Sway Bar Interference on CMC

Hi!
Thought I would install my Sway-Away front bar when I was changing my Front End bushings, but found I had an interference problem with the bumper mounts. My bar looks exactly the same as Glenn Pablo's and mounts the same, but I have radically different bumper mounts.

I'm using the mounts and Nerf bars that came with my CMC kit (see picture - front of car is to right), but the lower forward extension is way too low for the upward swing of the bar. Even a little upward movement of the car causes the bar to connect to the mount extension.

Are there other tyoes of bumper mounts out there that I can use? I was thinking of reworking these to move the lower extension up higher, but I'm curious as to what others are using, especially how Glenn is mounting his bumper.

Thanks! Gordon

Gordon: I can't remember who, but someone here did just what you suggested. They cut and angled the bottom tube thats in the way upward towards the top bar. There was a pic. posted of it also.

BD

Check out Greg B's file.

Thanks, guys.....

Checked out Greg's file and that's what I thought I might have to do. It ain't pretty, but it works and you can't see it anyway.

Looks like another addition to the Winter projects!

Gordon

Boy do I feel stupid! Too much work I guess, I mounted mine upside down! Been driving it for years that way. I added a photo in my folder, bim55_01747.

Bob

Geez....I don't know, Bob......Looks like it fits OK to me!

I tried mounting mine upside down and it just plain won't line up at the trailing arm. Maybe I'm doing something wrong, so I'll try messing with it again tomorrow (to much going on for T'day!) to see if I can get it to fit right upside down.

Then again, too......we may have different bends on our two bars - yours seems to look a bit flatter, while mine (and Glenn Pablo's, too) seem to bend up more in the front.

We'll see tomorrow.

Gordon

Bob: Looks ok to me also. I'm going to put one on here shortly. Where did you get yours? I want one like that.

BD

Ordered it out of a catalog from "The Real Source" can not remember if there was another name on the box.

The catalog shows a web address of www.800luvbugg.com or ph 800 588-2844.

For $99.00 the clamps seemed like they lacked a little, but everything did bolt up and nothing has broke or fallen off. I think having a lowered car helps with the fit?

Maybe I didn't bolt it up wrong, it might only fit 1-way? can't really remember.

The add does not tell you, but it's about 3/4 in. dia.

Bob

Bill- Try contacting Pacific Customs in Corona, CA I bought my sway bar for $50 ($35/bar & $15/mounting kit) The rear camber compensator was an additional $35 Don't really notice any handling difference with the rear compensator, but the front bar works miracles.

Great, I really don't want to have to refabricate my bumper mounts to put the bar on. Taking the path of least resistance is for me.

BD

Bill, On JPS cars John uses stock VW sway bars and just turns them upside down. I took his advice and that is what I have on my VS. No clearence problems and works great. Give him a call he is a very helpful guy. Good luck Jerry

Jerry: You know, I have the original VW sway bar and had been toying with the idea of putting it on there, even though it's half the diameter of the Sway-away I was gonna use.

Been busy with the holiday and putting my sailboat away for the Winter, so I may get out to the garage tomorrow to see how all of these look, both right side up and upside down and let you all know how I make out.

I still would like to get a bar on there without fabricating new bumper mounts, but we'll see.

Gordon

I'm running a 3/4 inch bar on a '71 chassis built by JPS. The bar only installs one way, or it interferes with the bottom sheetmetal of the shock towers. Where the bar bends up across the front of the beam it will definitely hit the bumper mounts. Solution is to cut the lower tubing of both bumper mounts. Remove about 1 1/2 inches from both lower tubes where the bar hits. Obtain another piece of the same square tubing about twice as long as the cut out section. Bridge the cut out section and weld in the longer piece on top of the original square tubing. This gives you just the right amount of vertical clearance for a big bar. Sure the bumper mount has lost some strength. These aren't exactly crash proof bumpers to start with!

By the way, you can easily remove the swaybar with the wheels suspended off the ground on jack stands. But for reassembly, you will need to let the vehicle weight sit on the wheels, or you may never get everything adjusted correctly.

Dave: That's a good point about pre-loading the front end before installing the bar. I had planned on getting the car up on ramps until I found that I don't have enough ground clearance!! Anyway, it's easy enough to get it up on a jack and then put ramps under it and let it down.

I thought the bar only went in one way when I was playing with it before, and then abandoned the effort to just "get on the road"! Now the cold WX is here, the holidays are close and my new garage is unheated so this effort may take a while!

I don't see a big deal about relocating the lower mount bar, and can play with locating a 1" square tube at various heights to compromise between mount strength and sway bar clearance. Shouldn't be that tough to figure out, then tack weld it in for placement and then remove the mount and finish the weld. Reflecting on that (and the proximity of the fuel tank), I will probably get it situated just right and anchor it in somehow without welding and then weld it all outside of the car. Sometimes, common sense prevails!!

You're right about the overall mount strength - I've also found that they seem to rattle a bit horizontally, so I plan on installing a brace to anchor them both triangularly to a torque tube and keep them from vibrating. That'll take a bit of thinking about whilst lying there on my back, but I'll come up with something good and then post some pictures of the finished product.

What a lot of B.S. to get it to corner flat!!

Gordon

Further point on getting it to corner flat: You don't exactly have a front suspension that was designed for "camber gain" under hard cornering. In other words, the best way to keep the tires flat on the road for max road holding is to stop the damn body from rolling and thereby deflecting the tires in the first place!

Remember, the only reason the front suspension even works is because the rear suspension is even worse (unless you have IRS)!

Actually, I DO have IRS - a 1969 pan. It handles pretty decent on this car without a front sway bar, I guess owing to the lack of much weight in the front to begin with, but I bought the front sway-away bar a while back and am only now getting around to installing it.

I'm almost tempted to start with the stock VW bar, see how that works and THEN decide if I need any more stiffness. At 54 years old, I'm not looking for 4 G's in the corners, just a bit flatter handling. Besides, here in New England you can hardly find anywhere on windy back roads to run hard anymore without constantly looking over your shoulder for the local constabulary!!

gn

C'mon Gordon, Im 62 and G forces for breakfast are good!(I ride a motorcycle to work every day). The day I got the speedster I knew I wanted more horsepower and more gears. Some things never change. Flatter cornering for me is perhaps the whole purpose of having the vehicle. Dive into a corner, hit the apex, and just as the guy behind me is grabbing for the brakes, I'm flat on the throttle. Watching the separation distance growing rapidly in the rear view is a complete reward.

I used to live in upstate New York and am saddened to hear that the unending miles of curved roads are that well patrolled now. Probably good that I left thirty years ago. Here in San Diego, even grandmothers in a Hyundai are going 80 MPH.

Dave: I'm currently in Southeastern Rhode Island (not far from Newport, for all you Navy guys). It's tough to run open on back roads here, although "normal" I195 speeds are around 75 - 80 day or night these days.

Back in late September I made a run Northwest of here through central Massachusetts and up into Southeastern Vermont (that takes about 90 minutes from here - New England isn't all that big!) and was cruising around 60 - 70 along Vermont Rt. 100. Gorgeous curvy road, lots of ups and downs and not a lot of towns. I was hammering it hard through the corners when all of a sudden I passed a Vermont State Cruiser, waiting to pull out of an intersection. He takes off after me, lights flashing and all that stuff and pulls me over. Up walks this nine foot tall State Trooper, Smokey Bear hat, form-fitting calf-high boots, BIG gun and all. I look out at about knee level on this guy and expect the worse. He leans over and looks at the cockpit and says: "Wow! This is nice! My dad had a white Speedster just like this! Had the Outlaw fenders and everything!! What's it got for an engine??"

We spent the next half hour with him looking the car over and telling me how much he liked it, then he gave me his dad's email address (he's retired in Florida) and asked if I could send him some pictures of it. I offered to take his picture sitting in my speedster to send to his dad and it was like I offered him a zillion bucks. It was a hoot watching him squeeze his 9-foot tall frame into my cockpit, made for someone well under 5-10!

So sometimes the Statees around here are better than OK. You just have to hope you get a good one!!

Gordon

Gordon,

You're lucky. The last time I was stopped was by a local county policeman who gave me a $50 ticket for not having the front license plate mounted. I had driven without it past many black-and-whites for ten years with no issues! He asked me where the plate was and I told him it was at home on my work bench - he told me he usually let guys go if they have it in the car somewhere. Go figure!

Bruce,

I also run without a front plate but I carry it with me in the car. I did the same with my Avanti and never got stopped. I do have an answer if I ever do get pulled over. Goes something like this, "The car didn't come with one so I am on my way to a swap meet to pick one up," showing him the unmounted plate. Don't know if it would work but I'm semi prepared!

How are preperations coming for the East Coast Speedster/Carlise show?
I am flying down to LA in late January to meet John Leader and we will
finalize our arrangements I hope. The organizers will allow us to gather all us Speedstrers and Spyders in the same group so that is one big concern taken care of. Sounds like you guys are getting the green light for the same thing. I am looking forward to this very much. For those people considering getting a Speedster, this is the place to see all the differant makes and configurations. One stop shopping! Carlisle in May, Knotts Berry in late April, BE THERE!

West Coast Bruce