1.25" Front Sway Bar Upgrade - Best Bang for the Buick!

I've done this a dozen times to mine and my buddy's cars but I seriously think putting a 1.25" front sway bar on an A-body is the single best upgrade you can do.

The factory bar on my 71 350 GS was 1" and it already had polyurethane end links, tall ball joints and tubular upper control arms with lots of positive caster and some negative camber. Even with a rear bar and boxed lower control arms, it still wallowed like a pig compared to my 70 Stage 1 with a 1.25" bar.

Yesterday, me and a buddy put the 1.25" bar on the 71 with polyurethane frame bushings/brackets that are still available for less than $20 at Autozone!

We then went for a test drive and it was NIGHT and DAY difference! I remember when I first got the 71 and I took it on a test drive and assumed it would handle much like the 70 and I nearly straightened a curve as it wallowed and howled through the corner!

So, before you spend big bucks on lots of performance upgrades to your suspension, do the easy, inexpensive stuff first. A bigger front sway bar is an hour job by yourself and well worth it.

 

I like to run the 1.25 on the front and the 1.00 on the rear..:TU:

 

Agreed on what a great upgrade it is. I recently installed a 1.25" on mine and it really made it far more of a pleasure in the turns. Its not a road racer now by any means, but if I take a turn a bit more briskly, I don't pucker up feeling like its going into a barrel roll!

I bought a 1" inch rear, however it's not going to work with my umi tubular lowers so that will have to wait.

 

Same with me, 1.25 up front (all poly bushings) and 1" at the rear. Great low cost upgrade.

How come? mine bolted right up to the umi tubular lowers.

Tony

 

I didn't know it at the time, but this particular bar is made to work with factory unboxed lowers and bolts up differently. It has these brackets that slide up inside the channels on the arms. No channels on a tube!

 

I totally agree. I just upgraded the 65 to the 1.25" front and added a 7/8" rear, big difference.
I posted this a few years back;
http://www.v8buick.com/showthread.php?252263-Front-and-rear-sway-bars-CHEAP!&p=2532731#post2532731

They are still there and still cheap.
Summit Racing is another good source. BUT. The rear bars I see there are not shaped as the originals are, I like the way the original rear bar fits, closer to the rear end housing in the center of the bar. The Muscle Factory 1" rear bar looks and fits like a factory bar, but a little larger, I have used them.

Mike

 

I have been using the 1.25" bar from a mid 70's Trans Am, usually cost me about $25 at the local yards. One of cheapest and best upgrades.
Next I did the GN steering box swap, this made the car feel better on the back roads.

 

Yes, that is the second best upgrade for an A-body. Those two upgrades make a 45 year old car handle like a new one!

Perhaps we should start a sticky for any suspension improvement newbies in order of priority? Replacing worn parts with upgrades is always a priority though.

My list would be as follows but I'm flexible on all but the first one:

1. 1.25" front sway bar with polyurethane bushings
2. boxed rear control arms and rear sway bar
3. quick ratio steering box
4. front end alignment with as much positive caster as possible (tall ball joints and tubular uppers only improve this)
5. modern shocks meant for radial tires (springs if necessary)
6. front disc brakes (if drums)
7. rear disc brakes

 

Same here. They're getting hard to find in junkyards these days. The mid 80's Monte Carlo SS used the large front sway bar and had the good steering box too. Still some of those around to be found.

 

Can you use the GN/Monte front sway bars? Seems like I tried it once in about 1988 and it was too narrow to clear the frame on my 70 Stage 1.

Best I remember, they were bigger and hollow.

 

The first upgrade I did on mine was the 1 1/8" front bar and 7/8" rear with factory boxed lower control arms. Later, as luck and good deals presented me with this stuff I went with an 1 5/16" front bar and an 1 1/2" rear bar. Coupled with the hotchkis springs and a set of Gas-A-Just shocks the car has literally no body roll that I can feel but the front 215/70-15 tires can't hold it in a hard corner. I really don't want bigger wheels and tires so the bigger sway bars sorta turned out to be a waste.

 

I also have the 1.25" front and 1" rear. Glad I made the right choice according to this thread. haven't tried them yet. I boxed in a good set of lowers and powder coated them. also installed new bushings. factory mounting made easy on the rear. I've searched for the box in kit I used but can't seem to find them anymore.

 

Sounds like you'd be better off with the smaller bars since your limits of adhesion are reached well before the suspension is maxed out. With your small-ish tires, the articulation of a smaller bar may allow more weight to shift onto the outside tire for better grip.

 

This is on my 1965 Skylark. It handles very nicely and rides quite well at the same time.

1. I 5/16" hollow sway bar in the front.
2. Tubular A-arms upper and lower.
3. 245/45ZR17 Nitto 555 Tires in the front.
4. Power Disc brakes in the front and rear.
5. 1997 Jeep Grand Cherokee power steering box.
6. Front end alignment with the positive castor.
7. 1" sway bar in the rear.
8. Boxed rear control arms.
9. Car came with pretty good shocks on it already.
10. 285/40ZR17 Nitto 555 tires in the rear.
11. Two additional small braces in the rear. Not sure what they are called.

Car came with a V6 and I kept the same springs front and rear. Reason being the weight between the V6 and the L92 motor is almost identical. This has worked out very nicely.

 

www.amesperf.com part number S139CB

 

Yup, I've been thinking the same thing, that I should put the other sway bars back on the car. Either that or quit going around curves too fast

 

HEY..:grin: You found them! these are what I used exactly. perfect fit, welds great and only 30 bucks. highly recommended. the loops fit inside and brace the sides where the bolts go through. thanks for the find.

 

Yes I use those also. They are cheaper from The Muscle Factory, $24.95

http://www.muscle-factory.com/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=253&cat=Sway+Bars+and+bushings

Mike

 

To be clear up front, I'm not nitpicking but these lower arms do not have the V-notch in them like the originals, so if you are going for point judging it's possible you could loose a point or two for that.