Sway Bar/Shock Upgrades - Your Experience/Opinion

[mlcraven]

Hello everyone.  With good weather finally appearing I'm looking forward to getting the Cyclone out of winter hibernation and back on the road. 

Not an FE engine matter, but I'd like to take some steps to reduce body roll and improve handling.  Nothing drastic, not interested in autocross or anything like that, but seeking to reduce noticeable body roll when driving tight-radius on- and off-ramps. Even with a fiberglass hood and aluminum PI intake the weight of the big block asserts itself with authority in those situations.

Presently the car has parts store stock-for-application 1-year old Munroe shocks front and rear, as well as the orig factory front sway bar (appears to be 11/16 inch diameter or a hair less).  When I reconditioned the car I replaced the rear leaf springs, front coil spring perches and all suspension rubber, but retained the original front coil springs.

The PST catalogue came in the mail a few weeks ago: for the 67 Fairlane/Comet application PST has a 1-in diameter Polygraphite performance front sway bar kit ($189) and a set of 4 Bilstein high performance non-adjustable shocks for $379.  The shocks are said to feature Bilstein's "patented digressive valving!" (be still my beating heart). I also notice PST advertises a 7/8-in diameter rear sway bar for these cars, which I was unaware existed from the factory (and have no idea how it might install).  It's $189 as well.

When it comes to street applications I'm somewhat of a skeptic when it comes to the claims of the shock companies but feel confident the sway bar(s) would make an appreciable difference.

Before making any final decision on these items, seeking input from forum members.  Thanks.

Michael

[ScotiaFE]

Hey Michael
Things sound good your playing with the toys. Always a good sign.
That old green car I have in the shed has big sway bars front and rear.
Even fully loaded when we went up the big hill in Cape Breton it was very stable.
As always buy the best shocks you can afford.
Most rear sway bars for the intermediates, the bar bolts(clamps) to the axle tube and then the links are
attached to sub frame rail.
Did a quick PST look and their front bar is listed as #715 and that is an Addco # for the correct FE bar for your Hot Rod so it should fit.
I have that bar and know it fits the Fairlane. just an fyi

[cammerfe]

Some years ago I did a complete Rancho suspension on a Mustang for Mustang Illustrated Magazine. It was a somewhat competition setup and as such it used stuff like Heim-jointed end links on the new sway bars. The changes made a MASSIVE improvement in the day-to-day handling. The Rancho shocks didn't last very long and I afterwards went to Koni double-adjustables set at the mid-ranges. Just a FYI.

KS

[amdscooter]

Hi Michael. One of the first things I did after I bought my Fairlane 20 years or so ago was purchase a poly graphite front end kit from PST (perches, new upper a and lower. etc.). I ordered it with the 1-1/4 inch sway bar, at the time they did not note there are clearance issued with the oil filter. I had to shave it down a bit for clearance to get it in. I also ordered a set of KYB gas adjust shocks. The difference was night and day cornering wise, and I'm still running the stock 14" rims. I'm guessing the big sway bar is doing most of the work preventing body roll and am considering a softer set of shocks. The KYB's are great for performance.. but you feel ever nook and cranny in the road.

-GL
-scoot

[machoneman]

W/o welded-in frame stiffeners, a lot of the benefits of bars, shocks, Watts linkage, et al are lost due to the floppy nature of Ford unibodies. 

My '70 Mach 1 w/a 358 W has the most of the official Ford "Boss 302 Chassis Manual" upgrades, less the roll cage, PST polygraphite at most joints, 1 1/8th front bar, 3/4 rear STAM bar, roller spring perches, 620 lb contour front springs, big, heavy welded-in Competition Engineering square tube frame connectors, SMB-K manual box, PST poly steering shaft rag joint and more. Shocks are std. KYB gas for the street and 4 custom big buck racing shocks when the spirit moves me!

Still thinking about adding a neat FAYS2 bolt-on Watts linkage but that would require a new exhaust.   

http://www.fays2.net/

[BruceS]

Michael, I'm running a 1" solid front bar (no bar in the rear) on my '66 Fairlane with SBF. For shocks, I'm running adjustable Varishocks from Chris Alston's ChassisWorks.  The front bar made a huge difference over stock!  I did run a 3/4" rear bar for awhile and it didn't seem to make as much of a difference; also had clearance issues with my exhaust so I removed it. 

I agree with Machoneman on the stiffness of the factory unibody; if I get too aggressive on the shock settings it seems like the shocks are stiffer than the car, if you know what I mean.  I'm currently running the shocks set on #3 (out of 10) and that's about right for me.  I'm not running any chassis stiffeners or subframe connectors. 

Btw I'm also running the front inner roll bar pivots that Chris Alston's makes. They are billet aluminum and hold the bar really well.  Something to also keep in mind is if you decide to go polygraphite or other material as a substitute for rubber bushings, be aware you will gain some NVH (noise, vibration, and harshness).  For anti-roll bars, I recommend something stiffer than rubber for both inner bushings as well as the end links.

Hope this helps,
Bruce

[manofmerc]

Several years ago  installed that pst rear sway bar on my 69 cyclone .It was 3/4 and after installation my car didn't sway as before it was a noticeable improvement .On a couple of freeway onramps before I installed the sway bar you could feel the backend kind off rolling around .After I installed the new sway bar all that ended .My cyclone has a 15/16 front sway bar decent shocks and replacement springs .The one thing about installing a rear sway on my car was my tail pipes had to be changed .They were hitting the sway bar .I had a local muffler shop make a new set for me .That was the only down side to this .Doug 

[mlcraven]

Thanks everyone for the feedback.  I'm going to begin with the 1-in front bar and then, depending on the difference it makes, might upgrade the shocks.  PST sells the KYB shocks, they're quite a bit cheaper than the Bilsteins.

[machoneman]

I'll go back and add that any sub-frame connector, many are the makes, styles and prices, will make a world of difference in any unibody Ford. Welded-in, that is!   

[Cyclone03]

W/o welded-in frame stiffeners, a lot of the benefits of bars, shocks, Watts linkage, et al are lost due to the floppy nature of Ford unibodies. 

My '70 Mach 1 w/a 358 W has the most of the official Ford "Boss 302 Chassis Manual" upgrades, less the roll cage, PST polygraphite at most joints, 1 1/8th front bar, 3/4 rear STAM bar, roller spring perches, 620 lb contour front springs, big, heavy welded-in Competition Engineering square tube frame connectors, SMB-K manual box, PST poly steering shaft rag joint and more. Shocks are std. KYB gas for the street and 4 custom big buck racing shocks when the spirit moves me!

Still thinking about adding a neat FAYS2 bolt-on Watts linkage but that would require a new exhaust.   

http://www.fays2.net/

I have a fays2 watts link with axle clamps on both sides , next 4 post for pictires

[Cyclone03]

it's all rapped around Magnaflow 3" exhaust

[Cyclone03]

another

[Cyclone03]

last one

It's under my 68 Mustang

[machoneman]

So, how do you like it? Any downside?

[My427stang]

On my Mustang I did frame connectors and tied the cowl and shock towers together, got quite a bit better.

Then I did the 1 inch sway bar, front only, got significantly better yet

Then I did roller spring perches and got better yet.

One thing, make sure that your alignment is good for radial tires, the original specs aren't the greatest for what we use now.  I can track down my specs, but I think it was 1/16 toe in, 3 degrees caster on the drivers side, 3.25 pass side, and -1 degree camber both sides.