I am planning to box the rear lower control arms in my 66 Skylark convt with the weld in pieces and drill the holes for a rear sway bar. I see that I can get a 1" rear bar or a 7/8" rear bar. Which one would be better? Does it matter? They cost about the same from the vendor I am looking at and come with the shims to install. I have a 1.25" front bar out of a 79 trans am that I am also planning to install. I'm hoping this will help since there is a lot of body roll with this convt. Thanks.
Hey Rick I remember seeing a post a little while back. It recommended that your rear one have a smaller diameter then the front. SO you could be OK with 1". Do an advanced search...
I'd definitely go with the 1" in the rear. And install some polyurethane bushings with the front 1 1/4". You will notice a huge difference wish you did it sooner. :TU:
Sway bars are a balancing act used to modify the handling of the opposite end of the car. A larger bar in front (assuming all else remains the same) will induce understeer and make the rear end less likely to come loose. This feels good in a hard corner but I've found it a bit scary at high speed on a freeway offramp - the car wants to go straight rather than stay in the loop! To loosen it up more in that situation you add more throttle - but your instinct is to slow down. I went to 295s in the back and now have even more understeer (tires plus bars mess up the balance even more). Next solution - a smaller front bar from a Z28. With the big bar in front and a little more bar in the back you'll get more oversteer (loosen up the rear a bit). But compared to stock it will become an understeer car.
Thanks guys, I think I'll go with the 1" rear bar. I already have the front with some poly bushings, just need to pick up some poly end links. This is more of a cruiser than track car, but being convertible it has a lot of body roll. This should make it a bit more enjoyable to drive.
