I have a 69 Buick Skylark. Looking to get a rear Sway Bar added to the car. Anyone have any recommendations on a brand that they use and really like? One that fits perfectly and installs smoothly? Any advice appreciated !
A stock bar is fine for what it does mounted in that location,..but a HR bar is the best for actually making an improvement,...Hellwig has a more street oriented version of the HR bar,..for around $350 iirc A larger 1in diameter stock location bar from BMR or UMI is really good and stiff but without some HD lca's its ineffective
Putting a stock bar on the rear is the way to go unless you have upgraded the front bar substantially. If you have a stock front go with a stock rear. If you want a car to handle better what you want is balance front to rear and just throwing a giant aftermarket bar on the rear is not going to be balanced. In fact the HR bar is just meant to help the launch of a car with big power off the line by keeping it level and getting the power to both rear tires effectively. You would probably need a 2" bar on the front to actually make a car handle better with the HR bar on the rear. Balance is the key. The Hellwig bar(or HR bar for that matter) that mounts to the axle/frame and not the LCA's is absolutely the way to go if you are really looking to make a car handle because they are more effective and don't bind up the rear control arms under hard cornering. But if you use those kind of bars, since they work more effectively, you need to upgrade the front bar to restore balance to the whole car. I'm not sure what size front bar you have but I'd bet that if a factory car came with a rear swaybar then it probably came with a larger front bar compared to the one they would use without a rear bar. If you don't upgrade the front bar then at least add some poly mounting bushings and sway bar links. That will help restore balance and keep the cost minumal. I'd do that even without adding the rear bar. As mentioned the boxed rear arms are the best to use with control arms mounted bars. These can be added as an alternative: https://www.summitracing.com/parts/...LW6U9NDNEOEtZmJ0rQRiseo5Yp9zEtIQaAglYEALw_wcB At the very least install bushings in the bars to keep it from being crushed when the bolts are tightened. Just think about this, where is the most weight in the car? Guess where the biggest swaybar needs to be?
The HR bar is really the ultimate sway bar, but it is expensive. It mounts completely different which makes it much more effective than a stock bar. The stock bars simply mount between the lower control arms. The bar tries to keep them in the same plane, so it indirectly influences body roll. The HR bar mounts to the axle tubes, and the end links (actually rod ends) mount to the BODY pan reinforcements. That makes it WAY more effective. I have the HR bar in the rear of my GS. My front bar is a HO Enterprises solid 1 3/8" bar with poly bushings and end links. It does a very nice job. Unfortunately, AFAIK, that front bar is no longer available. I bought it 20 years ago.
Larry, correct me if I am wrong, but I believe that the 2nd Gen F-bodies (Firebirds & Camaros) and '68-'72 A-bodies have the same stock front Short-Arm/Long-Arm/Coil Spring geometry in terms of sway bar location and mounting points ... which has traditionally allowed upgrades to the A-bodies by using the larger diameter (thicker) swaybars. I know that there are some very stout aftermarket swaybars available for the 2nd Gen F-bodies. Wouldn't these be an option for our '68-'72 A-body Skylarks/GSs? And, I seem to recall a recent trend of aftermarket hollow swaybars which are very light and supposed to still be very strong. Here is an aftermarket 1 3/8" (35mm) hollow front swaybar for a 2nd Gen Firebird, but I don't know if it will fit an A-body: https://www.summitracing.com/parts/qa1-52893/year/1977/make/pontiac/model/firebird
Post a parts wanted ad on this forum, or go to Jegs or Summit and search for rear sway bars there. You can get stock appearing bars from UMI and othesr for $150-$250 depending on your choice of tube size and solid or hollow. You can buy the kits to box your current lower control arms and have them welded in or weld them yourself.
A general rule of thumb is that the front bar should be at least 25% larger than the rear bar. Meaning IF the rear bar is 1" the front bar should be 1 14/"
