The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Driveline Sway bar installation "how to" for an A.D. truck

I would like to learn more about adding a sway bar to my 1948 Chevy 1/2 ton. My truck is still pretty-much stock. Is there a "tech tip" that someone can point me to for this project? Pictures say a 1000 words. How involved and time-consuming is this project? What type of cost am I looking at to do this properly? I also need a source for the sway bar. Where do I find one? Is used or after-market recommended? Thanks.

LUKE

- standard 3100 drive-train?

- front and/or rear "sway bar"?

There are after-market front sway bars available. The standard 3100 panel/suburban front sway bar ("ride stabilizer") would work on any 3100. They are sometimes available used - two styles 1947-1951(mid-year) and 1951(mid-year)-1955st.

-Standard drive train.

-Front sway bar, but would also consider installation on the rear. Thoughts on that?

-I am inclined to use an original sway bar. If so, I would turn to fellow 'Bolters and post to the "Parts Wanted" forum here. I do not know exactly what I am looking for/need, but am open to recommendations.

Thank you.

LUKE

I do not feel rear-sway problems with my enclosed drive-shaft 1954 Suburban.

I think the original front sway bar makes a difference. I'll am putting a used set on the front of the 1954 3104 pickup we are restoring.

Post a Want Ad in the Swap Meet. These are uncommon, but they are not rare.

Luke, I'm using a sway bar from Classic Performance Products (CPP). It's probably a quarter of an inch thicker than the stock sway bar and mounts using stock holes in the front crossmember, etc. It took me an hour to install mine and comes with instructions. It's a pretty simple job. The benefit of buying an aftermarket one from CPP, other than being a stronger unit, is that they have them in stock and come with new bushings and hardware.

This is the most common one for stock front axle trucks,

http://www.ecklerstrucks.com/chevy-truck-front-sway-bar-kit-1947-1955-1st-series.html

Lots of venders sell it, I suspect only one guy is making them and selling to all the venders. I used one for my '37. Its a pretty straight forward install. You need to drill a few holes and install the mounts at the u-bolts. Here is a link to my install.
http://www.stovebolt.com/techtips/driveline/swaybar/index.html

i am not real sure of the year but i have one on a 1/2 ton gmc truck i am parting out that i would think would fit the chevy also.. because of the work to take it off i would want 100 for it

Hey Wiskey runner, when you remove the sway bar pull the angled mounts it bolts to on the front crossmember. Those are kind of hard to find and a GMC guy would love to have them. None of the aftermarket sway bars work on the GMC front crossmember without fabbing up some sort of custom mount.

I wouldn't be a but surprised if those weren't being supplied
by CPP Joe. I think they are the source for a lot of the
suspension parts.
That's the same front bar I'm using on my '50 Nash. Makes a
world of difference in the way the truck handles. We've
discussed this many times here on the 'bolt. It ends the white
knuckle reaction from the passengers when you corner.

I don't see any need for the rear unless you're going to go
road racing. The rear suspension is usually much stiffer than
the front so you don't get as much sway back there.

On my 3600 I did have to open up one hole in the plates and
the bar could have been spread a bit wider so the links would
have a straight pull on them. Other than that it did bolt
right up.
http://www.pbase.com/dennygraham/3604_suspension&page=all
dg

Gentlemen--

As usual, there has been some excellent information shared here today. It is greatly appreciated. I am inclined to purchase a modern after-market front sway bar kit from CPP. There does not appear to really be a need to install one on the rear. Looking forward to the project so I can enjoy this summer driver even more!

LUKE

I received the CPP front sway bar kit yesterday. Installed it this morning. It was pretty straight forward project. Had to bore a couple of holes in the cross member. CAUTION: beware of brake lines that may be in the way! Took the truck out this afternoon for a 30 minute exercise, and it was a pleasant ride. This tech article proved to be helpful:

http://www.classicperform.com/tech_articles/SwayBarChevyTruck/SwayBarChevyTruck.htm

MEN--thanks for all the help with the project.

LUKE

I'm interested in where you had to drill holes Luke?? The one I
got from CPP bolted right up using the existing holes in the
frame for the factory anti-sway bar.
I'd like to see if they widened out the spread at the back of
the bar, which was a little to narrow and which I documented
in my album. In spite of the comment in the tech tip,
from the picture it still looks like the links are angled,
which they actually are on my truck.
Also the spacer was not included in the kit I got way back
when, I always thought the way it fit was a little odd, just
contributed it to poor design, they must have added that
recently to correct for the offset. Think I'll spin up a
couple spacers on the lathe this summer and level out those
brackets.
dg

Attached is a link to the set of photos from my Photobucket album of my completed project. Two bracket holes had to be drilled in the cross member as they were not pre-drilled from the factory. Pictures 1, 3 and 9 perhaps shows this best; note the closeness of the brake line in photo 1:

http://s160.photobucket.com/user/st...sky/front%20sway%20bar?sort=2&page=1

The spacer that Denny references is in the next to last photo. It is 1/2" in height. It was included in my parts kit.

I also needed a pair of longer squared u-bolts. They were made up for me (while I waited) by a local auto store specializing in trailer and heavy duty truck parts.

i got mine from the filling station
it bolted right up no drilling
my 54 drives a lot better than before
good investment

Just a comment on this. I just finished the installation of a sway bar on my 1954 3100. The standard 4" ubolts are a little short you don't get full nut engagement. I had to special order 2 5" ubolts and they worked just fine. I also did mine without the engine installed. It would have probably been easier with the engine installed since the springs would have compressed a little with the weight of the engine. I am exited to see how it handles when I get it all back together maybe later this year.