Rear sway and compatibility?

by crice63 Sun Jun 18, 2017 4:14 pm

Found an '89 Caddy Brougham at the yard yesterday. The rear sway and lower control arms looked very familiar, so I pulled the sway bar just in case it might fit. Maybe I can measure it today or tomorrow.

Rear sway and compatibility? 35258701171_9269b5f047_z

Rear sway and compatibility? 35258701171_9269b5f047_z

I was going to pull the LCAs too but did not have a larger enough socket. Does anyone know if these might be the right fit? Then I wandered off and found a '94 Camaro. It looked might familiar too. The sway bar however is not attached to the LCA but hanging just inside of it. I wonder if it would fit? Anybody ever try this? In any case, I wonder if the control arms would fit. They are drilled already, and in better shape than the caddy's.

Rear sway and compatibility? 35001317080_76fd3b62e0_z

Rear sway and compatibility? 35001317080_76fd3b62e0_z

Rear sway and compatibility? 35258704541_1c737cc8d1_z

Rear sway and compatibility? 35258703321_d77071386a_z

I also got to thinking about the air compressor on the caddy. It seemed in good enough shape, but I guess I wouldn't know until I got it home. There is no switch on the caddy dash, so I assume it works in some automatic way. I was hoping to do some of those airbags inside the coils for the rear as they seem to get the highest rating for comfort, but this might be a way to get set up on a smaller budget?

Rear sway and compatibility? 35001317840_0c94b93e3f_z

Rear sway and compatibility? 35001317840_0c94b93e3f_z

by Limey SE Sun Jun 18, 2017 4:49 pm

Unless the caddy is same platform is same as Impala I doubt it will fit it looks way different than My Impala rear sway bar, and Not sure about the 98 camaro But would be safe to say No I believe

by bigredlaguna Sun Jun 18, 2017 5:14 pm

For the Camaro sway bar to work would require a bit of fabricating. All I can say is measure the distance between the ends and see if it lines up with anything on the Malibu. Other people have used sway bars that are set up like that on these cars, so I don't see an issue unless it is too short to find a suitable mount for the end link.

The Caddy bar is the same advice. Measure it out. I remember an old article in one of the hot rodding magazines about the Caprice station wagon that Chevy built to be a chase car for the Corvette. They used Cadillac limousine sway bars for it. The Caprice they used is dimensionally identical to these A-body cars with the exception of the wheelbase.

by fasrnur Sun Jun 18, 2017 5:29 pm

As for the sway bar, I would say it'll fit seeing how the "B" body GM rear ends will interchange from the late 70's until the mid 90's into our cars, then why wouldn't the sway bars as well? Only one way to tell though...give it a try. Very Happy

by crice63 Sun Jun 18, 2017 5:45 pm

I just went out and measured the sway bar and held it up to my control arms and it looks to be a fit. It's not exactly robust--I will measure circumference and report back. On second look, the Camaro LCA are drilled but in the wrong place, so even if they are the same length they won't save me any trouble. I will take the dimensions of my control arms out and check them against the caddy. By the time I get those out, remove and replace the bushings, then swap mine, I might be close to a pair of the boxed UMI. It looks like they come with bushings already in place?

by crice63 Mon Jun 19, 2017 7:33 pm

This caddy sway bar is small. Circumference of 2 1/16" / 3.14159 is just about .66" or 2/3" diameter. That seems a good deal smaller than what most of you guys are talking about. I'm not building a racer, but would like to be able to take standard corners without so much lean. Is this bar going to do anything significant?

Pullapart wants about $50 for the two trailing arms, I'm guessing maybe $50 or so for blast and powdercoat, and $40-50 for some new bushings. The Spohn boxed arms are $195, or about $50 more without the hassles. See, this is how budgets get broken.

by Limey SE Mon Jun 19, 2017 11:38 pm

Look for Impala / Roadmaster Type Vehicles in the yard .... That kinda pricey at that yard I know my Buddy paid around 29 or 33 for pair off 94 Impala

by brownbomber77 Sat Jun 24, 2017 6:51 pm

If I were to do it again....check Crown Victorias for their sway bar and end link set up. The old sway bars put a lot of stress on the control arms which is how GM was breaking them on the 94-96 Impala SS's. That, and a crappy through design that didn't support very well. It will require fabricating with the end links, but it puts the weight back on the frame instead of the suspension components.

by crice63 Sat Jun 24, 2017 8:17 pm

The pic above shows the Camaro end link top bracket, which looks like it is bolted not welded to the frame. This might be a start on a solution.

by SonOfTheGrim Mon Jun 26, 2017 2:28 pm

I am working on the same problems you are right now; getting rid of the boaty feeling these cars have. I was looking into using a 2007 gto rear sway bar that uses the floating links. That seems to be the more modern design instead of bolting it straight to the control arms. If the gto had been a bit wider I could have used it.
A member here pointed me to a 95 impala ss rear bar on eBay so I ended up using it and am very happy. It's just under 1" dia.
Of course now I have my eyes on a gto front bar that's 1 1/4". We'll see if that works.

I'd say my car isn't as rolly as it was but I've got a carb problem now so I've only taken it about half a mile.

by fasrnur Mon Jun 26, 2017 8:37 pm

Here's one that will fit for sure sir.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/70-81-71-TRANS-AM-CAMARO-1981-TRANS-AM-WS6-FIREBIRD-FRONT-SWAY-BAR-1-1-4-/142404931267

by SSTOOLMAN Wed Sep 04, 2019 9:04 am

I recently scored a 81 Trans Am 1-1/4" front sway bar. Obviously I will need new 1-1/4 bushings but Can I use my existing sway bar links?

by Joe73 Wed Sep 04, 2019 11:21 am

You can reuse your original end links. You just need the new bushings.

by SSTOOLMAN Wed Sep 04, 2019 12:46 pm

Thanks Joe!

by Joe73 Wed Sep 04, 2019 7:34 pm

For the 73 SS the front bar was 1 1/8" which is the same as on the Z28 camaros.

by thatfnthing Thu Sep 05, 2019 11:03 am

Any recommendations on a good poly bushing for that bar? I have one, but have not gotten around to installing it yet.

by Joe73 Thu Sep 05, 2019 4:16 pm

I have energy suspension all around in my car. I also have a tube of Super Lube with Teflon that I apply generously all around the bushing especially where it contacts metal. Havent had any issues with squeaking. There are sway bar brackets as well as control arm bushings that have a grease fitting installed in them.

by newmexguy Sat Sep 07, 2019 1:35 am

brownbomber77 wrote:If I were to do it again....check Crown Victorias for their sway bar and end link set up. The old sway bars put a lot of stress on the control arms which is how GM was breaking them on the 94-96 Impala SS's. That, and a crappy through design that didn't support very well. It will require fabricating with the end links, but it puts the weight back on the frame instead of the suspension components.

There was apparently a design change for the 1996 model year. Just in time for the cancellation. This sway bar is from a 96 Caprice. Will interchange back to '77 model year B car, and also will work on '73 to '77 A car. Would suspect the 82 - 92 Camaro rear

LCA's are possibly the same as the '78 to '88 A/G car.

by brownbomber77 Mon Oct 21, 2019 3:26 pm

LCAs are NOT the same, they're 2" shorter or something, can't remember. The 77-96 B-Body and 73-77 A-Body are the same length at 22". The B-Body bushings ARE wider so require some massaging to get them into our frames. 82'92 Camaro rear...? Unfortunately, none of the suspension components are shared with the F-body.

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