A couple months ago we finished rebuilding the stock control arms and steering linkage of our ’71 Suburban with parts from Duralast, Classic Performance Products (CPP), and Rare Parts. (Read it here!) The result is a much smoother ride and tighter driving feel that is likely better than when the rig was new. With new coil springs and shocks complementing the rebuild there was one final upgrade we wanted to make: sway bars.
Antiroll bars, stabilizer bars, antisway—or whatever you decide to call them—are key in reducing body roll to produce a smoother cornering action. When going around a corner, the outside corner of the car drops and leans over the wheel. By tying the right and left side of the suspension together via the sway bar, the bar helps resist the roll and pulls the opposite side of the vehicle down toward the wheel to keep the body more level and in control.
This of course oversimplifies the physics and design that engineers can build into true performance machines. Different materials, stiffness of the steel, form, and overall design vary per application. Depending on the year and trim level of your truck, it may have been equipped with a front sway bar (likely a small-diameter one) but for many classics, trucks weren’t built to handle better, they were just meant to haul and work.
Obviously, that line of thinking is long gone and there are sway bars of varying sizes and shapes available for most classic trucks. We opted for CPP’s 1.25-inch front bar as well as their 1 1/8-inch rear bar, and while we were under the back of the truck again we swapped out the stock Panhard bar bushings with a fresh set from Rare Parts. This bar is responsible for keeping the rear axle centered and from moving side to side during cornering or rough roads and we figured with over 50 years of use, it was time to replace the bushings.
The front bar was a bolt-on affair and if your truck wasn’t equipped with a sway bar, CPP supplies the brackets to mount to the framerails. The rear bar required an endlink mount to be installed on each side along with drilling holes to the trailing arms to mount the pivot brackets on the rear. Nothing that can’t be handled with a tape measure, drill motor, and a couple bits.
The results were immediate after a couple quick corners in the neighborhood followed by the benefit of less lean during everyday commuting. Combined with the rebuilt steering and suspension, our Sub is ready for the road!
1-2. To help reduce the lean of our ’71 Suburban, we dialed up Classic Performance Products (CPP) and ordered a front and rear sway bar. Each assembly includes all-new endlinks, bushings, brackets, and heavy-duty fasteners to complete the installation.3-4. We started with the rear bar as it was going to take a little more work since this era of C10s were ever equipped with a rear bar. Locate an oval hole in the frame above the coil spring and measure 20 inches forward then 2 inches from the bottom of the rail to locate the endlink bracket mounting hole.5-6. Make sure there are no wires, fuel, or brake lines before drilling a 7/16-inch hole. New hardware is supplied to secure the bracket in place. Measure, mark, and repeat on the other side!7. We then prepared the endlinks and bushings to install them on each side of the CPP bar. We held the assembly in place with a couple wood blocks and secured the endlinks to the new brackets. Note to position the endlinks so they’re straight up and down.8-9. Next, we applied a little grease to the pivot bushings and placed them on the sway bar followed by their brackets. The trick here is to center the entire bar left to right and to position the brackets so the holes are on each side of the trailing arm spline, mark their position, and drill 3/8-inch holes to secure the bar.10. CPP supplied new bolts, lock washers, and nuts to secure the sway bar bushing brackets. It’s close, but the bracket does fit so it is centered with bolts on both sides of the trailing arm. 11. While under the rear of the Sub, we figured it would be smart to replace the bushings in the Panhard bar. Living in a fair-weather state paid off again as the nuts both broke free and with some finagling we pulled the bar out.12-13. We located a pair of bushings from Rare Parts and set about pressing out the original versions followed by the new bushings going in. We were surprised at how lightweight the OEM bar is and in hindsight probably would have spent a few bucks more for CPP’s heavy-duty adjustable bar. Then again, we’re not out carving cones in this ‘Burban and the fresh bushings will do.12-13. We located a pair of bushings from Rare Parts and set about pressing out the original versions followed by the new bushings going in. We were surprised at how lightweight the OEM bar is and in hindsight probably would have spent a few bucks more for CPP’s heavy-duty adjustable bar. Then again, we’re not out carving cones in this ‘Burban and the fresh bushings will do.15. Next, we moved up front to tackle the new sway bar. Like the rear, CPP supplies everything you need to get the job done right, including two sets of brackets in case your truck wasn’t equipped with a bar from the factory. The tall set is for trucks with stock-ish ride heights, and the shorter version is for dropped applications. 16. Like the rear bar, we lightly greased the new bar and installed the bushings and brackets and then prepared the endlinks. We lifted the bar to install the brackets by a few threads to hold the assembly in place before lining up the endlinks.17. If your control arms have two holes, use the spot that positions the endlink as close to perpendicular as possible. Once everything is in position, tighten the brackets and endlinks. It is very important to turn the wheels side to side to ensure the endlinks don’t interfere with any other suspension component (such as the tie-rod clamps!).
