Thread: Fabbing up a rear sway bar for a Lark

I had a thought over the weekwnd about suspension modification after reading Sals instructions on how to adapt a front sway from an 84 Olds in a recent thread and after following an Escalade and later a Ram truck in our Christmas eve trip to church and back.

I know that you can get a rear swaybar kit from Tbow and one may be able to salvage one from a late 50s Commander or President but has anyone ever built a rear swaybar for a Lark from parts salvage from the local pick-n-pull?

I didn't find anything when I searched the archived threads

Jeff T.

Most of the full-size pickup rear bars I've seen would be way heavy/stiff for a Stude. Also many of them bolt the bar to the rear axle, adding unsprung weight. We want a bar bolted to the frame with links down to the axle.

jack vines

3rd and 4th Gen Camaros bolt the bar to the axle with links to the body. I dont think another
20 pounds will cause any serious issues with a solid axle car. You have to consider the weight
of the vehicle, and if you decide to adapt one, find a CAR in a similar weight, and add a front
bar which matches the rear. As with the Olds, I woulod look into what bar they used in the
rear, the size the the attachment .. though I think they had trailing arms. Maybe a 2nd Gen
Camaro, Nova or Mustang?

Tom

The rear bars that I've looked at are from the mid size and small size SUVs from the 80s and 90s. S10 Blazers, Ford Bronco 2, and even some of the early Explorers. Small narrow rear bars are all you will need as the weight bias in any Stude will be heavy front. Almost 60/40 for Larks.

Jeff,

I agree with Sal on the weight bias for Larks. I have a rear bar from a 57-58 President sedan on the 64 Challenger below and it works great. The best part it was free and easy to install. Urethane bushings can be found at most parts stores....take the old ones to match. Hope this helps.

Dan Miller
Auburn, GA

I would love to get ahold of a rear swaybar out of a 57-58 Presdent but how many 57-58 President parts cars are out there? That being said, does anyone out there have a President parts car with said sway bar

With my low budget, I'll have to check S10 blazers, bronco2s and perhaps some smaller cherokees to see what I can adapt

Nothing worth doing is ever easy

Jeff T.

I can't remember which SUVs they are, but some of them have nice universal style clamps that bolt to the rear axle. Making up the end links would be a breeze after that. I like the rear bars that have the hump that goes over the rear end pumpkin. Gets it up and out of the way. Good luck with your project. Share the pix when you get them.

I know my '50 is a bit different than larks and the like, but my '64 has a very similar width as the 50. I have a 90's vitage camero rear sway bar but it is far to wide for the stude frames. What I have found that looks to be a great fit (haven't installed yet) is a turn of the century Crown Victoria rear sway bar. My ford bar is from a police intercepter, but im sure that civilain crown vics have a similar setup. The bar hangs on the axle as mentioned above. It looks like with some simple angle iron brackets bolted to the inside of the frame and some new links, the ford bar should work well. Food for thought!

I put a Jeep Wrangler rear sway bar on with bolt on diff mount brackets off of a Ford Ranger pickup.
All junkyard stuff. Cost $50 total.
That was a while ago, but all the pieces were easy to get off with hand tools.

Jeff -

In your bar search...it's best to find as straight a bar as you can find. That is..one without a bunch of bends to clear this or that as it goes across the car.
The reason, as the bar twists...a straight bar will for the most part, just twist. It will not try to knot up or bend.

A bar that has a hand full of bends...will act "less" like an "torsion" bar and more like a semi-cooked piece of spaghetti.
It will bend more than go thru a torsional twisting motion.

Example....I'll bet NO ONE...has seen a Chrysler torsional front suspension with "any" bends in the torsion bars...! Unless of course...it's been crashed.
Youll also never see a true race car with bends in their Anti-roll bars.

I set up an early (69) Camaro/Firebird bar for my Lark wagon. At the time, there was a total of four different diameters to choose from to get the best out of the total combination.
This is something "no one" has mentioned. To do this right...the springs, the front sway bar need to be accounted for when choosing the right diameter rear bar, or more correctly...both front and rear bar diameters. Be sure to increase the rear bar diameter (from ideal) if it has a bunch of clearance bends in it.

Have fun

Mike

As Mike said, the size of the sway bars is critical. The rears are usually around 75% smaller than the front, such as the 60's Olds 442. That had a 1" front & I believe the rear was 3/4". I put one on my 68 Le Mans convertible years ago & it made a huge difference-but remember, the engineering was done already & not by me.

Had a chance to do a little research using an online auto mechanics database our local public library has and got some exploded views of a 1994 Ranger, a 1984 Jeep Cherokee and a 1990 Camaro rear sway bars.

The 84 Ranger rear sway bar bolts onto the rear axle tubes with the bars arms facing forward, the link arms bolt up to the inner frame rails with the bar having a loop that goes over the body of the differential housing. From the illustration, the Ford frame is a C channel like the Champ or Transtar so this sway bar might work on the trucks depending clearence around the gas tank. This should work on a Lark as long as you can figure out how to fab up a suspension mount on the frame. Oh, the link arms look like the have big bushings and they have a bit of a jog to them too.

The 1984 Cherokee rear sway bar looks like it bolts to the frame rail with links that connect the sway bar ends to a bracket bolted to the top of the rear springs via the outboard spring ubolts. I cannot tell from the pictures if this bar might possibly mount somewhere near the Studebaker location but I can do more research on the small jeeps.

The 1990 (third gen) Camaro is bolted to the bottom of the axle tubes with brackets and ubolts Of the three swaybars the camaro bar looks to the the one with the fewest bends with stock links similar to the frame links on sway bars on the front suspensions of GM cars (bolt, grommets, spacers, washers) To use the camaro bar some sort of frame bracket will need to be made or adapt another link type to minimize welding if that is your desire.

I have no idea of any of the sway bar diameters at this time but the research goes on

If I can figure out how to post the illustrations that I have I will

Jeff T.

All of this fabrication and adapting of existing parts is well and good, but is there a reason nobody has mentioned the sway bars sold by Dave Thibeault?

but is there a reason nobody has mentioned the sway bars sold by Dave Thibeault?

Yes, that would be the easy and logical way to get a rear sway bar.

No, some will take pride in not doing it the easy way. For the same reason CASOs don't drive Toyotas. That would be too easy and make too much logical sense. If we don't scrounge it from the scrap pile or the Pik'n-Pull, we don't feel we have done our duty to go boldly into the weird.

Maybe, a few Stude owners also have a Toyota and obviously, Dave sells some sway bars. However, for many here, a different drummer, a music no one else hears, is the only way to dance.

jack vines

jack vines

Originally Posted by PackardV8

Yes, that would be the easy and logical way to get a rear sway bar.

No, some will take pride in not doing it the easy way. For the same reason CASOs don't drive Toyotas. That would be too easy and make too much logical sense. If we don't scrounge it from the scrap pile or the Pik'n-Pull, we don't feel we have done our duty to go boldly into the weird.

Maybe, a few Stude owners also have a Toyota and obviously, Dave sells some sway bars. However, for many here, a different drummer, a music no one else hears, is the only way to dance.

jack vines

jack vines

Jack,

Very well put!!

The most universal one I know of that does the job is on a mustang.

Look up what others have to go through....... There are MANY other forums reinventing that wheel... https://6263meteor.proboards.com/inde...int&thread=521

I'd look for one like this, but be sure you get any drop down links and hardware that came off the car.
https://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/GT-re...-/220723002943

Gee, I know T-bow sell full kits, so does SI...

Time I have, cash is another matter entirely

By the time I am able to doing something I may have the cash for the proper part

If anything, I have discovered that the Ranger rear sway bar will work on my Champ project so my time invested was worth it.

Jeff T.

Originally Posted by PackardV8

...For the same reason CASOs don't drive Toyotas. That would be too easy and make too much logical sense.

Logical sense to drive an over rated brand that drives more money and jobs overseas.
"How would you use Toyota technology to make the world a better place?"



"A terrible car crash in August of 2009 was the starting point for all of the Toyota recalls. Three family members along with relatives of a California Highway Patrol were killed and now Toyota Motor Corporation is being blamed for their deaths. John Saylor (off duty CHP), his wife, daughter, and brother-in-law died on August 28th, 2009. They were all in a 2009 Lexus ES350 when it took off at full speed, reaching 120 miles per hour in rush hour traffic in suburban San Diego, CA. The brother of Saylor’s wife called in the emergency and told the emergency dispatcher that the accelerator pedal was stuck and Saylor was unable to slow down. “We’re in trouble. . . . There’s no brakes. End freeway half-mile,” Christopher Lastrella said during the recorded conversation. Saylor, 45, his wife, Cleofe, daughter Mahala and Lastrella were killed instantly. Immediately after the crash Toyota recalled millions of cars for the same reason, sticking accelerator because of a floor mat jam. Toyota officials said they do not discuss the pending litigation."

Floor mats? Its in the programing/design, its also not solved by relocated the gas pedal.
They got off way too easy.

Tom

My heart breaks for the passengers and innocents killed in this accident, but if the driver panics to the point of losing all common sense and can't figure out to put the car in neutral or turn off the key, I have little sympathy for him. Too many people have become complacent in driving their cars these days. It has always been and will always be a very serious business to take 2 tons of rolling death onto a highway and not have enough brains to know what to do if your throttle sticks. I always drive with the idea that somewhere around me is some nut-burger who is not paying full attention. It has saved me from many accidents through my 40 years of driving.

Whoa, this has gotten way off topic.

Anyone have pictures of rear sway bars that they have successfully adapted to a Lark?

Originally Posted by sbca96

I only brought this up because Toyota was mentioned as a logical choice of car
to buy. Concidering that most modern Chevys and Fords rate higher, its time we
stop spreading this lie, and continuing to destroy our economy. This is real folks.

"lie" is a harsh word. truth is all mfgrs. have lots of quality issues. Just had a $500 shifter assembly replaced on my 3 year old Impala because the key would no longer come out of the ignition. Fleet lady said that this wasn't the first time that had happened. (small pool, maybe 5 Impalas in it.) Also had to have a door lock repaired at something like only 40K miles, and I KNOW that is a common problem because not only was I told so by mechanic but I had to run a coworker to dealership to have same problem fixed. Also have had two alignments done, rotors turned once (they're warped again) and both front wheel bearings replaced already. Personally I don't know who makes a really "good" trouble free car anymore. I used to really like VW but they do have their own issues, although I think their mechanicals are stronger than everyone else's.

I am not a big GM fan after having had two alignments on the Imp in less than 50K miles. I don't think the car will ever drive right, but then again I will probably buy it anyway, because like I said, I don't know that Ford or Toyota are much better, and I've been paying extra to use synthetic fluids, have trans serviced at "severe service" interval, etc. so hopefully it will last for 200K miles or more even though I don't really like it.

The difference between the problems that I've had and the problems with Toyotas are just that the Toyota problems have safety implications. However, Toyota dealerships tend to have a better reputation than any for rectifying problems without a lot of yelling and threatening.

I think pretty much all auto mfgrs. make a lot of decisions that are based on financial considerations and not making the best product that they can, sadly.

nate

I know this is late but I used the front and rear from a 85/6 firebird and bent the eas of the rear bar in a few inches and it feels like it handles better that my 3 series BMW.
This is the rear. https://plus.google.com/photos/11667...55889877658705
This is the front. https://plus.google.com/photos/11667...89296114667409
Since then I have added and extra leaf at the back and swapped the front coils for some Moog variable rate CC655's.

It doesn't matter Bradford. All Larks have the same frame & suspension design. Hawks too for that matter. Only the Avanti has a different sway bar setup due to the fuel tank being in another location & not bolted to the frame as in the others.

Originally Posted by Skybolt

I know this is late but I used the front and rear from a 85/6 firebird and bent the eas of the rear bar in a few inches and it feels like it handles better that my 3 series BMW.
This is the rear. https://plus.google.com/photos/11667...55889877658705
This is the front. https://plus.google.com/photos/11667...89296114667409
Since then I have added and extra leaf at the back and swapped the front coils for some Moog variable rate CC655's.

Len, thanks for the great pictures but they raise a question with me. In them it looks like the left side mounts above the lower control arm while the right looks to mount below the control arm. Why? Or am I looking at the photos wrong?

I recently pulled a front sway bar off of a 1985 Parisienne (same as Caprice). I think the measurements are identical to that 84 Olds midsize front bar.