sway bar replace

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jscott- do you have the rear sway bar? You may want to look into adding to help balance out the larger bar. No tricks to install. Just make sure your mustang is sitting naturally on the pavement  when you tighten everything up. Most instructions recommend that.

typical setup is 1-1/8 front and 3/4 rear -

 
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Or should I just replace all the rubber and keep the original sway bar??  And if so which is better for our cars, rubber or poly?  I see so many different sizes of bushings so I have to somehow measure which bar I have, was there a standard size bar our cars had?   My Marti did not show anything for the suspension so I assume it was stock for my 351c H code Mach1.   

 
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I'll flesh that info out a bit. 

Without Competition Handling - 250-6, 302 & 351-2V only

  • 71-72 - 3/4" front bar only
  • 73 only - 11/16" front bar only

With Competition Handling

  • 71-73 302/351 2V - 3/4" front bar, no rear bar
  • 71 351 4V (M) and 71-73 351CJ (Q) - 7/8" front, 1/2" rear bar
  • 71 Boss 351/72 351HO and all 429- 7/8" front, 5/8" rear bar



I've used poly end links and bushings for years, it definitely helps with turn-in response and reduced body roll vs rubber. Being a cheapazz, I buy the universal Addco or Energy Suspension pieces. You will usually have to use the brackets that come with them, but unless you're doing a concourse restoration, that probably won't matter. 



 

 
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My 2 cents worth, buy Addco, not the Scott Drake. Maybe it's just me, but I have had no good luck with Scott Drake stuff.

Addco will be releasing the new revised rear 7/8" sway bar in a few days. I'd NOT buy one until they are available.  These might be too much for a 2V with standard suspension. As for mounts, rubber all the way would be my choice.

 
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Tanks, I am going to look at my sway bar and perhaps just replace all the rubber.  Is there and advantage to a new Addo over the OEM one currently on my car assuming it is in good shape?

 
Tanks, I am going to look at my sway bar and perhaps just replace all the rubber.  Is there and advantage to a new Addo over the OEM one currently on my car assuming it is in good shape?
IF you have a factory bar, it is only 1/2" diam. On mine, I hardly knew there was an anti-sway bar on it as the car rolled like a pig in mud around corners. A thicker bar helped my car dramatically, but it is not all about thickness of the bar, but stiffness. This has been discussed in detail recently. Actually, I would have bought a stiffer 3/4" bar if it had been available to me at the time I needed one.

I'm sure you'll get other opinions and suggestions soon. Bottom line to me is, build to suit your car and suspension set-up on it.

 
My 2 cents worth, buy Addco, not the Scott Drake. Maybe it's just me, but I have had no good luck with Scott Drake stuff.

Addco will be releasing the new revised rear 7/8" sway bar in a few days. I'd NOT buy one until they are available.  These might be too much for a 2V with standard suspension. As for mounts, rubber all the way would be my choice.
Geoff-

Do you know if Addco is reshaping their other rear bars as well or just the 7/8"?  I'll be in the market for a 5/8" rear bar this spring.  Thx.

 
Geoff-

Do you know if Addco is reshaping their other rear bars as well or just the 7/8"?  I'll be in the market for a 5/8" rear bar this spring.  Thx.
I don't, but jpaz might be a better person to ask as it was he who finally convinced ADDCO that the bar they were selling was totally wrong for the 71-73's. He was in discussion directly I believe. I would certainly hope they would consider reshaping ALL sway bars sold for our cars. 

Alternatively, you might go to their website and either "contact" them, or do a live chat. The more people who contact them, the more they might make changes. If it were me in charge at ADDCO, I'd want to see a fair volume of (potential) orders before spending money on retooling and redesign. I have to wonder who the heck thought it was ok to make a "one-size-fits-all" sway bar in the first place. 

On my car now I have upped my rear springs to Eaton 150lb S/R (Boss 351) springs, I like the handling with the 7/8" bar, but I might  swap out the shocks for KYB low pressure instead of the KYB Gas-A-Just H/P shocks.

 
I'll flesh that info out a bit. 

Without Competition Handling - 250-6, 302 & 351-2V only

  • 71-72 - 3/4" front bar only
  • 73 only - 11/16" front bar only

With Competition Handling

  • 71-73 302/351 2V - 3/4" front bar, no rear bar
  • 71 351 4V (M) and 71-73 351CJ (Q) - 7/8" front, 1/2" rear bar
  • 71 Boss 351/72 351HO and all 429- 7/8" front, 5/8" rear bar



I've used poly end links and bushings for years, it definitely helps with turn-in response and reduced body roll vs rubber. Being a cheapazz, I buy the universal Addco or Energy Suspension pieces. You will usually have to use the brackets that come with them, but unless you're doing a concourse restoration, that probably won't matter. 



 
Well there it is again.  My H code '72 which should be a 2v and a peg leg rear but has 4v top end and traction loc rear.  And I just measured the front sway bar and it is 3/4" not 1/2"!   I have not measuresd the rear sway bar but i suspect it is 1/2" from memory. One of these days I will figure her out completely.    As it is a Sept '71 build I sometimes wonder if I have some leftover '71 parts.  Being the sway var looks fine i wil just replace with poly bushings and poly bushed links,

 
Did you check your buck tag to see if it shows competition suspension (CS)? It was an option on all cars except with the 6 cylinder. It may not have shown up on the Marti report. 

 
Geoff-

Do you know if Addco is reshaping their other rear bars as well or just the 7/8"?  I'll be in the market for a 5/8" rear bar this spring.  Thx.
They don’t make a 5/8” bar for our cars that I know of. I tried to convince them that the rear bar only needed to be 3/4” but they still made it 7/8”. 

 
do they fatigue over time?  Should I install a new one over keeping the original???
You are talking about the bar, not the bushings? I'm no expert on metal fatigue, but I might assume there could be some loss of "stiffness" over 50 years. I can only relate to my car. The 1/2" bar on the rear seemed pretty much useless, the car rolled like a pig in mud around corners, but that said, I feel the 7/8" bar might be slightly on the harsh side. There's a lot of engineering goes into figuring out exactly what is needed and without that knowledge, it's just a best guess. Ideally, it would be great if more options were available for us to try out varying combinations, but that said, we aren't building race cars, just fun street cars. Again on the bushings, my choice would be good quality rubber, I hate squeaks!

 
You are talking about the bar, not the bushings? I'm no expert on metal fatigue, but I might assume there could be some loss of "stiffness" over 50 years. I can only relate to my car. The 1/2" bar on the rear seemed pretty much useless, the car rolled like a pig in mud around corners, but that said, I feel the 7/8" bar might be slightly on the harsh side. There's a lot of engineering goes into figuring out exactly what is needed and without that knowledge, it's just a best guess. Ideally, it would be great if more options were available for us to try out varying combinations, but that said, we aren't building race cars, just fun street cars. Again on the bushings, my choice would be good quality rubber, I hate squeaks!
with my hearing I probably can not hear the squeaks lol. 

By the way, looking at bushings I see these, what are pillow blocks?

 https://www.npdlink.com/product/pillow-block-polyurethane-pair-w-1-inch-diameter/104660/200359

 
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