Early A-Body front sway bar help?

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halfafish

Damn those rabbits, and their holes!
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I'm doing a complete rebuild of the front suspension, steering, and brakes on my 66 Valiant (slant six, three-on-the-tree). This isn't going to be a top-end performance car, just a fun and spunky driver. I had a 1-1/8" front sway bar ordered from PST, but it's been back-ordered for two months with a projected in-stock date of at least another month. No fault of theirs, they can't get the bars from their supplier. Time-wise I can't wait for this to arrive, so I need to find another front sway bar. The car goes up on jacks today to start the rebuild.

So the question is, what other company would you suggest for this sway bar? From what I've read, Addco is not well respected, mostly due to a cheesy mounting method. Other brands I've seen in stock that I can get here quickly are Hellwig and Firm Feel.

Any and all experience and suggestions are welcomed!

Zach
 
Hellwig is a great alternative. Give them a call, great price as well.

Jake
 
X 2 on Hellwig! A Hellwig rep is a member I believe - think his name is Dave. I ordered my early A Hellwig sway bar through Amazon as Amazon had the best price on it and had it within a couple of days FWIW.
 
It is easy to overdo a front sway bar. I found a stock one for mine from a member. The recommended aftermarket ones mentioned here are a good choice too
 
I've used Firm Feel on a few of my cars. Good quality, super easy to install and makes a huge difference in handling.
 
I went with Hellwig front and rear sway bars on my car. Plus add the thicker PST torsion bars and decent shocks - really improves the handling (and check your leaf springs. In my limited experience all the other work would not help if the rear springs are dead)
 
If you fix the front mount on an Addco, it's fine. As it comes from Addco, it's only attached with the bottom angle iron

SU3001_Front_AR_Bracket.jpg
SU3001_Front_AR_Bracket.jpg
 
Not sure if this information will help, because I'm in Australia. I have just fitted a factory late-model (1972) Valiant sway bar to my 1964 Dart GT. I cut the sway bar ears off late lower control arms and welded them onto the original ones, fabricated some inner mounting brackets and welded those on. I tacked all that together before removing the K-frame from the car and welding it properly. I think the photos describe it well.
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D_0054.JPG
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D_0061.JPG
 
I dont think your anti sway bar setup will work. The links need to be on the top of the anti sway bar. Seems to me that setup will bend the links.
 
I dont think your anti sway bar setup will work. The links need to be on the top of the anti sway bar. Seems to me that setup will bend the links.
It is fitted exactly as they are on 'our' late model cars, the only real difference is that I had to fabricate the plates to weld onto the k-frame. If the links were fitted below the sway bar, they would be dragging on the road.
 
It is fitted exactly as they are on 'our' late model cars, the only real difference is that I had to fabricate the plates to weld onto the k-frame. If the links were fitted below the sway bar, they would be dragging on the road.
Because it looks like you welded them on too low.
 
Just trying to help.
front-swaybar-64-nico1.jpg
Early style. Looks like his are wrong, the angle of the links look like the will bend.
 
OK, to me it looks like the link brackets on the lower control arms in your photos are attached to the upper part of the control arm, whereas the ones on the later model Australian stuff is attached to the lower part. You guys have had me worried, so I pulled out the workshop manuals, mine is fitted exactly as per the later Aussie stuff, just that yours differ, but both will work.
 
OK, to me it looks like the link brackets on the lower control arms in your photos are attached to the upper part of the control arm, whereas the ones on the later model Australian stuff is attached to the lower part. You guys have had me worried, so I pulled out the workshop manuals, mine is fitted exactly as per the later Aussie stuff, just that yours differ, but both will work.
Ok just wanting to help. All seems good down under!
 
Ok just wanting to help. All seems good down under!
Yeah, no problem, appreciate it. Hopefully 'all good down under my Dart as well. You've actually got me thinking, because the sway bar is off a later model with a wider wheel track, I might need to get the eye-to-eye width reset, if the dimension is dramatically different.

By the way, love the detail in your suspension photo, nice work!
 
... The links need to be on the top of the anti sway bar. Seems to me that setup will bend the links.
I don't follow. Sounds like you are worrying that the links will be in compression rather than tension. Regardless, of which way you orient them, one side will be in tension and one in compression as the car leans, so no way to avoid compression at times. BTW, my 65 C-body attaches the link to the strut rod, just fwd of the LCA. That is my plan for my A-bodies, no tab-welding to fuss with.
 
There is no right or wrong on whether an end link is above or below the sway bar or the bracket it's mounted to. Of far more importance is that the end links are closer to perpendicular to the mounting bracket throughout it's range of travel. Even this is not absolute, it merely gives you the least deformation, especially at maximum load - one wheel compressed the other extended, and lessens the prospects of bending the end-link. given that Halafish's? car is a street driver and not a hardcore competition vehicle I think it unlikely that he'll have any problems, and as many have suggested the addition of a sway bar is such an amazing improvement over none. It looks like he's running drum brakes. Using the '67 and later bar on a narrower '66 and earlier body does push the end-links closer to the backing plates. If he were to upgrade to disks there is a higher possibility of a caliper body/end-link interference issue.
 
I don't follow. Sounds like you are worrying that the links will be in compression rather than tension. Regardless, of which way you orient them, one side will be in tension and one in compression as the car leans, so no way to avoid compression at times. BTW, my 65 C-body attaches the link to the strut rod, just fwd of the LCA. That is my plan for my A-bodies, no tab-welding to fuss with.
Hi Bill,
I've seen those setups in Australia, two local companies K-Mac and Selby's made them for fitment to Valiants with no lower control arm brackets to fix to.
They work OK, but not quite as good as those which fit to the control arm, which is why I went the way I did, and it wasn't a big job to change them.
 
There is no right or wrong on whether an end link is above or below the sway bar or the bracket it's mounted to. Of far more importance is that the end links are closer to perpendicular to the mounting bracket throughout it's range of travel. Even this is not absolute, it merely gives you the least deformation, especially at maximum load - one wheel compressed the other extended, and lessens the prospects of bending the end-link. given that Halafish's? car is a street driver and not a hardcore competition vehicle I think it unlikely that he'll have any problems, and as many have suggested the addition of a sway bar is such an amazing improvement over none. It looks like he's running drum brakes. Using the '67 and later bar on a narrower '66 and earlier body does push the end-links closer to the backing plates. If he were to upgrade to disks there is a higher possibility of a caliper body/end-link interference issue.
You've touched on a couple of good points, and I was beginning to think the same thoughts when I mentioned that I might need to get the sway bar re-bent to suit.
Yes, it's off a 1972 (Australian) car, which has a wider wheel track.
I'll pull it off after Christmas and get it done then, just want to drive it a bit over the holidays!
 
Thanks for all the input folks. I ordered a Hellwig bar, it's sitting with the rest of the front end parts to be installed in a week or two. As info, I'm also upgrading from the stock 9" drums to factory KH discs and a new Firm Feel steering box with a bit faster ratio so I'm not turning-turning-turning around every corner :steering:.
 
Thanks for all the input folks. I ordered a Hellwig bar, it's sitting with the rest of the front end parts to be installed in a week or two. As info, I'm also upgrading from the stock 9" drums to factory KH discs and a new Firm Feel steering box with a bit faster ratio so I'm not turning-turning-turning around every corner :steering:.
What's a "Firm Feel Steering Box"? Do I need one? My car is still running non-assisted steering, it's ok, not heavy at all, but would like a bit faster ratio, say 20:1 would be great!
 
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