Sway bar bushing question

A little while ago I bought a new set of bushings for the sway bar in my '54 Chevy 150. I just got a chance to install them and after scraping up my knuckles getting the old ones out, came to find out the new ones didn't fit right.

The outside shape is right and fits in the bracket alright, but the inside hole is too big for the sway bar. The old bushings fit perfectly, they're just a little cracked (and 50 years old).

Any thoughts on this? They are a MOOG part, the part number eludes me right now, but I could find it if it would help.

Thanks,
Jay

 

bttt - Anybody have any ideas?

 

Sounds like they're made for a larger diameter sway bar..
Maybe the company's own product?

 

when i needed swaybar rubbers for my olds i measured the bar went to the parts store and got ones that fit the bar,then i took'em home and made'em fit the clamps.i think they were from a mustang or something...

 

AutoZone carries generic polyurethane sway bar bushings in various sizes.
I'm sure you could find something there that will work for you.

 

Can you buy or make yourself a bushing - steel, aluminum - split it in half and JB Weld it to the sway bar so the new bushings will fit?

You'll need four bushings cuz the cut will have to be made to account for the saw kerf.
That way you'll end up with four halves that fit precisely.

 

c9
That sounds like a good solution to me.
On to the original question, either your sway bar is really worn (that would be obvious to the eye), or you got the wrong bushing. Gm over the years has used several diameter swaybars that had the same basic outer braket for the bushing.
Its not that unusual to get the wrong piece. Not even that unusual to get the wrong piece in the right box.
To quote a very unpopular phrase (not PC) "Hell, they just hire junkies and winos off the street."

 

Sounds like you need to upgrade to a larger sway bar to fit the bushings.
TZ

 

a bigger sway bar would be cool. i went thru the same thing with my pontiac, and hoped to get bushings to fit the factory brackets. went to advanced auto parts and ordered a set based on my bar diameter. the rubber wouldn't fit the brackets, but the brackets fit the holes on my pontiac frame perfectly. the ones they sell are kind of a universal fit deal. all i had to do was paint em to match the frame and it looked great, especially since the old brackets had some roughness from 53 years of rust.

 

I had thought about a bigger sway bar. I don't think it would hurt anything, just improve the ride, right?

Any suggestions on finding a new sway bar? My old one looks to be in fine shape (just fifty years of weathering), no obvious wear or stress. If I can find a new sway bar - I'll go for it, otherwise I'll try to hunt up the right bushings.

Thanks for the input so far!

Jay