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Installed a camber compensator & big beefy anti sway...

FM Former Member
So today I braved the cold & installed a camber compensator & big beefy 3/4" front anti sway bar...

Nice product but who designed these parts?

The front bar went on 1st. After lining it up I then had to contend with the bar end clamps. Holy Moly! What a treat for a Monday! This seemingly 10 minute job turned into an hour, all because of the clamps. But... I did get it, and it looked good.

Then I moved onto the rear Camber Compensator. It was straightforward (like the front bar) but wouldn't you know it... The center bushing bracket is a misfit and required machining to fit. It was maybe a 20 minute delay but that was while working it in a full blown shop with all the tools. I can't imagine how much of a delay it would be with an at home mechanic. I assume the parts would have had to be returned.

Nevertheless I forged forward and completed the operation.

Then the NEETO part. I got to drive it. Whoa! What a difference! In the beginning I liked the original stock feel and thought "I will just leave it alone" but after some gentle prodding from you all I ordered up the parts for a spring upgrade. I am sooo very happy that I did.

Previously on strong off-ramps I could feel the rear nudging and considering stepping out on me when speeds were high, but now it really feels planted no matter what the speeds. It adds to the fun factor by 10! Big plus from me gents.

So... Thank you for the genital prodding :)
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FM Former Member
So today I braved the cold & installed a camber compensator & big beefy 3/4" front anti sway bar...

Nice product but who designed these parts?

The front bar went on 1st. After lining it up I then had to contend with the bar end clamps. Holy Moly! What a treat for a Monday! This seemingly 10 minute job turned into an hour, all because of the clamps. But... I did get it, and it looked good.

Then I moved onto the rear Camber Compensator. It was straightforward (like the front bar) but wouldn't you know it... The center bushing bracket is a misfit and required machining to fit. It was maybe a 20 minute delay but that was while working it in a full blown shop with all the tools. I can't imagine how much of a delay it would be with an at home mechanic. I assume the parts would have had to be returned.

Nevertheless I forged forward and completed the operation.

Then the NEETO part. I got to drive it. Whoa! What a difference! In the beginning I liked the original stock feel and thought "I will just leave it alone" but after some gentle prodding from you all I ordered up the parts for a spring upgrade. I am sooo very happy that I did.

Previously on strong off-ramps I could feel the rear nudging and considering stepping out on me when speeds were high, but now it really feels planted no matter what the speeds. It adds to the fun factor by 10! Big plus from me gents.

So... Thank you for the genital prodding :)
FM Former Member
Oh yes Jim! But thank you for the welcome again.

Yeah I am having fun. We were just buried under a foot of snow then bingo we got 1.9 inches of rain to wash it (and the salt) away. So I ran over to the storage building and grabbed a few cars out for some mid winter joy.

You should have seen the looks I got driving what most think is a quarter of a million dollar car down the roads of Illinois in the winter. It was hilarious. People are like "what are you doing?!" and I am like "That's the best part about a replica - use it anytime!" Try that with a original one. Its THEN that people GET IT.

Great cars these speedys - and fun to tinker with.

I also put on a set of KILLER euro Hella horns today. Right behind the horn grills. Nice upgrade.



Jack CrosbyJack CrosbyHot Springs, AR, VS RabyTypeIV

Michael "genital prodding" are you thinking about the new Homeland Security pat downs?? One lady I talked to had that genttal prodding at security---she said she had a strong craving for a cigarette afterwards.

Any back to the issue---best thing you could have done for your Speedie---sway bar and camber compensator---very smart. great safety move and that was the best tow things I have done to my car. These parts should be installed on evety Speedster made.

Now get yerself a "Wolo Bad Boy Horn" and a third tail light to add even more safety featutres to your ride.

Fopr anyone else considering installing the front sway bar; Use the large channel pliers to squeeze down on the clamps ---this makes it soooo much easier to start the nuts on the biolts---or to slip that clamp over the other side. Otherwise it's damned difficult.

You are welcome for the gentle prodding or whatever else you got---I just don't put anything past this bunch!
FM Former Member
Luv the "bad boy" horn, but really wanted the look of the Hella's - plus they have the tone I was looking for.

I am a horn affectionato. I have a Union Pacific train horn on my tow rig... A euro air horn from Griot's on another of my sportscars, and now these Hella's. My wife says I am super horney.
Gordon NicholsGordon NicholsMassachusetts 1993 CMC Supporting Member
Michael:

Don't despair. I recently installed a front sway bar on my latest build and had some of the same problems. Had to radically "adjust" all four of the clamps just to get enough slack to get nuts on the threaded posts. Could have really used those super-big channel-lock pliers currently sitting at my other house - a mere 1,000 miles away - but managed to re-shape those silly clamps to get them on just with hand clamping power. Still, as you mentioned, a 10-minute job turned into a couple of hours for no apparent reason other than piss-poor design of some mounting clamps.

It coulda been worse, though......Ever seen the original sway bar clamps??? You needed a special VW tool to compress them to slide the "C" channel keeper on the bottom. NO THANKS!

So, where you are now with that camber compensator is where IRS rear ends start out. Imagine how good those are once you add an anti-sway bar at both front and rear to improve it even more. Why current builders persist in building these cars with swing-arm rear ends amazes me.
FM Former Member
Try it with new bushings! Vice grips and large channel-locks are the way to install the original-style swaybar clamps. I squeeze it close with the channel locks, pull it in tight with the vice-grips, start the keeper by hand then tap with a hammer. Once you get to the vice-grip you can remove them. The big channel-locks are handy to squeeze the keeper/retainer all the way on. Don't forget to bend the tab over either!
FM Former Member
Now that is weird. Your bar is tucked up real neatly into the chassis. Mine front bar is positioned like the one clearly seen in our forum calender (September) on the coupe. Come to think of it I dont think my bar COULD mount like yours as my VS has large chassis bars running towards front.

Whats up with that?

http://www.cafepress.com/cp/get_latest_product_view.aspx?productNo=492681280&pr=September&showbleed=False&colorNo=-1&tab=1&zoom=2&isCreateAndBuy=False
FM Former Member
Going by memory here...

I think the front chassis area looks very simular to what his photo shows, but the "channel" that runs to the front bumper is mucho larger... I think.

I will go by & look at the car soon (in storage) and maybe snap a photo.

Edit: Now that I use my brain I see that this photo has the wheels dangling down pivoting the bar leading edge upwards. I installed mine with a drive-on lift / at regular ride height.
Gordon NicholsGordon NicholsMassachusetts 1993 CMC Supporting Member
That's all fine, but I think we're really asking how you can mount a normal sway bar in the normal (upward) position on an IM and NOT interfere with the frame mounts for the bumper. That's a big problem on CMC and Vintage cars, so we either cut a notch into the bumper mounts or mount a smaller sway bar upside down so it won't interfere.

Pictures of the underside of a few IM's would be nice.

And they're not even moving much during the Winter...
Lane AndersonLane AndersonMt. Pleasant, SC Supporting Member
My problem is that the 3" dia. frame tubes have the lower front suspension torsion tube passed through them just inside of the trailing arms. It proceeds forward a couple of inches and then terminates. The forward body mounts, to which the bumper mounts are attached, proceed to almost the front of the body. I think the sway bar would have to be upside down, making ground clearance an issue. I can see that I need to provide a picture.
FM Former Member
Hi guys; back lurking around. A question for Michael; where did you get those Hellas? Years ago I installed a NOS set that I got from Sierra Madre for 356's and 911's. I fashoned some homemade supports out of shelf brackets and they are mounted behind the grills. I love the dual tone sound and they're louder than the single Bug horn that came in the car originally.I'm very satisifed but they're hard to find.
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