Sway bar kit best options?

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Boduke

Boduke

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My rig is 72 with a 73k. No sway bar. Looking for recomndation on all in kit for front and rear sway bar. My LCA do not have brackets so im gonna need tabs to weld on. I dont want anything that will make it ride rough its a cruiser.. right now its gettng too much flex and im getting lotta wheel rub with 14x7 wheels.
Helwig has a kit and there are lotta noname ebay kits. What is everyone using. Or should i just get Mopar factory bar and scrounge the bits.
Thanks in advance
 
Helwig. They supply bolt on front mounts. If you really want factory type buy the Hotchkis weld on tabs. E and A body use this same tab. Rear kit is adjustable with three settings.

Hotchkis. Really nice detailed kits. Just more $$. They will come with a weld on tab. The sway bar middle is straight where it goes through K-member, so you have use the supplied spacers to get it up and down where it doesn't rub. If you have a large dented K-member you might have issues.
 
Sway bars don't affect the ride unless you hit a pothole with one wheel. In other words, they only come into play when one side is loaded different than the other side — that's how they prevent body roll. But if you, say, hit a full lane speed bump straight on, they have no affect on the spring rate.

I do concur that Hellwig makes a very nicely engineered kit. Their hollow swaybar save weight, as well. The "bare bones" cheap option is Addco — you would likely have to modify their kit for satisfactory fit and performance.
 
Ordered helwig from summit. Free shipping. Thanks for the advise
 
Boduke said:
Ordered helwig from summit. Free shipping. Thanks for the advise
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Here's a Hellwig with 73-76 Kmember in my Barracuda

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Here's a Hotchkis with 73-76 Kmember in my Barracuda that I have on the car currently

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I ordered a Summit brand front sway bar for my 66 and I am sure it was a repackaged Helwig kit.
 
Boduke said:
Looks Boss! Did you weld those tabs on the LCA or r those factory tabs?
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Mine are factory.

The weld on ones are thicker. And didn’t exist in 1998 when I switched out my 68 Barracuda to 73-76 Kmember/Sway Bar setup
 
Not sure on that. I didnt swap mine. Its how I got the car.
 
Mopar Momzee said:
is there a preference on spool k member vs earlier. I prefer the design of 73-76 but what about the spool design motor mounts vs earlier motor mounts. What holds up better?
Click to expand...

Spools motor mounts hold up better. But if you buy special biscuit type with interlock that should be just as good.

Spools have tighter clearance for running milodon race oil pans

Spools are tougher to shim motor height up for header clearance

Spools have the sway bar that is shorter for high backspace front tires if you are running 17”-18” with over 4.5” backspace allowing 245-275 wide front tires (bottom front fender lip mod also needed)

Spool have sway bar that goes through kmember that has better ground clearance than typical after-market biscuit kmember sway bar kits.

The pluses depend on what you are planing to do with car. Same with minuses.

I filled the voids in my spool motor mounts with a household silicone caulking gun. I’ve had the same mounts for 26 years.
 
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Swaybar just came. Under $300 all in from summit. Looks super tight and super easy to install. Comes with everything (EDIT*** $300 free shipping plus tax so $315 all in)
Summit was cheapest and quickest shipping
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I cant the car off the ground high enough to get the bar inside the K-member. Im bring it by the muffler shop tomorrow and see if they let me put it on the lift for a hot miniute.
 
finished up my inst today.
So… my car is done.. pAint, interior motor, brKes are good. The only thing that really lets the car down is the steering. Its manual with 24:1 box and its just not great. I must say that the sway bar really improves the experience. Also i haxe 14x7 wheels with the wider track 73+ disc brakes upfront so even with the front end cranked up when i enter a parking lot, i would get rubbing. The sway bar seems to help.
The helwig kit has everything you need. You will prob need a lift to get the car high enough to angle the bar through a 73-76 k-member. Took me about hour and hAlf total the hardest part was drilling the lower control arms for the end link mount. I used 1/2” bit and battery powered drill.
Oh and also the bar can install two ways. I installed it with the dip in the center of the bar facing down.
Ill get better pics tomorrow.
OverAll im super hAppy. I cant believe i was driving the car for years without a sway bar. It really makes the car ride tighter with no adverse effects over bumps or in any other way i can ascertain.

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I think im gonna burn the sway bar tabs on the LCA with my mig welder soon. Here is the finished product. Helwig for the win!
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