Lookie what $5000 buys you....

[bearman]

Kd, thanks for the thread like following the build you always up to the challenge and seem to find easy ways to overcome them.

 

[Kern Dog]

Thank you.
I am posting my successes and my mistakes. I'm always willing to take advice on stuff that I struggle with!

 

[bearman]

Need more info on the panel bond. Sounds like some good stuff.

 

[Kern Dog]

I know that many new cars are built with it. Door skins to the door frames, quarter panels, outer trunk skins to inner structures, etc.

 

[Kern Dog]

The left wheelwell mods have begun. Since this is a learning process, I did it a bit differently. I did make the same type of cuts as I did on the right side but instead of welding up 21 separate seams.....

I took an AMD outer wheelhouse that I had and made a couple of patches.

This allows me to make just one big perimeter weld and a few short welds in surrounding areas.

Clearance is about the same as it is on the right side but the time to weld is less than half.
I may use the car as a pattern to make patches for Ginger the red car.

 

[Kern Dog]

Welding is done and the welds have been dressed. After some self etching primer, I smeared seam sealer on all the welds.

 

[Kern Dog]

Compare the difference:

What a difference. There looks to be about 3 inches more clearance for whatever tire I use.

 

[Kern Dog]

I was born with a desire to make or modify stuff rather than to just buy something new.
Maybe some of it is me just being cheap but sometimes I like the challenge of making brackets or taking a non stock part and making it work.
Anti-sway bars are available for these cars. Several vendors offer them. Sometimes they are well scienced out like the stuff from Hotchkis.
The stuff from Addco and Helwig seem good as far as the bar itself but their mounts and hardware are sometimes a bit flimsy.
My red car has a modified Chevy truck front sway bar up front, 1 1/4" solid. The rear is a 3/4" bar from an '83 Imperial. It is the same shape and size as the one used in many '82-'89 Diplomat and Gran Fury Police cars. This combination works well and the car has no bad habits.
I was looking through the attic for parts to list for sale here and on FABO when I found a 5/8" rear sway bar that my brother in law bought at the Van Nuys Spring Fling in 2012. The center to center of the end link eyelets matches the frame rails of the Charger and would be too wide for the Duster he has. There is another 5/8" bar that is narrower. It is new and has all the hardware so without him knowing, WE traded and he actually got the better end of the deal.
I put the car up on the lift then put the jack stands underneath to place the weight onto the suspension.

The bar is axle hung. Not the best for UNsprung weight but it will work.

The levers are going to be parallel with the leaf springs.

The end links that were on the bar were short. I found a new pair in the shed and started some mock-up work.
The left side has the brake line in the way so I made a test fit of a "prototype" bracket.

The Addco rear bar uses THIS cheesy bracket that is too short and crowds the space with the top bushing, washer and nut.

Yeah...I can BUY a new bar and it would all probably bolt right in but so far, I'm into this one Z E R O dollars. I may have to buy some metal stock to make a stronger and better looking bracket but even if I spend $20 for supplies, the cheapest new anti-sway bar is around $175 at Summit Racing.

You may think that I should factor in my time since nobody should work for free. I enjoy this stuff though.
I have used the Chevy truck front sway bar on a few other cars. My '67 Dart, my Brother in Law's '72 Duster and a buddy's '71 Challenger all have this same style.

Below is a comparison between the Chevy bar on top, an Addco bar in gold in the middle and on bottom is the stock '73-76 Duster/Dart/Valiant 3/4" front bar.

 

[ckessel]

Don't forget to squirt some rust inhibitor, Eastwood or others, on the back side of your wheelhouse fix. Get the stuff that has a long hose with a multi pattern nozzle so you can snake it in. On those sway bar brackets, I use those only for mockup. I would make up some more permanent ones and weld them to the housing and to the rail. On the rail, catch the 3 sides with the attachment. And I can attest that the factory undercoating is quite tenacious. The stuff on my 65 is not wanting to let go without a fight.

 

[Cranky]

How large in diameter is that truck bar vs what you have on the front?

 

[Kern Dog]

The Truck bar is 1 1/4" and the rear is 5/8". This is with the red car.
I had an Addco 7/8" rear bar and with these XHD leafs, it made the car oversteer more than I liked.

 

[70chall440]

I was born with a desire to make or modify stuff rather than to just buy something new.
Maybe some of it is me just being cheap but sometimes I like the challenge of making brackets or taking a non stock part and making it work.
Anti-sway bars are available for these cars. Several vendors offer them. Sometimes they are well scienced out like the stuff from Hotchkis.
The stuff from Addco and Helwig seem good as far as the bar itself but their mounts and hardware are sometimes a bit flimsy.
My red car has a modified Chevy truck front sway bar up front, 1 1/4" solid. The rear is a 3/4" bar from an '83 Imperial. It is the same shape and size as the one used in many '82-'89 Diplomat and Gran Fury Police cars. This combination works well and the car has no bad habits.
I was looking through the attic for parts to list for sale here and on FABO when I found a 5/8" rear sway bar that my brother in law bought at the Van Nuys Spring Fling in 2012. The center to center of the end link eyelets matches the frame rails of the Charger and would be too wide for the Duster he has. There is another 5/8" bar that is narrower. It is new and has all the hardware so without him knowing, WE traded and he actually got the better end of the deal.
I put the car up on the lift then put the jack stands underneath to place the weight onto the suspension.

View attachment 985907
The bar is axle hung. Not the best for UNsprung weight but it will work.

View attachment 985910

The levers are going to be parallel with the leaf springs.

View attachment 985915

The end links that were on the bar were short. I found a new pair in the shed and started some mock-up work.
The left side has the brake line in the way so I made a test fit of a "prototype" bracket.

View attachment 985920 View attachment 985923

The Addco rear bar uses THIS cheesy bracket that is too short and crowds the space with the top bushing, washer and nut.

View attachment 985927 View attachment 985928

Yeah...I can BUY a new bar and it would all probably bolt right in but so far, I'm into this one Z E R O dollars. I may have to buy some metal stock to make a stronger and better looking bracket but even if I spend $20 for supplies, the cheapest new anti-sway bar is around $175 at Summit Racing.

You may think that I should factor in my time since nobody should work for free. I enjoy this stuff though.
I have used the Chevy truck front sway bar on a few other cars. My '67 Dart, my Brother in Law's '72 Duster and a buddy's '71 Challenger all have this same style.

Below is a comparison between the Chevy bar on top, an Addco bar in gold in the middle and on bottom is the stock '73-76 Duster/Dart/Valiant 3/4" front bar.
View attachment 985930

I am right there with you, I love making something work that wasn't intended for whatever I am working on. I am always looking for something new. Sway bars is one thing that has alluded me mainly because I have read that they can't be modified or altered but I am not sure I believe that completely.

You said you modified a bar to work? How did you modify it?

 

[Kern Dog]

THis is the shape of the Chevy/GMC 1973-87 3/4 ton and 1 ton front sway bar sized at 1 1/4".

Note that across the top, it is straight, then bends at approximately a 45 degree angle. This is slightly different than the 70-72 B body but close enough to work.

Lower left of the picture, the bar makes another bend. See the shiny spot? That is where the bar rests in a rubber bushing in the GM lower control arm. For use in the Mopar, the bar is cut before that bend using a chop saw. The heat from the chop saw doesn't affect the temper of the bar.

The end gets tapered with a grinder a little at a time to avoid too much heat, then a 1/2" hole drilled through it to mount the end links.
The bar cost under $20 at the junkyard, bushings are about $30. This is a LOT cheaper than a new bar.

 

[Kern Dog]

Don't forget to squirt some rust inhibitor, Eastwood or others, on the back side of your wheelhouse fix. Get the stuff that has a long hose with a multi pattern nozzle so you can snake it in.

Great point. I'm in a pretty dry climate here but may relocate/retire to someplace else that gets more rain.

 

[Kern Dog]

I am right there with you, I love making something work that wasn't intended for whatever I am working on. I am always looking for something new. Sway bars is one thing that has alluded me mainly because I have read that they can't be modified or altered but I am not sure I believe that completely.

Sway bars are tempered steel. They can be modified but you have to be careful. Bends can be straightened or added but they have to be done slowly and without heat. I believe it is called "Cold bending" and it requires a strong press!
I used to be a Chevy guy for several years. GM had some extensive suspension development for the 70-81 Camaro and Firebird line. I had a 1976 Camaro that had to pass CA smog check so I focused on making it handle well on a budget. The Trans Ams had the heavier duty springs and sway bars so they were the cars to look for. I had several buddies that had Camaros so I was the "go-to" guy for parts and advice. Those cars were still common in junkyards in the 90s so parts were everywhere. My junkyard scrounging ways started way back then, slowly upgrading my car and others using the best factory parts at low prices.

 

[ckessel]

If you end up using any of the panel bond adhesive, the gun you need is the double barrel unit that you use for foundation epoxies. Has one big and one small barrel.

 

[70chall440]

THis is the shape of the Chevy/GMC 1973-87 3/4 ton and 1 ton front sway bar sized at 1 1/4".

View attachment 986340
Note that across the top, it is straight, then bends at approximately a 45 degree angle. This is slightly different than the 70-72 B body but close enough to work.

View attachment 986344
Lower left of the picture, the bar makes another bend. See the shiny spot? That is where the bar rests in a rubber bushing in the GM lower control arm. For use in the Mopar, the bar is cut before that bend using a chop saw. The heat from the chop saw doesn't affect the temper of the bar.

View attachment 986345

The end gets tapered with a grinder a little at a time to avoid too much heat, then a 1/2" hole drilled through it to mount the end links.
The bar cost under $20 at the junkyard, bushings are about $30. This is a LOT cheaper than a new bar.

Pretty interesting adaptation. I am going to have to look into this.

 

[Kern Dog]

Back to the project despite 110 degree heat!

Last week I started mocking up a rear sway bar. As is often the case, along the way, I come up with a few different ideas and usually abandon the original plan. I first intended to keep the U bolt setup to secure the bar to the axle. Now I'm leaning toward making a bracket and welding it to the housing. I've used these bolt on bars before and they do shift around. A solidly welded bracket will put a stop to that.
Also, I had THIS idea to attach the end links to the frame:

This was a mock up....just a test to see what might work. It looks crude and simple but it would work.
I was at work the other day and just thought of this:

Mock up #2 using a small scrap of 2x3 box steel. I tried two different holes to get the end link plumb.

Mock up #3:

This time I made these out of 3x3 box steel. They will be welded at the side "tabs" and the bottom edge to the rail. Nice and solid. Far better than these:

Next up....The brackets at the axle.
That is for another day, hopefully a day under 100 degrees!

 

[BDF6]

Good job Kern Dog .
I just saw this thread and there goes my evening...

 

[Kern Dog]

Thank you! Welcome to the low dough show !