Anyone using an Addco Rear Sway bar?

[phish1270]

Ok, I will try to keep my rant to a minimum. I bought a used Addco rear sway bar this summer. The link pins that came with it were bent & the bushings are old so I want to replace all of the hardware. I went to the Addco website & sent them an email just wanting to confirm the length of the link pin bolt & spacer sleeve. They sent me a response telling me to call them so I did. I was told that I could just order from them for around $11 with around $5 for shipping so I figured, why not at least I will know they are correct. I was told I would get an email telling me the final cost, never got one. The parts show up & when I check my bank account they had hit me for almost $13 to ship them 118 miles.:angryfir: I complained; they credited me account $7. Definitely not the right way to do business so I will never buy from Addco again. Now I am looking at the pins & they are way shorter than the ones that came with the used rear sway bar that I bought; they actually are the same exact length as the set that came with the front sway bar. I am 99% sure they sent me the wrong ones. So before I drive the 118 miles & cram these somewhere they won't fit comfortably :bootyshafiguratively of course), I want to confirm how long the rear sway bar link pins are. I sent an email to PST on Monday asking them for some help since I bought my whole front end kit from them but I have still not received a response. It continues to amaze me how some companies treat people even during economic times like now but I digress. I am sure that most of this should be posted in the rants section but I felt I needed to give some background info as to why I am asking.
If anyone has an Addco rear sway bar on their car or sitting in the garage waiting to be installed I just would like to know how long the bolts & spacer sleeves are. Thanks for any help!

 

[autoxcuda]

Honestly, it sould be cut or adjusted per the vehicle for the best fit. You want to rig everything up and make sure the link is perpendicular to the sway bar and the chassis mount with the cars weight on the rear end.

Position the axle clamps to the sway bar does not hit the rear end during normally up and down chassis movement. It may come close or rub when the car is full up on jackstands, but that is not normal driving chassis movement. Mark that position on the axle with a marker

Then bolt the end link with chassis mount to the sway bar. Move the sway bar up and down slightly off horizontal to see where the angle of the chassis mount matches up to the frame the best. You probably will need to adjust the end link for the mount to mate to the frame at the best angle.

Picture below is with the axle hanging down not suspended.

 

[Dave@Hellwig]

The Hellwig bars are still called the Hellwig sway bars but they have been completely redesigned and cannot be compared with the photo from autoxcuda. We haven't made our old style bars in almost 5 years. HEres what you can expect from our current A-body sway bars.


63-66 Mopar A-Body 1-1/4" tubular FSB

67-72 Mopar A-Body 1-1/8" tubular FSB. These feature our 3/16" thick laser cut and CNC formed brackets. We feature dedicated lh and rh brackets for a perfect fit.

63-76 Mopar A-Body 3/4" adjustable RSB. This bar mounts the end link with a spacer tube in the center of the subframe to strengthen the subframe. This is a stronger mounting style than using the bottom of the subframe rail.

73-76 Mopar A-Body 1-1/8: tubular FSB. THis bar is a steal on Summit at $159.99.

 

[phish1270]

All I want to know is how long the bolts & sleeves are that come with the Addco Rear Sway bar. It would appear that no one has used or plans on using one. I do not understand why this little piece of info is so hard to come by. A PST rep called me yesterday & would not tell me how long the links are that come in the Addco kit. All he would tell me was that I need to mock it up & figure out the length I need. Why? Addco makes a kit that is designed for my '65 Barracuda, what length pins are in that kit? I understand that there will be some modification necessary I just want to know what length the kit comes with for a starting point. Maybe I need to order a kit, measure the pins & then send it back. I got a used rear sway bar for $20, I do not have the $250 +/- for a Hellwig bar or that would be what would be going on the car. Times are tough, money is scarce & a $20 sway bar should help more than no sway bar. It is 3/4" just like Hellwig, it just mounts differently. It looks like we will just get the thing mounted to the axle & figure out link pins on our own.

 

[Dave@Hellwig]

End link bolts are nothing special. They are just regular bolts. The spacer tubes can be made from 3/8" schedule 40 steel pipe. If you have new bushings and washers, you can source what you need for the spacer and bolt at a hardware store. Mocking up the sway bar and measuring what fits is the best route as everything will be matched to your car. Even the ADDCO links may need some tune-up to fit best on your car. The cost for the parts at the hardware store should be $5 orless.

 

[dgc333]

End link bolts are nothing special. They are just regular bolts. The spacer tubes can be made from 3/8" schedule 40 steel pipe. If you have new bushings and washers, you can source what you need for the spacer and bolt at a hardware store. Mocking up the sway bar and measuring what fits is the best route as everything will be matched to your car. Even the ADDCO links may need some tune-up to fit best on your car. The cost for the parts at the hardware store should be $5 orless.

Couldn't agree more. You can also get universal kits at places like Autozone that come with the bolt, bushings, spacers and washers for less than $10. The only consideration for length is you don't get the bar into a postion where it interferes with something.

 

[phish1270]

Thanks guys.

 

[autoxcuda]

The Hellwig bars are still called the Hellwig sway bars but they have been completely redesigned and cannot be compared with the photo from autoxcuda. We haven't made our old style bars in almost 5 years. HEres what you can expect from our current A-body sway bars.

Sorry about that old picture Dave. I need to go back a modify it in photoshop. I put a CAUTION disclaimer on there. But the picture does stick with people.

The new Helwig rear sway bars are really nice pieces. And the front have great brackets and fitment that blows away the Addco offerings.

 

[autoxcuda]

All I want to know is how long the bolts & sleeves are that come with the Addco Rear Sway bar. It would appear that no one has used or plans on using one. I do not understand why this little piece of info is so hard to come by.

I have used one. Actually two. And they were both used too, just like yours. And I took the time to show you picture of my install and the procedure.

Since you allready have some endlinks, mount those like I described in detail and adjust thier length accordingly. If they are too tall you'll have to get grade-8 taller bolts and barrell sleeves. I have long junkyard barrell sleeves around that I cut down.

The endlinks in those Addco kits fit many different cars. And they are not optimum length for every situation. Sure they will "work". And I've seen plenty of slam-bam installs. Usually the end links are binding and loading the sway bar a lot when the car is at rest. Think about it, the rear ride height should change the length of the endlinks. The lower the car the shorter the endlink. It's tough to get them perfect, but some installs are way off. And that's a lot of the reason they rip the chassis mounts from the frame.

It takes some thought, skill, and some Hot Rodding...and about 4 hands. That's why the Addco kits aren't very user friendly. But phish1270 be patient and you'll get it.

I have the Addco off my Barracuda. I'll go look at the endlink length. It's different than my Dart shown above....

For others reading this, that's the beauty of the dog bone type endlinks Dave@Hellwig has designed into Hellwigs rear bars. Those links aren't so sensitive to install placement and move freely with the suspension as it moves up and down. Whereas the donut endlink type bind and tweak as they go up and down.

 

['64 Cuda]

I've got a brand new ADDCO rear anti-sway bar kit in my shop that I bought for my A body. It was listed to fit both A & B bodies. The link bolts are 7" long, grade 8. They have a 1" threaded section. The spacer for each link is 1" long. The rest of the bolt length is taken up by the bushings.

 

[phish1270]

I've got a brand new ADDCO rear anti-sway bar kit in my shop that I bought for my A body. It was listed to fit both A & B bodies. The link bolts are 7" long, grade 8. They have a 1" threaded section. The spacer for each link is 1" long. The rest of the bolt length is taken up by the bushings.

'64 Cuda,

Thanks for the measurements. The links that Addco sent me were 5" long so I knew they were way too short. I understand that I will need to adjust them but I can't make them longer. I am going to mock everything up & track down some grade 8 bolts. I am going to lower the rear first & weld permanent mounts to the frame. I have learned quite a bit doing all of this research but it will all pay off in the end.

autoxcuda - Thanks for all the info & patience.