questions about a rear sway bar

[junkyardpartseeker]

I am trying to help someone find a rear sway bar for his truck.
1) are all 81-87 rear sway bars the same?
2) What vehicles would I find them on?
3) He's wanting to put it on a C10 1/2 ton.
Any info would help me out.
Tommy Davis

[apstguy]

I'm not sure, but I don't think they ever had rear sway bars stock. Helliwig (sp?) had some good ones.

[44th Miss Inf]

Tommy,
Get one from a 73-87 1Ton. I installed one several years ago on a half tone with minimal work.

Virgil

[BaggedC10]

I have a brand-new rear Hellwig anti-sway bar that only needs hardware for sale. PM me if you are interested.

[littlebubba]

I believe some 3/4 ton & 1 ton pickups and 3/4 ton Suburbans with factory trailering package had a rear sway bar available as a factory option. Not sure on 1/2 ton Suburban.

[junkyardpartseeker]

my suburban is a 1/2 ton and it's not on there. Just trying to help someone who is looking for one.

[N2TRUX]

It's a mystery to me exactly what trucks did, and did not come with rear anti-sway bars. Just when you think that a certain year or model came with them, someone says"mine didn't".

"Most" Suburbans past 1980 came with one, because "most" of them came with towing packages. The same goes for 3/4 ton 4x4, and single wheel one tons.

I'm not trying to argue facts here, just point out that there were a lot of 73-87 trucks that did come with rear bars.

On the other hand, "most" 73-87 1/2 ton pick-ups did not...:p

[apstguy]

There are alot of 73-87s around here and I haven't seen ONE with a rear sway bar. It was just my observation. Really weird, but of course California is strange about vehicles, things get changed or deleted for them to come into the state. (I.E. the new Dodge diesel engine is not allowed here in California - no new dodge diesels! In fact, the only "trucks" I have seen with rear sway bars are brand new (99-up) Tahoes and Suburbans and MAYBE a handfull of 88-98 trucks.

[44th Miss Inf]

This is part of an email that I sent that tells of the installation of the rear bar. Thought it might help some of you.
Virgil

The 1 Ts usually have a 1 1/4" front and either a 1" or 1 1/8" rear if I'm not mistaken. The rear I installed came from about a 75 1T so I will describe it, but I don't know if the newer ones are the same.
The 1T had leaf springs over the axle with plates below the axle with bolts thru it- Not the normal U bolts like on a 1/2T. The sway bar had mounts on these plates identical to the frame mounts for the front sway bar. The ends of the rear bar I used had had a hole in them like the ones on front of a Chevy car, and used the same type of mount that the car end uses that went from the bar to a hole in the frame.

My truck was a 1/2T with a rear 'flip kit', rear end on top of the springs. (It was lowered 5") That put the flat plates that was normally on top of the springs, on bottom, as I used all my original U bolts, etc. To these flat plates is what I bolted the 'back' sway bar mounts to. I measured out where my holes would go in the fram and marked and drilled them. Then I went to the parts store and got the 'front' bushings the bolt the approx length I needed, which only took a few minutes in the parts store books. If you get the bolt alittle longer than needed, you can 'tune' it for oversteer or understeer oif you want, by adding shims (washers) or cutting the spacer length.

I hope this is understandable.

[C&C Chevy]

Pics would be nice.

[44th Miss Inf]

Robert,
I don't have any pics, as the rear bar had been taken off and installed on a friend's truck that was used to pull a horse trailer. He has since sold it, and I don't know who has it now. I see it occasionally, and if I get the chance, will get some pictures.

Virgil