'66 Sunbeam Minx Project - F20C/6sp/4-link/Discs...

[Frizzle Fry]

Originally Posted by chevy2racr

its all just awesome, I want you to get it together for two reasons, 1. i wanna see video of this terror tearing up the streets or track. 2. I wanna see work on the tahoe!

I'm right there with you man!

Originally Posted by mcbassin

Super progress Frizzle! Your welds and metal work set the bar so high.....gives me something to shoot for

Thanks.

Originally Posted by -Greg72

Awesome work Frizz!

I've been lurking and admiring your builds for a while now. There is one aspect of this build that concerns me, and that is the sway bar mod.

The sway bar is designed to absorb torsional forces and distribute them evenly down the length of the bar. When you cut and welded that bar to shorten it, you increased the stiffness (by decreasing the length) and I suspect that there is also a "stiff spot" in the bar at the weld point now.... So torsional forces will not be distributed evenly anymore.

I don't know what the ultimate effect will be, but I suspect that you might end up with cracks at the welded area, and/or the bar will behave like a much thicker diameter one and may upset the handling.

I am fairly certain that there are companies out there who can custom-bend a sway bar to match the shape you need using your modified sway bar as the template. Or you could convert to a 3-piece sway bar setup with a center torsion bar and two splined end links. That style would allow you to swap out the center bar (thicker or thinner) to fine tune the handling later on. Or change the lengths of the end links to soften or stiffen things up.

Just a few thoughts over my morning coffee.... The fabrication is amazing!


-G
Posted via Mobile Device
Posted via Mobile Device

You are right about the bar being torsionally stiffer than it was before. It's shorter and also has a dead spot as you pointed out. I am confident in the strength, however. Even if it did break the result would be lack of anti-sway, not structural failure. The question is; how much stiffer than stock will it feel in this configuration? The alternatives you mentioned are definitely in the backup plan.
Posted via Mobile Device