Front sway bar questions/issues.

[tklockwood]

I am converting a 1970 Duster from the small bolt pattern Kelsey-Hayes brake setup to a later model 11 inch disc setup with a large bolt pattern. The spindles and caliper brackets are from my 72 Cuda. I bought new upper control arms made specifically for this swap. The brakes are the "pin" style calipers. Not my favorite, but serviceable. The e body brake hoses that fit the calipers are pretty short and would really only work with the calipers in the front of the spindles. Seemed ok to me. Everything bolts together and the hose length seems perfect for the application. So far, so good.

The car has aftermarket front and rear sway bars that were on the car when I got it years ago. They use bolt on brackets on the bottom of the lower control arms. They clamp onto the flanges that go outward near the ends of each lower arm. There are other bolt on brackets that hold the bar to the front of the front k frame. The ends of the sway bar come in above the arms and use bushings and links to connect downward to the LCA brackets. This connection now interferes with the front mounted brake calipers. Something had to give...

I don't want to remove the sway bar because to avoid very squirrelly handling I would also need to remove the rear bar. So I started looking for other options. The existing links have about 3 inches of space between the upper and lower bushings which puts the sway bar end pretty high and directly in the path of the brake calipers. So I tried using a grade 8 bolt and spacers to make the links effectively shorter to move the sway bar below the brake caliper. I was unsuccessful. Even with a very short spacer, like 1/2 inch, the bar still interferes with the brake calipers.

Then I had another idea. What if I went below the control arms with the sway bar? So I used my short spacer to attach the sway bar to the bottom of the brackets. This all went together fine and seems to allow all of the moving parts to move freely without any interference or even contact. The worst thing I see with this configuration is that the sway bar ends and the bottom of the links are lower than before, but they are very similar in height to the tie rod ends.

Am I missing something? Is this configuration ok for street use? I really don't want to have to remove the sway bars from the car. Just looking for feedback from other A body people...

Thanks.

 

[RedFish]

I am converting a 1970 Duster from the small bolt pattern Kelsey-Hayes brake setup to a later model 11 inch disc setup with a large bolt pattern. The spindles and caliper brackets are from my 72 Cuda. I bought new upper control arms made specifically for this swap. The brakes are the "pin" style calipers. Not my favorite, but serviceable. The e body brake hoses that fit the calipers are pretty short and would really only work with the calipers in the front of the spindles. Seemed ok to me. Everything bolts together and the hose length seems perfect for the application. So far, so good.

The car has aftermarket front and rear sway bars that were on the car when I got it years ago. They use bolt on brackets on the bottom of the lower control arms. They clamp onto the flanges that go outward near the ends of each lower arm. There are other bolt on brackets that hold the bar to the front of the front k frame. The ends of the sway bar come in above the arms and use bushings and links to connect downward to the LCA brackets. This connection now interferes with the front mounted brake calipers. Something had to give...

I don't want to remove the sway bar because to avoid very squirrelly handling I would also need to remove the rear bar. So I started looking for other options. The existing links have about 3 inches of space between the upper and lower bushings which puts the sway bar end pretty high and directly in the path of the brake calipers. So I tried using a grade 8 bolt and spacers to make the links effectively shorter to move the sway bar below the brake caliper. I was unsuccessful. Even with a very short spacer, like 1/2 inch, the bar still interferes with the brake calipers.

Then I had another idea. What if I went below the control arms with the sway bar? So I used my short spacer to attach the sway bar to the bottom of the brackets. This all went together fine and seems to allow all of the moving parts to move freely without any interference or even contact. The worst thing I see with this configuration is that the sway bar ends and the bottom of the links are lower than before, but they are very similar in height to the tie rod ends.

Am I missing something? Is this configuration ok for street use? I really don't want to have to remove the sway bars from the car. Just looking for feedback from other A body people...

Thanks.

You're not the first to try this configuration and as far as we know it works fine.
The end link kits being a bit closer to the road hazards being the only issue.
The OEM bar for your model had larger triangle shaped forward mounts. Those suffered road hazard damage too, bolt ears broken off or worse. In your case you might bend the bolt through a end link and need to replace it. Otherwise... happy moparing

 

[tklockwood]

You're not the first to try this configuration and as far as we know it works fine.
The end link kits being a bit closer to the road hazards being the only issue.
The OEM bar for your model had larger triangle shaped forward mounts. Those suffered road hazard damage too, bolt ears broken off or worse. In your case you might bend the bolt through a end link and need to replace it. Otherwise... happy moparing

Thanks. That makes me a little more comfortable.

 

[autoxcuda]

Would need to see a picture.

The common used solution for your situation is to mount the calipers in the rear. To do that you swap the spindles from side to side. The mount the calipers so the bleeders are on top.

You don't use the ebody brake hose. You use a banjo style one of a late 70's Córdoba. It's been along time I don't remember the part number or specific application. You can buy braided brake flex line that will give you a little less spongy brake pedal and last longer.

Then you can run your front sway bar where it is now and not knuckle scraping close to the ground.

 

[Jim Lusk]

This was the first way we got clearance for front mounted calipers. As stated above the spindles/calipers can be swapped side to side.

 

[RedFish]

This was the first way we got clearance for front mounted calipers. As stated above the spindles/calipers can be swapped side to side. View attachment 1715065691

OK, So my opinion is only that but... In my opinion that end link is too short to provide the movement req'd. I suspect that tight would eat bushings. Geometry dictates the end of the sway bar move longer and shorter in relation to the lower arm as the lower arm moves up/down. Without bushing, a more rigid attachment would bend the bolts for sure. I would have to have at least a inch of tubing in the middle of the link but again that just my comprehending what the OEM engineers had fingered out.
Switching spindles side to side to reposition the caliper and buying longer hoses has always been the typical method to the madness. At the end of the day, its your car, your decision.

 

[Jim Lusk]

We ran that setup for well over 30k miles. The sway bar actually seemed to work quicker and better. No problem with the bolts or bushings.