Ok I have to admit that these C bodies are baffling at times. I just purchased a new 1 inch rear sway bar from Kanter.com and their website shows this fitting my 1965 Olds 98 (and a host of other cars as well such as Olds Starfire, Pontiac Catalina etc)

stabilizer sway bar

This bar isn't even close. If I measure it at the widest bolt hole location it is 42 inches wide. My car measures around 44 1/2 inches. So do I have to run 1.25" worth of spacers? Their website did not mention modifications being needed. For $400 I expected better.

 

Give them a call.

 

I'll call them first thing Monday. I also noticed that the bend on the right is sharper than the bend on the left. It's a difference of 3/4 inch. I don't think that I have the strength to bend this bar that much!

 

My first question is........are your lower control arms "boxed" ?

You need to measure the distance between your lower control arms at each pair of holes and hole spacing on the control arms.. Write those numbers down.

 

Yes, they're boxed arms. The distance between the rear holes is 44 1/2 inches and the front holes is 42 1/2. Hole spacing is 6 inches.

 

There is no confusion about the 1965-70 Oldsmobile B/C-body cars. The rear suspension is the same on all of them from 1965 through the 1970 model year. It is NOT the same as on any other 65-70 full size and Impala parts do NOT fit. The only factory rear bar was the one used on the RPO B07 Police Apprehender package. No one makes a correct aftermarket rear bar for these cars. The only ones offered are the narrower A-body bars and a pair of spacer blocks to make up the difference. You have the A-body bar. It SHOULD have come with the spacers and longer bolts. If not, ask the vendor where those are. By the way, the mismatch in bends is unfortunately not unheard of. It will preload the control arms and should be shimmed out as much as possible, on top of the required spacer blocks.

You might want to read this thread:

https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...1976-a-133590/

 

I also have an A-body Chevelle and the sway bar on it measures 40 inches, so it makes sense that he had to place two 2 x 2 squares on each side, plus a little extra. I believe that what I have just purchased is a B-body sway bar and it measures 42 inches. A pair of 1.25 x 1.25 squares 'should' do the trick. The vendor should change their info. I will contact them Monday. Thank you for your assistance.

 

If it was the correct sway bar, it wouldn't require any spacers. If it is advertised as a "B-body sway bar", then it is for Impala, which does NOT have the same rear suspension. Unfortunately in this Chevy-centric world, vendors assume that "Chevy" = "GM".

 

They definitely are advertising it fitting Buick/Olds. I noticed on the packaging it said Addco 943. I can buy the same bar elsewhere for $197. Not sure why they charge $402 for the same thing.

 

Because many people think you have to buy old car parts from specialty houses / restoration companies.

 

Its called "capitalism". They are usually a "last resort" supplier for parts.and charge appropriately. I'll admit that I bought a few parts from them....1966 Olds Toronado front wheel bearings and races.

 

First, Kanter is NEVER the least expensive source. Second, if you go to the ADDCO website, they clearly show that this bar only fits Buick full size. As I've said several times, the Olds suspension is completely different from that of any other same-year B-body car. Any source that claims a suspension or brake part fits another GM car besides a 1965-70 Olds full size is lying. You should return the bar, tell them that their fitment is incorrect (show them the ADDCO listing) and if you are going to make spacers anyways just get an inexpensive A-body rear bar. And as a hint for the future, it takes only seconds to price check multiple sources on the interwebs.

 

I DID check multiple sources and the information is incorrect in many places. For example, Classic Industries shows the same #943 bar fitting a 1986-1993 Caprice and a 1971-1996 Impala. Tons of misinformation out there makes things more difficult. And most listings lack photos as well. I'll probably go the spacer route with the bar that I already have. I'd rather have to add only 2 inches of spacers to this bar than have to add 4 inches of spacers to an A-body bar.

 

Personally, the bends being that different is enough for me to return the sway bar and kit. Its always nicer to shim similarly when the bends are closer. to each other. If nothing else it looks more "professional".

 

Yeah, I don't feel good about it. That is a lot of shimming for sure.

I did find this drawing on an old thread and it looks promising. The 40 1/8 is what an A-body sway bar measures. The 42 1/4 is the bar that I have now (#943). The other one, #2419 measures 44 3/8 and that is exactly the length I need. I just ordered the last one from Summit. I hope it works.

 

I just heard back from Kanter customer service and they acknowledged the error on their site. They confirmed that the correct bar is indeed #2419. I'll be posting up some photos once I install it. Woohoo. I have high hopes this will fit!

 

Great news, the bar fits perfectly. Addco# 2419 also under part# K2-419-0U. I did add a 1/8 inch shim to one side. I took the car for a test drive and the body roll is greatly reduced. I took corners well above the speed limit with no problems (couldn't do that before).


I didn't like the 'Home Depot' hardware that came with the bar, so I went to my local Ace Hardware and picked up some phosphate grade 8 flange bolts and locking nuts. Since I installed boxed lowers, the little square spacers aren't needed.


I did have to remove a small amount of metal from the lower control arm mounting bracket since the sway bar was just touching it.

 

Nice writeup.

Looks like Kanter is having a sale. Ordered a 2419 and the total, with shipping, was $202. They still had 2 available and I couldn't find them in stock any other place.

If you add one you may want to consider boxing the lower arms with a kit sold for the 442. My understanding is that broken lower trailing arms can occur without this kit.

 

^^x2^^ Nice write up & good work.

 

I was so excited when I read this thread this morning when I woke up, I called Kanter and ordered one of their last ones for my 65 Starfire. $245 with tax free shipping so far it’s a great Tuesday. Thanks for the information. Mike L.