What is involved in making a custom sway bar? I realize that on most race cars the bar is straight, with clamp on "levers" on each end.

I need to make a custom bar with a bend in it( similar to the stock Fbody bar).

any ideas?

 

There isn't too much involved. Figure out what kind of torsional stiffness you need with the "arm" length you plan on running (have a few holes in the arm so you can stiffen/soften as needed quickly at the track) and then buy the dia/thickness tubing that will make it work. You've got quite a wide range between tubing from 1.5 to 2.5" dia, with the various standard wall thicknesses. The arms can be welded to the main bar, or you can make a bracket to attach the arms.

Is it possible to reposition the bar to eliminate the kink?

 

Andris-
yea, I have come to the conclusion that I am going to need to make it work with a straight bar. Ill 'figure it out

 

On second thought, whats wrong with having a kink? Just about anyone that fabs cages has a tubing bender. With the right mandrels, you can put in the bend. If the bar turns back with the outer ends being parallel (i.e. kink in the middle, and a kink on either end to be straight again), you can use regular aluminum pillow blocks as the mounts (20 minutes on a bridgeport). I've also seen a few TransAm teams drill the swaybar tube, and weld in a threaded insert that is perpendicular to the bar's axis at either end. You thread in rod ends, and pivot off the rod ends. This way parallelism isn't critical since it won't bind. The bars get kinda heavy, so keeping it low would be nice...

A.

 

If you have a kink bent into it, you'll need to have it heat treated afterward.

 

And cryo'd

You thinking about relocating all of the mounting points?

 

thats what i was worried about, I figured there was something unique about bending a ARB. I think I am gonna make it work with a straight bar

 

so where can i get the raw materiel, and the hardware?

thanks

 

Making the ASB is the comparative easy step. Here's a tip on attaching it to the lower A Arm: use the Herb Adams end link. I have it and it works fine and is obviously sturdy. Sturdy is an understatement. Bulletproof is more like it:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...category=33592
eBay item 2443075423 (Ends Nov-21-03 10:15:00 PST) - SLP Stab Sway Bar End Links Impala Camaro SS

I picked up a second set on a recent auction as they are no longer in production. Paid about $35 for them total.

Regards
Steve

 

Those are some serious looking end links! do you ahve any pics of what you used to attach them to your a-arm? I assume they make a bracket?

 

Or these http://www.crystalridge.net/cars/ima...waybarlink.jpg

 

Steve

Great picture. It is worth 1,000 words. My race car Herb Adams end links are like this. They provide adjustability for various courses. The ones on E Bay don't provide the adjustment, but are beefy enough.

The connecting link to the A Arm is the small block at the bottom. It bolts to the A Arm where the normal endlink is placed and as you can see it then bolts to the "end link." I don't know the manufacturer of the pictured ones. However, I suspect they've been around racing circles before. I just thought the one's on E Bay from SLP (the seller horsepower1 is an employee) were offered for a reasonable price and there aren't many people interested in such a piece. You'd prolly be the only bidder, as I was.



Regards
Steve

 

Good guess!!! It came right out of an old Herb Adams catalog!!! I had these on my '80 TA. Heavy duty stuff!!!

 

steve-
I dont see the brackets included with taht ebay auction.. Where would I pick up such a piece?

 

You'd have to visit a machine shop and have a small block made to mount the end links. It doesn't look too involved. The piece itself is rather simple. A threaded hole at the bottom and a through hole on the face. Once you have the end links in your hand, you'll see.


Regards
Steve