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Old 05-18-2020, 04:51 AM
crustysarge crustysarge is offline
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Default Sway Bar from wreck, would you use it?

WS6 bar from wrecked TA. Mounting hole got ovalized. Pics are same hole top and bottom view. Bar looks straight but I think I see the right side curved different but wife says it is my imagination. Thought about heating the eye and trying to press it a bit. Trash it? Was gonna mount on 70 Lemans.
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  #2  
Old 05-18-2020, 05:52 AM
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My eye agrees with yours that the right side appears to be different from the left.

I think if you try mounting it you may find the holes between the mounting points don't line up. Simple enough to mock it up and see if the naked eye is correct.

I'm not a metallurgist, so I'll refrain from commenting about heating the bar in an attempt to straighten.

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Old 05-18-2020, 06:07 AM
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The distorted mounting hole is probably not a huge deal but pressing it back into shape is probably worth a try as long as you can be sure heating it won't anneal it and make it too soft.

As for whether it's bent, you could take some measurements to be sure. Measure from the end link hole to the center of the bend on the opposite end of the bar. If the measurements are different, the bar is bent.

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Old 05-18-2020, 06:45 AM
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I would put it on a large piece of cardboard, trace around around it then flip it over to see if there's a difference. Just by eyeing the pic it it does look bent.

  #5  
Old 05-18-2020, 07:12 AM
crustysarge crustysarge is offline
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Can't mock up yet as control arms are off car. Maybe this weekend. Gonna take some measurements later today.

  #6  
Old 05-18-2020, 08:13 AM
1969GiPper 1969GiPper is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by crustysarge View Post
WS6 bar from wrecked TA. Mounting hole got ovalized. Pics are same hole top and bottom view. Bar looks straight but I think I see the right side curved different but wife says it is my imagination. Thought about heating the eye and trying to press it a bit. Trash it? Was gonna mount on 70 Lemans.
Am I missing something here? You want to put a wrecked TransAm (F-body) stabilizer bar on a 70 Lemans (A-body) and you’re worried that the donor stab bar may be bent and has an out-of-round hole? Even if the bar is straight doesn’t mean it will fit. What lower control arms and hardware are you using?

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Old 05-18-2020, 09:15 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 1969GiPper View Post
Am I missing something here? You want to put a wrecked TransAm (F-body) stabilizer bar on a 70 Lemans (A-body) and you’re worried that the donor stab bar may be bent and has an out-of-round hole? Even if the bar is straight doesn’t mean it will fit. What lower control arms and hardware are you using?
It fits, been there done that. The part that is challenging is the horse shoe clamps that attach it to the frame horns. The bolt spacing is much closer center to center than the second gen F body is, you have to address that problem to attach the clamps to the frame, nutserts can be used. In my stock cars I did one of two things. I either welded the horse shoe straps on one end and bolted the other end, or drilled a small hole in the side of the frame rail and dropped a nut inside of the frame, then used an allen head bolt because they're grade 8, and easier to tighten in the confined space next to the horse shoe clamp.

If the bar is bent center too center, is no where as critical due to the swivel points of the attachment links. The bar will self center, even if it's off a slight bit. What you need to find out is if one end of the bar is higher than the other, it preloads the suspension, you don't want that.

If you can't use the eyelet as it is, and you heat it, it will break, or at least bend. The bars are tempered after they are bent, and the ends are swagged. The process is the same in springs and torsion bars, if you heat either of those suspension components red hot, they will either bend, or break.

I doubt T/A bars are easy to procure in Italy, so I'd do the measurements and use it if it's close end to end. Reject the bar if one end is higher than the other, or you can't use it because the eyelet is too deformed.

You'll be pleased with the results using the T/A front bar, complimenting it with a 7/8" rear GTO bar makes the car work even better.

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  #8  
Old 05-18-2020, 09:33 AM
crustysarge crustysarge is offline
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F body front bar to A body is pretty common in the Chevelle world. Being in Italy means you make do with what ya got or order from US and wait 2-3 weeks and hope the box shows up and if it does that it is intact and hardware or other stuff is not lost. I stripped this off a 79 TA from Switzerland about 15 yrs ago before it went to the crusher, got a bunch of stuff off the car and it was in the pile for the last 15 yrs. Figured I might as well put it to use. Did not realize it was damaged until I checked yesterday.

I already bought the rear bar and it is on the way. Hellwig 55868 (1 1/8" bar) and thought this 1.25" front bar might work.

I checked height earlier and sure enough the damaged side is just little less than an 1/8" higher than the other side.

We'll see when the car gets back together next week. If not I will go with the Summit 720202 beast that is 1 5/16". Believe it to be Hellwig re boxed.
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/s...tiac/model/gto

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Old 05-18-2020, 09:50 AM
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I believe the 1 1/8", but maybe it was a 1" rear bar that was what the factory used on their WW5? (not sure if that's the correct option number). A 1 5/16" front bar ought to work well with the larger rear bar.

One of the guys that worked for me had a 72 HO GTO, with the optional big bars on it, and it was a great autocross car, just as the factory designed it....

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100% Pontiacs in my driveway!!! What's in your driveway?

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  #10  
Old 05-18-2020, 10:29 AM
crustysarge crustysarge is offline
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The PO installed a 15/16 aftermarket front bar on the Lemans and I have it, it is new as he never ran the car. Maybe I will just run it with the new larger rear bar and see how she does.

  #11  
Old 05-18-2020, 10:43 AM
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Bar is NOT a mirror image from side to side.

Picture with the bar, the right leg is kicked out at a much different position/angle.

Vehicle/ Bar took a major hit to be bent like that.

Tom V.

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Old 05-18-2020, 10:53 AM
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It's been since about 1980 that I was around that 72 GTO, so memory may be off somewhat. Now that I think back it may have been 1 inch front, and 15/16 rear bars. Whatever it was, Pontiac engineers had a good combo for that package.

My 67 GTO stock car had 1 1/8 front and 7/8 rear with a 1 1/4 inch longer sway bar link on the right side to preload the bar because you're only turning in one direction on an oval track. It was perfect for the application.

Herb Adams idea was that you could never have sway bars too large, but you can have springs too stiff, that the wheels won't follow the irregularities of the road surface. I've always followed that idea in my own cars and it's served me well.

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  #13  
Old 05-18-2020, 11:44 AM
crustysarge crustysarge is offline
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I have Herb Adams on my 77 TA, since the late 80's and they are great. Yeah, I agree, bar is bent out on the right. I knew I saw it. Not even gonna waste my time on it, going to the scrap metal bin at the dump on the next run.

When you are alone sometimes you just need that little push to help you decide something.

  #14  
Old 05-18-2020, 11:52 AM
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Course you could cut the sway bar into sections of steel about 12" long (vs throw it away) and if you knew some Army friends who do forged hand made knives in Europe, you could recoup some of the cost of beer money at your base.

Good steel in those bars.

Tom V.

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  #15  
Old 05-18-2020, 12:01 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sirrotica View Post
It's been since about 1980 that I was around that 72 GTO, so memory may be off somewhat. Now that I think back it may have been 1 inch front, and 15/16 rear bars. Whatever it was, Pontiac engineers had a good combo for that package.

My 67 GTO stock car had 1 1/8 front and 7/8 rear with a 1 1/4 inch longer sway bar link on the right side to preload the bar because you're only turning in one direction on an oval track. It was perfect for the application.

Herb Adams idea was that you could never have sway bars too large, but you can have springs too stiff, that the wheels won't follow the irregularities of the road surface. I've always followed that idea in my own cars and it's served me well.
The ‘72 GTO’s with the WW5 option had 1 1/8” dia front and rear bars. I’ve had a few a-body’s over the years and the WW5 was by far the best driving/handling of all of them.

Sarge,
If you have the stock sway bar you can try matching the ends up and see if one of the ends is tweaked?

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Last edited by Holeshot71; 05-18-2020 at 12:12 PM.
  #16  
Old 05-18-2020, 12:38 PM
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There you go, the actual size from someone that owns one. Tough to remember someone else's car specs from 40 years ago.

I do know that I drove the car a couple times, and it was probably nearly as good handling as my 73 T/A. Although when the guy that worked for me, and owned the GTO, drove my T/A, all he did was comment on how good the T/A felt to him, but my T/A was modified, so not an apples to apples comparison.

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  #17  
Old 05-18-2020, 01:04 PM
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I put a 78 WS6 TA front bar (along with a 7/8 BMR Fabrication rear bar) on my 69 GTO years ago. Quite an amazing transformation.

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