What are the pro's and con's of fitting stabilizer bars to the front and rear end?

I have a 62' Signet.

Thanks

Peter

If you mean anti-roll bars.....

Pros: Better handling.

Cons: Can't think of anything.

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Ed
64 Valiant 225 / 904 / 42:1 manual steering / 9" drum brakes

Yes, you will see better handling overall - responsiveness, less lean or sway, more corner speed due to tires being more evenly planted.

I feel that a rear bar on an A-body makes the car tail happy (oversteers), and this increases with speed (more at hi speed). I do not run rears on any of my cars.

Cons: More weight on the car, slightly harder steering with a front bar and manual steering, possible annoyances with mounts and bushings if you get a cheap bar. FirmFeel.com will be the most reliable source these days.

Best,

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

Some anti-sway bar designs hang low so you have reduced road clearance.
DD

Lou is right. I liked the way the car cornered level with front AND rear bars, but it was VERY tail happy partly owing to the wider stance at the front than the rear on the A body cars. You could mitigate this some by going with a wider tire and wheel on the rear.

Lou talked me into removing the rear bar, and while it has more body lean now, it is LESS prone to oversteer. The problem is that the oversteer, and least on my car, comes on suddenly, and rather dramatically. It is one of the characteristics my car shares with a Porsche. (;>)

The aftermarket bars for the front are problematic as Doc pointed out in that the mounts often hang down too low. I have broken mounts and K members on speed bumps. For awhile you could get one with a mount that did not stick down, but protruded forward. That is what I currently have on this car. I also could not find a control arm mount spot that did not interfere with the disk brake calipers or some part of the suspension when cycled through its entire movement. The problem is that as the suspension drops, (car rises) the track narrows and the spacing of everything changes. Things can look fine in one position, and look bad in another. I finally ended up welding mount tabs to the lower control arm half way between the shock mount and the front strut rod. This has worked quite well.

Bottom line, it was worth the fuss. The front bar makes the car handle more like a modern automobile. If you look at the rear bars on modern performance cars, they are seldom as thick as the ones sold for the rear of our A body cars. I think a thinner bar might work better and not be so prone to oversteer.

Sam

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How about the Hotchkis 22385 Sway Bar kit, front and rear bars plus mounts. The rear bar is thinner than the front, but the front is like 1.5" in diameter (hollow). Does this one hang low or need special welding or placement on a '67 dart?

Also, I'm planning to upgrade with SSBC-A153 front disc brakes. I figure I should do the brakes first since it changes the spindles and layout some. I have the small 9" drum brakes now, but I did get the 10" brake spindles in anticipation of the changeover. I'll have to go with 15" rims as well I think.

Anybody use either or both of these products?

Thanks for any feedback.

BG

I checked out firmfeel.com's site, they seem to be more in tune with the particulars of the A-body...