sway bar instructions

[CHUCKY]

Does anyone know where I can get decent instructions for installing sway bars on a 36 ford. Thanks...

[blucar]

When you say that you are looking for 'sway Bar' info for a '36 Ford, do you mean tracking bars to keep the chassis in line with the body, or body roll control.... Two completely different things that many people are confused about.
I have attached a pix of the track bar (panhard) on the rear of my 36 coupe. My rear end is a '46-48 Columbia that came from the factory with a rear tracking bar. Starting in '40 Ford started to use body roll bars, commonly called sway bars on the front of the DeLux cars. All Ford built cars '41-48 had the body roll bars on the front.

Some of the aftermarket vendors sell a kit for the front, be careful what you look/ask for, don't get the two bars mixed up. If you truly want a sway bar, then ask for a track/Panhard not a sway bar. Coil spring suspensions will generally have both, parallel springs will generally only have a body roll bar.

[petehoovie]

Originally Posted by blucar

When you say that you are looking for 'sway Bar' info for a '36 Ford, do you mean tracking bars to keep the chassis in line with the body, or body roll control.... Two completely different things that many people are confused about.
I have attached a pix of the track bar (panhard) on the rear of my 36 coupe. My rear end is a '46-48 Columbia that came from the factory with a rear tracking bar. Starting in '40 Ford started to use body roll bars, commonly called sway bars on the front of the DeLux cars. All Ford built cars '41-48 had the body roll bars on the front.

Some of the aftermarket vendors sell a kit for the front, be careful what you look/ask for, don't get the two bars mixed up. If you truly want a sway bar, then ask for a track/Panhard not a sway bar. Coil spring suspensions will generally have both, parallel springs will generally only have a body roll bar.

[Jack E/NJ]

>>tracking bars to keep the chassis in line with the body, or body roll control..... Two completely different things that many people are confused about..>>'40 Ford started to use body roll bars, commonly called sway bars

>>If you truly want a sway bar, then ask for a track/Panhard not a sway bar.>>


Yep. I can see how people confused right there.

[Brian]

"Starting in '40 Ford started to use body roll bars, commonly called sway bars on the front of the DeLux cars"...which is what the man is asking about.

[av8coupe]

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Sorry to get away from the OP's question, but Blucar, do you have tube shocks and lever shocks on the rear of your car? That's how it appears in your photos.

[Brian]

To try and answer the op question...possibly someone like Bob drake offers a kit? I dunno. What I did with my 35 was use a V8 Pilot radius rod attached to my 35 axle. V8 Pilot's had provision at the forwardmost part of the radius rods for links [resembling shock links, but a different taper], which coupled up to a sway bar. This radius rod is a direct bolt in onto 35-36 American Ford front axle; you'll need to drill chassis rails to accept the brackets that carry the sway bar. This stuff is gonna be hard to find in the USA. Possibly, if BD doesn't make a suitable kit, your best bet would be to use an entire 39 Ford front end. 39 Fords had a sway bay, but the entire axle assembly, whilst it differs from your 36 version, will directly bolt into your 36. You'll still need to drill your chassis rails to accept the brackets.

[blucar]

Originally Posted by av8coupe

Sorry to get away from the OP's question, but Blucar, do you have tube shocks and lever shocks on the rear of your car? That's how it appears in your photos.

Yes! I have original lever type shocks and tube shocks on the rear of my 36 Ford. I also have a track/Panhard bar, You should also note that the rear spring is much more HD than an original spring.
The front end is a 2" dropped '41 axle with tube shocks and a heavy duty covered spring with very short shackles. When I was young and stupid I street raced the car on a regular basis. From time to time I would run the car on a local drag strip.
The buggy/wagon type of suspension was not very stable 'at speed', therefore, I tried everything I could think of to keep the tires firmly attached to the road..

[blucar]

Brian.. The 39 Fords and/or any Ford until '42-46 did not have a front sway bar, they had a body roll control bar. Any bar that is mounted to the suspension and chassis with flexible links is not a sway/panhard bar.
av6coupe.. I have posted a pix of the rear suspension on my Ford many times on the Barn. As I recall you are the first person to ask a question about the purpose...

[19Fordy]

A little more shock info.

It's a shame that the 40 Ford tube shock conversion kit installed in 1963 is at such a low angle that it's effectiveness is greatly limited. But at age 20, who knew? NOTE: Spring shackles with brass bushings are home made, not OEM Ford. Bolling Bros. Lincoln Bendix brakes are from Gary at Cornhuskers Rod and Custom. Red brake drum retainers are home made.

[petehoovie]

Originally Posted by 19Fordy

A little more shock info.

It's a shame that the 40 Ford tube shock conversion kit installed in 1963 is at such a low angle that it's effectiveness is greatly limited. But at age 20, who knew? NOTE: Spring shackles with brass bushings are home made, not OEM Ford. Bolling Bros. Lincoln Bendix brakes are from Gary at Cornhuskers Rod and Custom. Red brake drum retainers are home made.

[blucar]

I am not wanting to be picky, however, I thought that I should comment on the long shackles shown in 19Forty' contribution to the topic.

When the pix of the suspension on my '36 is reviewed it can be noted that I have very short, stock type shackles...

Everything that I did to my rear suspension was done to control lateral, side to side, movement of the body/chassis.
I made the mistake of putting long shackles on a '41 2dr sdn that I owned prior to my '36. The car was un-controlable at highway speeds, especially on curves/rutted rural roads

[V8COOPMAN]

Originally Posted by blucar

I am not wanting to be picky, however, I thought that I should comment on the long shackles shown in 19Forty' contribution to the topic.

When the pix of the suspension on my '36 is reviewed it can be noted that I have very short, stock type shackles...

The two horizontal shanks on Jim's shackles appear to be spaced similar to stock. Jim also appears to NOT have TWO SETS of shocks dampening his rear end travel. What's that all about? It goes without saying that Jim (19Fordy) obviously takes pride in keeping his chassis and components clean and maintained. Of course, Jim is well-known here for doing things first rate.

Coop