Has anyone ever added a rear antiroll bar to the early 60s full size cars? I would like to do so on my 63 Starfire but looking at the weird lower control arms I'm not sure. If you have done it, let me know how, thanks.

 

My '64 Impala had a factory sway bar...goes from top of left frame rail to top of right side of axle tube...I think

 

I think that's actually called a tracking or Panhard bar to keep the axle from shifting in the car.

 

The kind of bar I'm thinking of is like the 442's, something that ties the lower control arms together.

 

hi, i have a 65 starfire , b body, and the only place i have ever seen one listed for my car was , PST. good luck. will

 

You're right. The panhard bar keeps the rearend centered in the car. It was necessary on full-size Chevys of the era because the used a 3-link rear suspension with only 2 control arms. Most other GM coil-spring cars use a triangulated 4-link which uses angled upper and lower links (control arms) to locate the axle within the frame.

I'm not aware of any rear sway bars for the early 60's Olds big cars. I do know some (maybe all?) early 50's Olds had factory installed rear bars, but their frame and rear suspension were different. '65-70 Olds rear suspension and frames are also different, so I doubt the later bar would fit either.
If you measure between the lower control arms, you might be able to find a later bar with similar measurement that could be adapted with fabricated mounting points.

 

That PST bar is probably made by Addco and IMO is a lousy setup. I posted on my setup for a 65-70 full-size Olds rear sway bar a few years back on ROP:
http://www.realoldspower.com/phpBB2/...=rear+sway+bar

 

The 64 Impalas also had an X-frame, completely different from the perimeter frame that Olds used.

 

Thanks to all who replied, I'll wait until the new springs and shocks are installed to see how it handles.

 

Olds 88 police cars had a rear bar in 66-7. I got 396620 forty years ago and made adapter plates to put it on my 62 Starfire.

 

I mocked up my 69 GTO swaybar just to see what I came up with on my 63 Starfire. It kinda fits, but looks a little mickey mouse to me because it doesn't curve around the pumpkin. The lower control arms are two halves bolted together, that makes it difficult drilling bolt holes to mount it. It can be done though. Just not sure if I like it. I'd probably have some tube bended correctly. Some pics:

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An A-body rear bar should have a slight "V" to it. In fact, it almost looks like you have it upside down. Also, consider the rear bar from a 73-77 A-body. These bolt to the bottom of the lower control arms instead of the sides and might work better.

 

I was thinking the same thing Joe. I have one of the 90's Caprice 9C1 rear bars which have the same mounting dimensions as the mid-70's A-body piece. The Caprice bar hugs the axle housing better than the earlier ones. I can measure the distance between the mounting points and post it later today.

 

The GM a-body replacement bar, 394926, has a nice bow in it. If yhou are going to the OCA nats, I also have a 73-77 bar I could bring. I don't need it, so could sell.

 

I had a heck of a time finding one for my old '65 Starfire, finally did find a factory piece from a late '60s former CHP car (took approx 1 thousand "do you happen to have?" E-mails and phone calls, found it by chance from someone selling some front disc brakes from the same car on Ebay some years back).

The Starfire is long gone, but I kept that swaybar, and its now under my '65 Jetstar I. Before I found the factory piece, I tried the ADDCO piece (POS, looked like *ss and didn't fit) and even a 73-77 swaybar setup that bolts on fromunder (also would not fit (FAR TOO NARROW); guy who sold it to me said it works on similar era big Ponchos).

In the pics above, it does not look to me like there is a provision to even mount a swaybar on that '63, the way the control arms are stamped. Also, I'd wonder if they'd be strong enough to handle a swaybar (can you even box them, what with those bottom bolts)? It sounds like adding a swaybar to your car could be even more heartache that I experienced.

Here's some pics of my later big car swaybar, both off the car and on and a similar one on a friend's J1:

 

Cool find, but understand that the 65-70 rear suspension arms are different from those on the 61-64 cars.

 

I do understand, and thought I addressed that in paragraph 3 above. Just thought it topical to post my experience....esp. since some were recommending use of the 73-77 bar in the '63, and I have no reason to suspect it would work any better in the early cars than it did mine (the earlier cars are pretty wide too).

 

The early cars have two-piece LCAs that bolt together, as you saw in the photos. You bring up a good point about the bending stiffness of the stock arms. When bolted together they actually form an "H" beam, which is much less stiff in the up/down bending plane than a box or an I-beam. Making new arms from rectangular tube would be the best bet.

 

Another thought. This might be a situation where the aftermarket-style bar might be the better choice. I'm thinking of the bar that bolts to the rear axle housing with two pivots and has links that go up to the frame. Think of how the front bar is mounted, but in reverse.

 

Agreed. Removing the stock bolt-together bars and having square-tube pieces fabricated to match the center-to-center length and accept stock bushings seems like the best route if you're serious about improving handling.

The link-style bar is an option assuming you can find one with the right width to fit the frame. It's likely that brackets would still have to be fabricated for the end links. Remember the brackets need to be very stiff or they will flex instead of the anti-roll bar, reducing it's effectiveness.

 

Good info guys. Joe, I was thinking the exact same thing! I have an HR parts'n stuff bar on my GTO, has a 9" rear. That is similar to an Olds rear, I bet it would not take much to fit something like that.

 

I'm thinking that at worst you would need to fabricate mounts for the upper links and maybe change the length of the links themselves.

 

Does anyone know if control arms from a 78 to 96 B or D car are a length match for the 63 LCA's? If so beefed aftermarket LCA's are available along with bars if the side to side dimension is match for the sedan or station wagon versions.

 

Here are the 2 sway bars I have. The one with the gentle bow to it is for a 71-76 B/C-body. The one with multiple bends is from a late 90's Caprice police car, but fits both 73-77 A-body and 77-96 B/C-body.
The measurements are:

• front hole, ctr-to-ctr: A-body 41 1/4" B-body 43 5/8"
• rear hole, ctr-to-ctr: A-body 43 3/8" B-body 45 1/2"
• overall width @ widest point: A-body 46 1/2" B-body 48"

The mounting holes are slotted with some side-to-side adjustment available. Both bars mount to the underside of the lower control arms.

 

Excellent info and photos, thanks.

 

Thanks Copper 128 for the bar dimensions. That Caprice bar looks familiar, I had a 95 9C1 and a 95 Impala SS, great handling big cars. I contacted BMR Fabrication for dimensions on their 77-96 B-body LCA's, they make two different lengths. I'll let you all know what I find out.

 

I think the longer bars are made to center the wheels in the wheelwell on the 92-96 Caprice/Impala SS. Those cars came with the axle offset to the front of the opening, which limited tire size and looked kind of goofy.

I hope it works out, but think it's a longshot they'd just happen to be the same dimensions as your 63 Starfire.
For the $200 BMR price tag you could probably go a long way toward having a pair made.