Hi all, Was wondering if the front sway bar was a particular size from the factory or did they vary? If so what size? thanks
But they were bigger than Skylark bars (which are alot smaller).I believe the Skylark bars were 7/8 or perhaps 3/4 inch.
Steve - Are those sizes installed on the GS, or wagons, Specials, Skylarks??? As you can see I thought all the 70 GS's were one size??? Did it differ by factory? - Bill
hi, guess i should have been more patient...looking in my book found that the larks came standard with 7/8 and gs or heavy duty sedans, coupes or converts came with 15/16 standard. thanks all
Bill, Can't say for sure exactly which was installed on a given car. Dealer ordered options would have come into play a bit. My parts book is from '81, information getting old by then & in some cases accuracy as it deals with many replacement numbers vs. original. My Skylark came with a 7/8 bar. I have a rusty hulk '72 GS350 that has the 31/32" bar on it. My Skylark currently has an 1-1/4" bar from a 76-81 Trans Am. Best option would be to reference the Assembly Manual for '70.
Thanks Steve! Interesting! The 1 1/4 bar is a sweet set up Gary! If you are looking for a sway bar that's the ticket. - Bill
GS came with 31/32" Olds 442 came with same. All the ends on the passenger end had a particular shape to identify them. Olds assembly manuals show this. Rounded point at end was 31/32" GS was bigger than Skylark. 1", 7/8" 15/16 all had different shaped ends. Most aftemarket suppliers state 7/8, 15/16 or 1" but none mention 31/32" for parts. You need to know what shape the end looks like to know what bar you have.
Don't race the car so cannot comment on handling down the track. I do drive it every day/evening I can, usually city streets, occasional trip on the highway. Pictire this: Stock 7/8 front bar & no rear = equivalent of a beached whale on turns. 1-1/4" front & stock rear bar with boxed arms = not yet approaching a Porsche but light years better than stock.
In drag racing, the mounted front sway bay does restrict or slow the weight transfer of the car upon launch rear-ward to the rear wheels ... i.e., the mounted front sway bar restricts and slows this process. The solution I have seen other use is to just loosen the end link bolts or remove the vertical end-links all together - very easy - and the sway bar can stay mounted in the bushings, etc. How much more weight does a 1 1/4" bar weigh over a 7/8"? I dunno ... a couple rolls of quarters?
Steve gives a pretty good assessment. My experience doing this twice now (TransAm bar is 1.25 inches) is that with a stock size tire (245-60-15) you'll go from a loose rear end car to a far more neutral vehicle that will go through a corner while you stay in the throttle and generally come out straight (at least with a pegleg rear end). The stock size front bar really causes the rear to break loose. I noticed a substantial difference going to a wider rear tire (295-50). The car went from neutral to a push meaning it is even less likely to break the rear loose but now it tends to push through the turn instead of make the turn. With the wider than stock tire on the back the solution is likely to stick with a stock front bar or go with a 1 -1/8 bar from a Z28. Stock 15/16 bar; stock tire - car is loose TransAm bar; stock tire - car is neutral TransAm bar; wider rear tire - car pushes
There are several book on the subject of tuning a suspension. I recommend the following anong others; "Performance Handling" by Don Alexander ISBN 0-87938-418-2 My copy was published in 1991 and was current at the time I read it the first time. The principles haven't changed. My experience is that the only way to really tune a suspension is lots of one step at a time changes followed by seat time after each change. It's time consuming but the rewards are well worth the effort.
I have never felt the need for a bigger sway bar. I drive like an old lady on turns with it anyway. Straight ahead is where it is at. Poly bushings on the sway bar only make it handle like it has a bigger bar anyway so I believe it is a waste of money, time and weight adding a bigger bar. It will never handle like a modern car. To each their own anyway.
