do i really need

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rbkt65

rbkt65

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a sway bar for my street car? also got a pair of 6 cyl torsion bars. do i put them in or stay with the v8 ones? building a 71 dart, 360 magnum, factory fi and computer. dana 60 w/3.54 and 904 lock up. this will not be taken to the race track at all. just a fri/sat car to go get ice cream. i have a pair of lower control arms with sway bar tabs but no sway bar. do i really need the sway bar? i guess i could add bar later but... what say you? tia. rick w.
 
Sway bar good.

Not sure why you would go to /6 tortion bars if you have V8.
 
rbkt65 said:
a sway bar for my street car? also got a pair of 6 cyl torsion bars. do i put them in or stay with the v8 ones? building a 71 dart, 360 magnum, factory fi and computer. dana 60 w/3.54 and 904 lock up. this will not be taken to the race track at all. just a fri/sat car to go get ice cream. i have a pair of lower control arms with sway bar tabs but no sway bar. do i really need the sway bar? i guess i could add bar later but... what say you? tia. rick w.
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Drive it without, then see if you can live with the body roll. If not, then add one.
I added a swaybar to my 72 dart. Makes driving it in modern traffic a lot easier. Without it, things like spiral on-ramps were a real adventure.
If you want wider than stock tires, they might rub more easily if you don't have one.
 
If you drive normal,no. If you drive aggressive, yes on the sway bar.
 
Slant 6 torsion bars and no sway bar is the old DC recommendation for drag cars. Why? Because it keeps the front end "loose" for better weight transfer. Not optimum for street cruising.
I've done it and driven the wheels off of it- not great, but not my cup of tea anymore. I'd stay with your V8 T bars at a minimum. Add the sway bar later- you'll find one at a decent price eventually and it's a quick & easy job to mount it up if you've already got the tabs on your LCAs. The thing here is to plan ahead. Since you've got a Dana rear end, I'll assume you've converted the front to a large bolt circle, too- probably with the '73 and later A disc setup. If so, make sure you "rear mount" the calipers (just amounts to flipping the spindles and calipers to the opposite side, and using hoses that are a tad longer- usually Aspen/Volare or '69 Camaro pieces) to avoid interference with the pre-73 sway bar. Doesn't affect braking at all.
 
If you have to ask if you need it… then 100% it is a need… while you’re at it get a rear sway bar too! :poke:


Really the truth is no you don’t, the car will 100% drive better with a front and rear sway bar though, even for grocery duties in the weekend. The guys here will be great at spending you’re money thougg… you’ll go to the site to buy a front bar and end up with a full QA1 front suspension and coil overs in the rear. :rofl:
 
It depends on how you want your care to handle. Crisp cornering and improved emergency handling, by all means install a sway bar. If you're satisfied with driving the Queen Mary, leave it off. No way I'd use the smaller torsion bars.
 
absolutely leave the V8 bars in there. in this application a factory bar would be a nice addition, no need to put some burly 1+ inch bar in there.

i'd say don't even worry about a rear bar, honestly.

sounds like a prime candidate for some poly LCA bushings... /s
 
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