Was was the typical size of a front sway bar? The one on my 68 is either 15/16" or 1" (kind of hard to tell without my calipers that are in storage). I need to get new bushings and want to make sure I don't get the wrong ones. I'm wondering if that 1/16" of an inch will make that big of a difference if I buy the wrong set?
I thought they were in 1/8 inch increments but I could be wrong. I thought the original 68-72 big bars were 7/8. A quick check is to use a open end wrench to check the diameter.
I thought the same thing, until I was doing some research on it. I googled f41 on some of the different sites that I belong to and came up with varying answers. My car was a project car when I bought it and the guy building it died. I have no idea where or what the bar came off of. I wrapped a cloth measuring tape around the bar and once I did the math, the diameter was close to the .970" (which is close to 31/32") dimension given below: I'm at a loss as to what bushing I really need. I guess I can go with the standard 15/16" one that is commonly offered and hog it out if necessary?
Are you getting the bushing locally? My local Advance Auto store has aftermarket polyurethane bushings and end links on the shelf. Take the bar with you and size them up. If you are using stock type soft rubber bushings, I don't think it will matter much as they will conform when you tighten them down.
Well, I broke out the calipers and it is the .970" bar. So what bushings do I buy for it? The 1" or the 15/16" and hope it will squeeze around?
If you are using the hard urethane bushings, I'd go with the smaller one and position the gap in the rear. If you are using the factory type rubber ones, I'd go with the larger one as I suspect that is what the factor would use. The simple matter is, you could get the larger one and trim the gap to make a snug, custom fit fairly easily with a band saw or a hack saw in a pinch.
I plan on using poly bushings, but I think I will go with the 1" and cut it down to size. 1/32" trim should be enough to make it right. Thanks
If you are getting BUSHINGS that need to be modified to fit, you need to get them SMALLER than the sway bar diameter, and grind / sand / file them to fit the bar.
