ent72olds

Question.....'67 Delta 88. Was it possible to get a rear sway bar as an option? I was on wild about cars, and it looks like a police option only. I'd like to add one to my Delta, and need to make sure one exists.....and, anyone know what year sway bar would work on it so I can start searching for one! Thanks!

Oldsmaniac

I can not think of a more difficult search! Yes they were found on Police cars or Police option W33 cars which are quite scarce as well and who wants to get rid of parts off an original car? There are/were aftermarket ones that look absolutely horrible along with mid 70's ones. I wish you well with your search.

65B01Delta

They are out there, but good luck finding one.. I have one on my 65 Jetstar 1 & my 65 Delta 88 Police Car.

ent72olds

Well, I knew what I was up against....I was hoping you would see this, Joe, and say, "I have one, lets make a trade!" 65BO1, don't rub it in.....

Oldsmaniac

In over 40 years of fooling with these cars, I dont recall ever having the opportunity to purchase one that did not have a car attached. It pays to advertise though in your search.

amesolds

http://www.p-s-t.com has the 1" rear bar for the big Olds for $179.

Allan R

Erik, can you get the dimensions between the rear lower control arm where the bar bolts up? I might have a bar that will fit. It's a 1" bar and is way to big for my Cutlass. Maybe it will fit your car. Send me the dimensions in a PM and I'll let you know if it's close. If it is, I'll make you one heck of a deal!

aliensatemybuick

I wouldn't trust that...I bought an addco bar years back for my 65 jetstar, said to fit my application, but it wasn't even close. I think there is some misinformation out there when it comes to the 65-70 big cars which these vendors propagate.

I did finally find a correct sway bar, said to have come from a 69 delta custom police car, I had my doubts that it would work, but took a chance on it and it ended being the real deal. I think the rear bar really was a police only item.

ent72olds

Aliens, was the one you bought a 1" bar? If so, I may have to see about Allan's.

aliensatemybuick

I'll measure next chance I get, but pretty sure it's 7/8 inch.

Allan R

I wouldn't be surprised if it was 7/8", that's the same as the OEM that I finally found for my car. It cleaned up and fit like a glove with exactly 2 shims on each side. Slam dunk for OEM parts!

The 1" bar I have is an aftermarket and wasn't even close to the proper width, which is why I was curious about the side to side measurements between the rear control arms on the B body. If either of you have that, I'd love to know what it is.

ent72olds

Allan, I will try and get the measurement today!

ent72olds

I did the best I could without a lift or tram gauge.....my control arms have 1 hole in them. I'm guessing that with the optional boxed arms, they would naturally have 2, for the sway bar bolts. The best measurement I can come up with is between 43 3/4" and 44".....

Allan R

Thanks for looking Erik. I've not seen the 1 hole only rear control arms. In any event those measurements are too wide for the bar I have. Mine is 41 1/4 and 39 3/4. I guess I'll have to junk it. Too bad, it's new and never been installed. If I had test fitted it when I got it I could have sent it back as a non fitting part..oh well, lesson learned.

copper128

Don't buy the PST bar. That's a repackaged Addco piece that is crap, IMO. It bolts to flat plates that bolt to the unboxed lower control arms. Looks terrible, hangs too low and likely flexes a lot, reducing effectiveness.
Find a 71-76 B/C-body sway bar and get the GM inserts for the control arms. When installed, it looks like factory equipment.

This is it on my '67:

ThePackRat

No matter how many times I see that car .....

It always gives me an immediate-onset-acute-case of "must have".

aliensatemybuick

Was hard to get a precise measure without jacking the car up, but best measurement I can get is 44 inches wide at the widest, between the rearmost bolt holes, and about 43 inches between the front-most. This is measuring from inner hole to inner hole (ie inboard of the bar).

More info.:

Ride Stabilizer Shaft '65 P/N 386443
'66 P/N 393617
'67-'70 P/N 396620

Lower Control Arm '64-67 P/N 391874 (Same as for 442)
'68-'70 P/N 9791102 (Same as 442 and supercedes 391874)

More than likely, the different sway bar part numbers reflect the slightly different
shafts to clear the different rear axle assemblies they were using back then. That said, the '69 piece fits my '65 Jetstar I very nicely.

ent72olds

I love copper's Delmont also PackRat....I never get tired of looking at that car! Now, if I could see more of Alien's car also.... thanks for the info Copper and Aliens.....I am looking for one to add to my Delta....now I have a better idea what to look for!

Killian_Mörder

For those who would like to add OEM bars to theirs, my Starfire had a rear sway bar. Since Starfires had them, you might want to scrounge the junkyards for them or similar full-sized GMs like the 427 Impala Super Sports, 2+2 Pontiacs, Buick- Wildcats and Rivieras. If you can get your hands on some old micro-fiches, somehow, you could see if the parts match. Unfortunately, though, these bars are made from spring steel which eventually get tired. It's highly unlikely, therefore, that you'd find aftermarket bars offered in equal metalurgical content, if GM doesn't stock the originals anymore

aliensatemybuick

Your seeming suggestion that (all) Starfires were equipped with rear swaybars and your "interchange" list aside, what year do you think this is? Microfiche. GM stocking originals. Hilarious.

wmachine

I don't mean to dampen your enthusiasm and contribution, and maybe something is getting lost in the translation, but as you can see by the attached documents, the stabilizer bars of the era were made of 1070 steel, not spring steel. The AMA Delta spec does not list the rear bar, but as you can see from the 442 document, the front and rears are the same material. This high carbon steel is, of course, quite "springy".
And they also would not lose much in their yield and elongation over time as they are not under tension the vast majority of the time.

Killian_Mörder

What GM itself does is one thing. They're not legally obligated to stock replacement parts for more than 10 years. Thjat's common knowledge and yes I knew that already. If a particular rural dealership happens to have a part older than 10 years collecting dust is another. It's also possible that some parts clerk in Mesa, Arizona might have a more helpful and polite attitude than some self-legendary (believe me. I've run into more than my share of such types) parts clerk working in a large, reknown dealership like Penske Chevrolet in metro Detroit, for example. When someone doesn't have great expectations, that someone is likely not to suffer experiencing disappointments.
The Micro-fisches serve nothing more than to reveal part numbers which can get matched with parts from other divisions, if applicable. Since, as mentioned, the metallurgical SAE normed content of these bars is identicle (and more than likely identicle to those same items used by other divisions), then it's the diameter that'll tell the story.
Even though that SAE norm isn't spring steel, it still gives way which what we know as steel doesn't. It'll still have a certain percentage of nickle content in it to keep it from breaking. I haven't been back home since 1989 and can imagine how it is, concerning getting anything original for 60's cars from a dealer. Then again, whatever gets imported from Parts Unknown, claiming to conform to some SAE norm, is much less favorable to me than to go scrounge for some used original of whose origin is known. Here is a new spring I ordered from the internet for our Ford Mondeo, for example. Since the European Union made it illegal for individual E.U. countries to label the country of origin for replacemnet parts, among other items, this is what I ended up installing. I would rather have obtained an original Ford spring from a junkyard:

aliensatemybuick

Sure.

wmachine

Sorry, but wrong again. No nickel. (and nickel wouldn't keep it from breaking). Look it up. The "10" part of 1070 tells you there is virtually no alloying elements (nickel, chrome, etc.). The "70" part of of 1070 tells you it is high carbon, but not high enough to be spring steel. The SAE number is not a "norm" it is a specific material specification.

Killian_Mörder

By GM, maybe. In other applications, a certain amount of nickel is usefull to prevent corrosion and to facilitate thermosetting:

http://www.info-uhren.de/technik/tec...en.Federn.html

I knew nickel was used in elastic metal. But, not why. This site which specializes in Monster truck parts claims their springs are nickeled:

http://www.monsterhopups.de/jamara-j...k-p-11850.html



The following torsionbars contain nickel an are claimed to be an improvement over originals. Since a swaybar basically acts as a torsion bar, I guess it would be safe to apply a comparisson:

http://www.4x4wire.com/toyota/tech/torsion_bars/



If you read my post carefully, there isn't any suggestion that I claim (all) Starfires had them. I only know mine did. If I was sure as to how every Starfire was equipped, then I'd likely know plenty of Olds Division internal info and likely be enjoying a comfortable retirement as a Former GM higher up, firing up my grill everyday, taking overseas vacations every year and chugging down expensive beer while cruising a riding lawnmower twice weekly on some generously sized property in Rochester Hills, MI

aliensatemybuick

Sure.

ent72olds

I have finally gotten my hands on the Holy Grail......found in a junkyard with at least one Chubby Crapice! The yard is pretty old school, hard to believe in this day and age. The yard owner said he would check to see if he had any more. I told him I'd be interested in any he had, as some here may be interested! Yards out here won't allow you to walk the yard due to insurance regs....but, he told me that if I come back during the week, he would take me on a tour. He said he believes he has a '68 Delmont out there somewhere....we will see. When I went to pick the bar up, it was sitting on a shelf, next to a complete and in good shape '70-'72 Cutlass center console complete with shifter, plate and harness. Black......I asked him what was up, and he said the guy never showed and it was still for sale. I could have it for a "buck 'n a half".....

The sway bar came out of a '75 Caprice...

copper128

Nice score Erik. Sounds like their prices are reasonable too.
Buddy up to the owner

MDchanic

Looks right.

I think you'll like it.

- Eric

ent72olds

I'll blast it and paint it up....if the guy has any more, I will try and sell them here, either as is, blasted, or blasted and painted! Thanks to you guys( Glenn, Scott, Eric and Joe) for the help and guidance!

aliensatemybuick

Glad to hear you found the bar...I knew you'd find one, once you focused your efforts in the right direction (even if a caprice is a luxury car ). You didn't even have to wait that long.

65B01Delta

Get that sway bar blasted & painted yet ?

ent72olds

That will wait until the winter. Along with the 15" rims and Toro caps. I will try and get back out to that yard tomorrow and see if the owner can take me out on a tour.....see what else I can find!

65B01Delta

Could you measure the bar from outside to outside on the very front ? I have one I found & curious if it is the same as yours.

ent72olds

I measured from center to center on the 2 sets of holes in the bar. This is where the bar bolts to the brackets, which in turn, bolts inside the lower arms.

Front set of holes center to center.......43 3/8"
Rear set of holes center to center.......45"

bponti442

I usually don't chime in on too many threads, but being that I have some knowledge on this subject and some pics to back it up, it might dispel a few myths. Before I get started though, hang on to your hats, because the news is not all good (not all bad either). Below, you will see three pics taken from a bona fide and documented '70 Delta 88 Custom with the B07 Option (police car, with W33 engine package). The sway bar mounts EXACTLY the same as an A-Body, i.e. in between the boxed lower control arms. The good news is the lower arms as previously mentioned are the SAME as the A-Body, right down to the part number in the GM Parts and Illustration Manual. The sway bar though is much wider than the A Body. I do not have access to this car, so I cannot tell you the width, although I will try and get a hold of the owner to see if he would be willing to take some measurements. The bar, from my understanding is a 7/8ths inch bar. ALL B07 and B01 cars had this bar and they are the same from '66-'70. It is believed that some cars ordered with the towing package could also have these bars. That, I cannot verify though. A close friend of mine is trying to replicate a B07 car his father owned when he was a kid. We are having the exact same problem finding this bar. I hope this helps to clear this up a bit.

ent72olds

Great contribution to the thread, thanks! Also, great info! Now, if you can get more pics of that car, and start a thread on it, as a B07 Delta is quite a rare bird! We have plenty of members here who would be interested in seeing it! Also, getting the measurements would be great!

65B01Delta

I could have bought a 1970 B07 car a few years back, but didn't have a place to keep it out of the weather. Also you are correct about the lower control arms being the same. I have the correct sway bar & I measured it some time ago after I pulled it off to paint, I think these measurements are for the outside of the bolt holes.. Measurements as follows. front bolt hole outside to outside 42 1/2 , rear hole 44 1/2 .....

ent72olds

I re-measured....front set of holes center to center 43 1/4"........rear set on center 45"......

65B01Delta

Thanks, I haven't had a chance to measure the one I have...