just HOW important is my front sway bar? (airbag install ?)

well, i'm nearing the end of my airbag install on the 60 catalina. obviously i need to relocate the front shocks. if i go to the rear of the arm, i have tie rod issues, and brake line issues. (can be worked around, but gonna be a pain in the ass) if i go in front, i'd need to remove the sway arm completely i'm thinking. but after that, it's a slam dunk to put em there.

what happens if i yank it out? huge noticable difference? is this a bad idea? do i just deal with the headaches of attaching it to the rear of the control arm?

actually, now that i think of it, is there a prefered side to mount the shocks? are there advantages to mounting to either the front or rear?

 

Thing to keep in mind about factories, it's always the $$.
If they didn't think a sway bar was a necessity it wouldn't be there.

Haul ass around a corner after it's removed and I'm pretty sure you'll know what to do....

 

yes it IS important.......i had the same issue with my olds.....i will send you a pic of what we did......i would post it but i am computer illiterate......haha...by the way......bags rule !!!!!!!! you will love em........

 

cool donnie, i'd like that. (send me any other pics you have of any of your set up.) i guess i already knew the answer before i asked, but i figured what the hell!

all in all, the whole process is going fairly smoothly. i've done all the work myself... nobody seems too intersted in lending a hand on this project...HAHA.

if all goes well, i'm hoping to be on the road saturday, sunday at the latest. of course now that i've said that, it sure as hell wont happen!! wish me luck.

 

If you only run front and back, you need it, not as important if you run each corner seperate.

 

Without a front bar,the car will roll alot more in corners,
which will cause a "push".

I had a sway bar link fail on my '65 Pontiac entering a corner.
BIG push at 70mph.
Good thing there was nobody beside me because it used up the whole road.

Drag racers take them off to save weight,
then hope like Hell they never get out of shape far enough to need one.

 

[ QUOTE ]
Drag racers take them off to save weight,
then hope like Hell they never get out of shape far enough to need one.


[/ QUOTE ]


True enough.
I note that Alston ChassisWorks started selling a rear sway bar a couple of years back.
Not so much for the handling, but for better traction.
Even so, it sure wouldn't hurt the handling to have it on there.

 

ok, i just solved my problem!! i'll keep my hand on the switches and everytime i come into a corner, i'll put a little extra air in the corner that is compressing.....that would work, right???

donnie, email me at forsakenfew@hotmail.com

 

it should be on its way soon....i just sent em....they are big pics......

 

thanks donnie. i'm working the swing shift tonight, and have my camera with me. maybe i'll try and post some in progress shots.

 

im not running one, but it would be better if it was there. if you dont use one, make sure that you use seperate valves for each side.

 

ok i was watching "trucks" on tv a few months back and they were putting a bag kit on a newer s10. the did want to remove the sway bar either. so the welded a shock mount to the sway bar. the sway bar moves with your control arm so it works perfect! i had never thought of doing that before but a preety cool way to solve the problem. i would look into doing somthing like that then you can keep the sway bar. they do make a diff if u dont have one.

Bryan

 

[ QUOTE ]
ok i was watching "trucks" on tv a few months back and they were putting a bag kit on a newer s10. the did want to remove the sway bar either. so the welded a shock mount to the sway bar. the sway bar moves with your control arm so it works perfect! i had never thought of doing that before but a preety cool way to solve the problem. i would look into doing somthing like that then you can keep the sway bar. they do make a diff if u dont have one.

Bryan

[/ QUOTE ]

No no NO!
The sway or actually Anti-sway bar is a torsion bar, SPRING!
If you weld on it you take the temper out of it and it isn't a spring anymore just like torching coils, it fucks it up.
If you weld to anything weld to the torsion bar mounts or non-spring extension parts if it has any.

 

[ QUOTE ]
No no NO!
The sway or actually Anti-sway bar is a torsion bar, SPRING!

[/ QUOTE ]

No it's not.

 

yeah, i was wondering about that issue dr J.

i'm waiting on donnie to send me some pics of what they did on his olds. i've got some ideas already, but the less fabication and relocating of items, the better. i'm kinda NEW at this shit

oh and the whole torching springs, you should see the rear springs i pulled out of this car. jesus H christ. i'll post a pic in a bit.

 

i'm not qualified to argue if a sway bar is technically a spring, but i know this. it flexes and goes back to shape and is stiff to provide stability to handling. kinda sounds like a spring to me, whether it truly is specially tempered spring steel, i do not know. i'm pretty sure though that welding shock mounts to it would be a bad fuckin idea. you'll have twisting motion on the weld area as the sway bar works as well as shock each time the suspension works in an area that has suddenly undergone alot of heat, potentially and to my understanding very likely making the spot brittle...

 

just posted 2 pics of my rear springs in a seperate post. if you ever wanted to see what happens when good intentions go bad.........

 

i have seen some put shocks above the UPPER control arm, interesting idea that might get tried on my car.

 

thats what we did on my olds.i keep tryin to send him pics but they keep comin back....they are too big i think but i cant resize em.......the shocks work bitchin......

 

if you figure out the pics thing shoot some my way too if its not too much trouble. thanx in advance

 

damnit donnie! i need assistance!!! now i really want to see that set up. on the upper, huh?

 

[ QUOTE ]
if you figure out the pics thing shoot some my way too if its not too much trouble. thanx in advance

[/ QUOTE ]


email me and your email address and i will send em to you....maybe they will work and you could post em........??????????

 

Donnie... just send me ANY pics ANY time,
and I will resize them for you to post.....

I generally have alot of 'free' time at work to kill anyways....

Later vato.... -Snacks.....

 

yeah, i just PM'ed you about that. donnie said you may be able to help. thanks man

 

Here is Donnie's Olds.....
they show the shocks fully compressed....(bags down....)

 

Ya know...My 60 El Camino doesn't have an anti-sway bar.
They were optional equipment on Chevys, even Elkys I have to assume.
Id say if it's like an inch in diameter, it probably needs it but if it's only a 1/2" you might try it without.

 

heres the cross tube support....

 

and here's the other side....
pretty damn trick if you ask me....

 

thanks jack...
man wait till i chrome the support and flake out the shocks......because i can...hahaha....that's when i get to detailing out the engine compartment...this set up work so fuckin cool.......just make sure if you go that route you have a good welder fab it up for you...you dont want your welds braking and the whole thing comin up and destroying your hood.....

 

that is not at all what i was picturing! that's pretty fucking trick. hhmm.....still not sure if that's the route for me.

shocks??? we don't need no stinking shocks....