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Sway bar woes..


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Well, I got some sway bars (aftermarket.. dono what manufacturer) from a 72' parts car last week. The front bar is HUGE and went on pretty good (wow what a diference.. FLAT lane changes at 50MPH!) but I have an issue with the rear bar.

My car is a 75 280, and I had to.. uh, improvise in regards to mounting the rear sway bar. I got all the hardware from the parts car (it attaches with these little 'T" shaped brakets to the vertical bars behind the diff mount) but I can't mount it the same in my 280; It seams the 'mustash' bar is different, the fuel pump 'box' is in the way (well, it was.. :twisted: I moved it with brute force and ignorance) and all I could do was mount it to the mustashe bar itself, between it and the tire well. (just where it starts to bend, up to the mounts) It runs over top of the driveshafts, and I had to use LONG arsed bolts for the end-links to the lower arms. Thing is.. it's so tight in there, it rubs the spare tire well....as the bar flexes/twists, I can hear groaning and creaking.. :shock: I though maybe I could hammer in the sheet metal a bit to gain clerance.. has anyone had a problem like this? Or have I done someting totally stupid and unsafe?

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Boy, that sounds like a mess you've got there. I may be lacking in understanding what is happening, but the uprights where this bar's brackets are supposed to mount is supposed to be well below the mustache bar, which confuses me why they would not work in your case. Also, I would think engine torque, through the rear end (and mustache bar) would cause the bar to preload, and visa-versa. Also, any high G turn body roll would be resisted directly with a normally mounted bar, but in your case, the roll force would transfer to the differential mustache bar bushings instead of the chassis. This in turn would twist the differential, but allow the body to continue to roll (at least until the mustache bar bushing are completely compressed. In essence you've pretty much negated any effect of installing the rear bar.

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Sounds to me like you have a bar for a 240. I need a bar for a 240. I'm not sure if my MSA bar for a 240 will work on your 280, but if you want to try a sale or trade PM me.

 

The difference is that the 240 bars mount to the verticals behind the diff, and the 280 bars (or the MSA 240 bar like I have) mounts in front of the diff to the frame rails.

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Yup, thats what I though. The 240 I pulled them off, had the rear bar mounted on the 'uprights' behind the diff. It apears to me that ther are shorter (or the mustash bar is diffrent) on ym 280. And my stock rear bar did mound to the body in FRONT of the diff/rear suspension.. I just covered the mounting points up when I put in my frame rails (2X2 tube steel) and hadn't got around to welding new mount points on my new frame rail yet. Then I saw this 240, and figured I could just put the 240 bar on my 280 from behind... looks like another 'oops' to add to my list :lol: If your bar mounts in front, I'd assume it would work on mine... I'll have to find out though.. I'll sent you a PM jm.

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The difference is that the 240 bars mount to the verticals behind the diff, and the 280 bars (or the MSA 240 bar like I have) mounts in front of the diff to the frame rails.

 

I also have a 240 adjustable front mounted bar (three hole link), but it did not fit on my 280. The 280 mounts are further front than the 240's, and this bar has a bend in it, similar to the front, to clear the diff. Just adding fuel to the fire. :twisted:

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:roll: great.. thankls man :lol: Yah, I decided Im gona put the stock (ech...) bar back on for now, as the car will be coming off the road in a month or two anyway for some major work over the winter. Looks like I'll have to break down eventually and buy a 280 rear bar.
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