less wheel travel is necessary to impart the same degree of rotation on the bar, and the faster the load will be transferred to the other side of the car.

TT

[Mr9146]

what size bar do you have on your dads?

Non-factory 19 or 20mm.

[savaden]

Harry, you can measure the diameter of the bar with a pair of calipers. If it's a 19, you would also have to add a rear sway bar.

[hoffman912]

I cannot get these darn things off the bar :grr: the allen heads are stripped and i cant even get them off with vice grips. tons of liquid wrench used too..

what do you suggest next? Torch?

[edmayo]

Harry, when disassembling old rusty hulks an oxy-acetylene torch is pretty much a necessity. Bolts heated to a cherry red almost always unscrew. Your other best friend is a cut-off wheel tool, oh, and an impact driver.

[hoffman912]

jesus.. this thing (67 912) had a 19mm sway bar on the front :O (no sway bar in the back of course). the rear mounts for the front end were not connected to anything (rusted out holes were where it should have mounted).

i never actually had a chance to drive the car (the throttle linkage folded under the pedal when i tried to take it out of the driveway for a test drive), but i can only guess the handling would be interesting.

so.. how desirable is a 19mm bar? i dont see them discussed too much so not sure if its overkill for early 11s, or desirable or what. how do i tell if its factory or aftermarket?

[Mr9146]

A 19? Are you sure it's not an 18?

If its a 19 it's probably a Weltmeister.