Paul L

By UPS from a salvage yard in Arizona. This is the GM 7/16" rear swaybar associated with the RPO FE7. Everything is included, even the bolts. There is some surface rust but sandpaper and some semi-gloss black will take care of the that. Remarkably the frame bushings are OK but the link bushings do need to be replaced. But GM still has stock on them. I can get them in two days (although this is a winter project).

My front bar is 7/8" compared to the FE7 1 1/8". So it will be interesting in the spring to see how this hybrid combination handles!



This surface rust will clean up very nicely and with new link bushings we are NCRS....well close.




[Modified by paul79, 8:54 PM 11/20/2002]

adam

GM still has the link bushing - wow, what price were you quoted?

You'll have to try it out next spring with and without it hooked up
to see the difference. My car has FE7 but its hard to notice a
difference without a compare.

Paul L

The link bushings are about $4.00US each. And yes I will do a comparison.

NHvette

Hi Paul,

I remember your post about all the parts required to install the rear sway bar.
So, did you come to the conclusion that it was best to try and find the
complete and original system, rather than putting it together with new
aftermarket parts ?

I am also considering this upgrade for mine. I'd like to know:
How much you think it will end up costing you.
How much of a PIA it was to install.
How much difference in body roll and overall handling/ride.

I don't expect answers right away (obviously). Take your time and get back
to us next week.
:jester

Is that a custom avatar I see under your name ? :seeya

Ganey

Get the front bar as well! It's much better to have a balanced/matched setup!

W/ FE-7 bars & std. sus. you will have better handling & still a good ride.

paso

Paul whats the GM part # for the frame bushings. I'm surprised you didn't anticpate that question. You are usually way ahead of the questions that might be asked. :) :D

Paul L

Dave,
This is a winter project as my car is in storage until April. So your 4th question will not be for some time.

I had a long look at the aftermarket rear systems and they seem to 9/16" and up. That seemed to be overkill as the Corvette engineers seemed to think 7/16" was adequate. I do not question their good judgement. And I was concerned about fit with aftermarket. You may recall the earlier thread. Some said OK, some mentioned problems with fit. So I concluded that I would find the stock set-up. (redvetracr was certainly an influence in this regard.) And I do have a bent for originality.

I looked at the Corvette suppliers, GM and EBay for stock parts. The prices in total were outrageous: $20.00 for this plate/bracket and that. So I went looking at/in salvage yards that I have used in the past. I found the complete unit in Arizona. And that is where matters stand. They have one more complete unit if anyone is interested. Cost was $95.00US plus shipping. If I tally up the total cost it would be about $120.00US.

Installation (as it is a stock unit) should be about 30 minutes.

And yes, that is a custom avatar. A pic taken on a cold morning in October in front of Canada's National Aviation Museum.




[Modified by paul79, 7:35 PM 11/20/2002]


[Modified by paul79, 8:13 PM 11/20/2002]

Paul L

Ganey,
I will give this combo a try and see what happens. Then go from there. This importing business from the USA does get expensive!

Paul L

Paso,
The GM number for the 7/16" frame bushing is 351600. But discontinued as usual. The only source I could find for a bushing that size/small is Dr. Rebuild. His number is 7242207 at $15.00US each. I was relieved to find my salvage yard examples in very good condition and not in need of replacement. My price on the (available) link bushings from GM is about $7.00CDN each. So now down to clean-up and painting! I love these experiments.

Flareside

Paul, I have the exact same configuration on my '79, standard suspension and the 7/16 FE7 rear bar. The car handles great! Easily the best handling C3 I've drive (but it's also the newest, so that may not count). It doesn't do anything weird at all with the 7/8" front bar, and it holds very firm and flat in the turns without being harsh.

-Joe

Paul L

Thanks Joe. I read the earlier posts on the larger rear sway bars and spin-outs and the like: mis-matched front and rears. But those folks were using huge diameter bars. Bigger is not always better! I figured that GM engineers in the 1970s knew what they were doing and stuck with their specs. I am happy with my purchase.

Paul L

I just punched those link bushings out and everything looks great. I will have the new bushings in a few days from GM and re-post on the outcome!

73 LS-4

Be carefull the first time you throw it into a hard corner with that rear bar and stock front, my car pushed extremely bad with a 3/4 rear bar and stock front bar on my big block (albeit it had a lot more weight up front) but it was bad enough to notice driving normally through corners. If you upgrade to poly bushings in the front it may not be as bad since they will react faster then the rubber bushings. Your car is better balanced then mine from the factory to begin with so I may be concerned over nothing but I wouldn't push it real hard from a start, I'd get used to it then start pushing the limits. Let us know how it works out.

:cheers:
Pat Kunz

Paul L

Thanks Pat. April is a long time away but I will remember to take it easy at the outset!

killain

Paul, I'd like to get the other sway bar from the yard you got it from, Where are they and what should I ask for?
Thank you!

Paul L

You have e-mail. Just for the interest of other members, I have stripped the parts down to bare metal, primed and painted. So here is a pic of the components of a GM factory FE7 rear sway bar assembly (7/16" diameter). The link bushings will be here on Tuesday from the GM parts depot in Woodstock, Ontario and this unit will then be ready for installation in Spring. Another project completed :) . Wrong paint: GM called for semi-gloss but I am not **** about these matters.







This will demonstrate the GM set-up as compared to the aftermarket products. I do not advocate one or the other. I simply have not given them a try. But the differences are striking with the solid GM plate link compared to the flexible rod system used by the aftermarket. With apologies to MIKER, I have taken his pics for reference/comparison.



[Modified by paul79, 6:07 PM 11/22/2002]


[Modified by paul79, 7:03 PM 11/22/2002]


[Modified by paul79, 7:14 PM 11/22/2002]


[Modified by paul79, 7:23 PM 11/22/2002]


[Modified by paul79, 7:45 PM 11/22/2002]


[Modified by paul79, 9:30 PM 11/22/2002]

Paul L

TTT. I took some flak re going for the stock bar compared to aftermarket. Any comments on this? As noted earlier, I do not have any bases for comparison as the stock unit is not installed. But the GM unit does look more robust!

Jughead

Great pics & post as always Paul. :yesnod: I'll need to change my front bar & add a rear bar when I plop my 454. I agree with you, there's a reason GM used these sizes. There may be other(thicker) aftermarket bars out there but I think GM was targeting the handling for the average Joe. I think adding a larger bar could upset the entire suspension geometry & transform your vette into an unfamiliar beast. If you're not racing or auto xing I'd stick with the stock bars.

Can you e-mail me (mozuch@aol.com) the phone # for that salvage yard....I want to see if they have a rear bar for a BB.

Thanks
Len

sharkthehunter77

how difficult is it to put that thing on?

Paul L

The Mitchell Flat-Rate Manual says 0.4 hr. So it looks like an eight-bolt, 20-25 minute job: four bolts into the trailing arms (2 each side) and the bushing brackets into the frame.