front sway bar on stock front end - The 1947 - Present Chevrolet & GMC Truck Message Board Network

klutz51 · 10-04-2013, 02:19 PM

Does anybody know of a front sway bar for stock I beam suspension? Can I get one off another vehicle from the junk yard, or is there one that is made for these old trucks. I saw one on a local truck but didn't get to talk to the owner.

AZ59apacheguy · 10-04-2013, 02:21 PM

What year truck? I have one on my '59 3100. I think you can get these aftermarket for most older trucks

nvrdone · 10-04-2013, 02:56 PM

Ive got a '49 3100 and my front bar came from Classic Parts

mr48chev · 10-04-2013, 10:00 PM

I've seen sway bars on stock Suburbans from the factory. I'm not sure if they were standard equipment or an option but that would be a direct bolt on with no hassles.

Here: http://www.classicperform.com/tech_a...ChevyTruck.htm

The page with the links to the sway bars. http://www.classicperform.com/Chevy-Truck.htm#36

**Dan in Pasadena** · 10-04-2013, 10:05 PM

Somebody here ( can't remember who) posted they used one off a Jeep. A Cherokee I think but I don't know anything more than that?

mr48chev · 10-04-2013, 10:29 PM

That might be worth looking into. It seems that there are two or three of those older (80 something ) Cherokees in every wrecking yard around here

klutz51 · 10-05-2013, 10:41 AM

Sweet thank you all. Any ideas for rear?

mr48chev · 10-05-2013, 11:49 AM

Not Off hand. A lot of Camaros and Firebirds came with rear sway bars but those might be hard to find in some areas now.

I'd look under the same Jeep Cherokees or Grand Cherokees I looked for the front sway bar on.

If you know guys who have turned their Cherokees into crawlers you might be able to find the sway bars in their scrap piles. It seems that the guys that lift their Cherokees to go play in the dirt and rocks either remove them or disconnect them. I'd look under any year Jeep Cherokee that had a solid front axle too.

Coupeguy2001 · 10-05-2013, 11:50 PM

all panels and suburbans had them. I used one on my 57 till I redid the front end. I bought mine out of a wrecking yard in Santa Ana. They had a panel up near the front, and removed it for me.
I used heim joints on the ends of the sway bar, and more heim joints with a half inch spacers through the original sway bar link holes in the frame. I used some 3/8" rod that I threaded at each end. That made them adjustable, and I preloaded the frame to get it to sit level.

_Ogre · 10-06-2013, 02:16 PM

tf suburbans came stock with sway bars, panels did not.
suburbans had the sway bar mounted to the rear of the axle with clips at the spring u-bolts and used heim joints to brackets on the frame.
sway bars do not care how they mount. you can mount to the frame or the axle depending on the shape of the sway bar.
stock was mounted to the rear of the axle, it does not matter if you go in front or behind the axle.
if you find a straight sway bar, mount it to the axle with end links to the frame.
ifs sway bars have to mount to the frame with end links going to each a-arm.

1project2many · 10-06-2013, 02:39 PM

Check out these threads.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=516792

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?p=537279

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=506996
This ^^^ shows the Van style sway bar.

HTH

_Ogre · 10-06-2013, 04:21 PM

1p2m's top post shows a good example of the stock tf sway bar mount connections.
sway bar on axle mounted to spring u-bolts and links going up to frame.

1project2many · 10-07-2013, 06:58 AM

The original bar is not very large, maybe 3/4" diameter max. The attachment points are very close to the center of the vehicle as well. Both of these factors generally indicate the bar will have reduced effectiveness. It's great compared to no bar but when compared with the '80s K truck sway bar, similar in width but 1 1/8" diameter, you can get an idea what might be necessary to provide stability like might be expected in a newer vehicle.

The '60s Van sway bar attaches near the wheels. Like our pickups, these vehicles are sprung with leaves at all four corners. Unlike the truck the van has a full body front to back is is expected to travel fully loaded to the roof which means the center of gravity is much further from the pavement. GM's engineers saw fit to redesign both the shock and the sway bar attachment points, even though they already had a design that could have been placed back into production with little engineering expense. To me that speaks volumes.

I am still planning to install my OE bar and try it but I am not expecting that I'll be happy. I may try redesigning the Blazer bar so it follows OE bar routing, or I may try and locate a bar from another vehicle which can be used in the OE location. Although I have promised to give the van bar to someone else if I don't use it, I'm holding on to it because I think it may turn out to be fairly effective.

Long story short, unless you want the stock look, the closer the end links are to the frame rails the larger diameter you'll want the bar to be.

10-04-2013, 02:19 PM	#1
klutz51 Registered User Join Date: May 2012 Location: colorado Posts: 114	front sway bar on stock front end Does anybody know of a front sway bar for stock I beam suspension? Can I get one off another vehicle from the junk yard, or is there one that is made for these old trucks. I saw one on a local truck but didn't get to talk to the owner.

10-04-2013, 02:21 PM	#2
AZ59apacheguy Registered User Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: South West Posts: 431	Re: front sway bar on stock front end What year truck? I have one on my '59 3100. I think you can get these aftermarket for most older trucks

10-04-2013, 10:00 PM	#4
mr48chev Registered User Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Toppenish, WA Posts: 15,411	Re: front sway bar on stock front end I've seen sway bars on stock Suburbans from the factory. I'm not sure if they were standard equipment or an option but that would be a direct bolt on with no hassles. Here: http://www.classicperform.com/tech_a...ChevyTruck.htm The page with the links to the sway bars. http://www.classicperform.com/Chevy-Truck.htm#36 __________________ Founding member of the too many projects, too little time and money club. My ongoing truck projects: 48 Chev 3100 that will run a 292 Six. 71 GMC 2500 that is getting a Cad 500 transplant. 77 C 30 dualie, 454, 4 speed with a 10 foot flatbed and hoist. It does the heavy work and hauls the projects around. Last edited by mr48chev; 10-04-2013 at 10:08 PM.

10-04-2013, 10:05 PM	#5
Dan in Pasadena Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Glendora, CA Posts: 6,336	Re: front sway bar on stock front end Somebody here ( can't remember who) posted they used one off a Jeep. A Cherokee I think but I don't know anything more than that? __________________ '55 Big Window Shortbed, Drive-It-&-Work-On-It slid down the "slippery slope" to a Frame-Off Rodstoration! LQ4/4l85e/C4 IFS/Mustang 8.8 rearend w/3.73's Dan's '55 Big Window "Build" - Well, Kinda!

10-04-2013, 10:29 PM	#6
mr48chev Registered User Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Toppenish, WA Posts: 15,411	Re: front sway bar on stock front end That might be worth looking into. It seems that there are two or three of those older (80 something ) Cherokees in every wrecking yard around here __________________ Founding member of the too many projects, too little time and money club. My ongoing truck projects: 48 Chev 3100 that will run a 292 Six. 71 GMC 2500 that is getting a Cad 500 transplant. 77 C 30 dualie, 454, 4 speed with a 10 foot flatbed and hoist. It does the heavy work and hauls the projects around.

10-04-2013, 02:56 PM	#3
nvrdone Registered User Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Moxee WA Posts: 1,443	Re: front sway bar on stock front end Ive got a '49 3100 and my front bar came from Classic Parts

10-05-2013, 10:41 AM	#7
klutz51 Registered User Join Date: May 2012 Location: colorado Posts: 114	Re: front sway bar on stock front end Sweet thank you all. Any ideas for rear?

10-05-2013, 11:49 AM	#8
mr48chev Registered User Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Toppenish, WA Posts: 15,411	Re: front sway bar on stock front end Not Off hand. A lot of Camaros and Firebirds came with rear sway bars but those might be hard to find in some areas now. I'd look under the same Jeep Cherokees or Grand Cherokees I looked for the front sway bar on. If you know guys who have turned their Cherokees into crawlers you might be able to find the sway bars in their scrap piles. It seems that the guys that lift their Cherokees to go play in the dirt and rocks either remove them or disconnect them. I'd look under any year Jeep Cherokee that had a solid front axle too. __________________ Founding member of the too many projects, too little time and money club. My ongoing truck projects: 48 Chev 3100 that will run a 292 Six. 71 GMC 2500 that is getting a Cad 500 transplant. 77 C 30 dualie, 454, 4 speed with a 10 foot flatbed and hoist. It does the heavy work and hauls the projects around.

10-05-2013, 11:50 PM	#9
Coupeguy2001 Registered User Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: phoenix az Posts: 723	Re: front sway bar on stock front end all panels and suburbans had them. I used one on my 57 till I redid the front end. I bought mine out of a wrecking yard in Santa Ana. They had a panel up near the front, and removed it for me. I used heim joints on the ends of the sway bar, and more heim joints with a half inch spacers through the original sway bar link holes in the frame. I used some 3/8" rod that I threaded at each end. That made them adjustable, and I preloaded the frame to get it to sit level. __________________ http://http://67-72chevytrucks.com/v...d.php?t=489721

10-06-2013, 02:16 PM	#10
_Ogre Registered User Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Motown Posts: 7,677	Re: front sway bar on stock front end tf suburbans came stock with sway bars, panels did not. suburbans had the sway bar mounted to the rear of the axle with clips at the spring u-bolts and used heim joints to brackets on the frame. sway bars do not care how they mount. you can mount to the frame or the axle depending on the shape of the sway bar. stock was mounted to the rear of the axle, it does not matter if you go in front or behind the axle. if you find a straight sway bar, mount it to the axle with end links to the frame. ifs sway bars have to mount to the frame with end links going to each a-arm. __________________ cool, an ogre smiley Ogre's 58 Truk build how to put your truck year and build thread into your signature shop air compressor timer

10-06-2013, 02:39 PM	#11
1project2many Registered User Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Lakes Region NH Posts: 3,169	Re: front sway bar on stock front end Check out these threads. http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=516792 http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?p=537279 http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=506996 This ^^^ shows the Van style sway bar. HTH

10-06-2013, 04:21 PM	#12
_Ogre Registered User Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Motown Posts: 7,677	Re: front sway bar on stock front end 1p2m's top post shows a good example of the stock tf sway bar mount connections. sway bar on axle mounted to spring u-bolts and links going up to frame. __________________ cool, an ogre smiley Ogre's 58 Truk build how to put your truck year and build thread into your signature shop air compressor timer

10-07-2013, 06:58 AM	#13
1project2many Registered User Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Lakes Region NH Posts: 3,169	Re: front sway bar on stock front end The original bar is not very large, maybe 3/4" diameter max. The attachment points are very close to the center of the vehicle as well. Both of these factors generally indicate the bar will have reduced effectiveness. It's great compared to no bar but when compared with the '80s K truck sway bar, similar in width but 1 1/8" diameter, you can get an idea what might be necessary to provide stability like might be expected in a newer vehicle. The '60s Van sway bar attaches near the wheels. Like our pickups, these vehicles are sprung with leaves at all four corners. Unlike the truck the van has a full body front to back is is expected to travel fully loaded to the roof which means the center of gravity is much further from the pavement. GM's engineers saw fit to redesign both the shock and the sway bar attachment points, even though they already had a design that could have been placed back into production with little engineering expense. To me that speaks volumes. I am still planning to install my OE bar and try it but I am not expecting that I'll be happy. I may try redesigning the Blazer bar so it follows OE bar routing, or I may try and locate a bar from another vehicle which can be used in the OE location. Although I have promised to give the van bar to someone else if I don't use it, I'm holding on to it because I think it may turn out to be fairly effective. Long story short, unless you want the stock look, the closer the end links are to the frame rails the larger diameter you'll want the bar to be.



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