rear sway bar 69 - 70 big car "B" body

[billbuickgs]

Has anyone installed a rear sway bar on a Buick  "B" body 69 or 70 ???

Chevy vender said Impala bar won't work .

Maybe Pontiac or Olds ???

Bill

[NTX5467]

You'd probably need to do some research in a Buick parts book, which was printed in about '70 to see what the part number was.  Reason is that each GM division had their own section of the number spectrum staked out.  IF the number is in the Buick section, it could be "Buick only".  If it's in the Chevy spectrum, then interchange possibilities exist.  BUT also understand that each divsion, back then, did their own suspension tuning.  It might be that the bars will physically interchnage, but have different diameters.

 

The other thing to look for in the parts book illustrations is how the bars attach to the rear control arms.

 

ONE other thing to consider:  many of the parts vendors only know what's in the catalog, typically.  Not a lot of "hands-on" experience, by observation.  Not the best information sources for "Will it fit a similar car that's not listed in teh catalog?" questions.

 

The body mounts on my '68 5467 have a casting number on them that matches the GM part number in the Buick parts book.  That particular part number is a "Chevy number".  But if you find a vendor that sells '68 Impala body mounts and ask them if they'll fit a similar Buick, they'll most probably say "NO".

 

A Hollander Interchange Manual might offer some information on what might fit?

 

Just some thoughts,

NTX5467  

[NTX5467]

One other possibility of "no fit" is the way the rear lower control arms are angled between the body and the rear axle.  I recall that Buick had changed a few things on the front suspension geomety for '70, so they might have changed something on the rear side, too?  Each division had their own orientations of how to do things, back then, even some things most might not consider or sonsider to be "all the same".

 

Enjoy!

NTX5467

[billbuickgs]

Thanks ,

I didn't check the parts manual , I never  remember seeing a 70 with a factory rear bar .

The bar may help stability but I think it would look cool on my wagon !

 

Bill

[old-tank]

Also with Chevy suppliers never ask if it will fit a Buick; never tell them you want to try it on Buick; never tell them you tried and it and did not fit a Buick.

The hassle of returns on their end is not worth it for them.

[60FlatTop]

There were a few light 1980's cars built with transverse torsion bars. A little bracket fabrication might get a pair of those under your car.

 

Even though 1977 brought some major changes to the B body platform you still have a B body car. There is a lot of good information here: https://www.impalassforum.com/forums/

And it is a very active site. It includes Caprice, Roadmaster, wagons, it is a good resource.

 

Bernie

[NTX5467]

By observation, after the 1977 B/C-car re-designs, chassis components tended to become more "corporate".  Much more so than at any prior time.

 

The 1969 Chevy B-car with the F41 suspension package was one of the first "big cars" to use f/r sway bars, to great success.  Almost all of the "Radial Tuned Suspension" packages of 1975 had rear sway bars on the B/C-cars.

 

Station wagons, with their great proportion of the vehicle weight on the rear wheels, are a little different than the sedans with close to a 55/45 f/r weight split.  The rear bars were used to decrease understeer and therefore corner better.  In some respects, you can reduce understeer and have better steering response by simply running the tire pressures at about 32 front, 30 rear on sedans.  Never going to be a "corner carver" by any means, but more reponsive steering can make it more fun to drive, in general, with the OEM-spec tire sizes.  7" wide wheels, rather than 6" wide wheels, can help too.

 

It's generally accepted that putting too much "roll stiffness" at the rear can result in negative results in some driving situations.  As in "tail-happy oversteer" when it's not desired.  "Slight understeer" is the safest way to have things set-up, but not the "sidewall scrubbing understeer" which forces the driver to slow down for sharp curves . . . ever watch the original "Hawaii 5-0" episodes when McGarrett was sliding those black '69 Mercury Marquis sedans he drove around the corners?  That's understeer.

 

Enjoy!

NTX5467

[MrEarl]

Hothkis likely makes one to fit. I installed their rear bar and replaced the front with a thicker heavy duty one.  Not cheap but improved my wagons cornering and steering response and practically eliminated the roll. A huge help when towing!! . You may need to alter or source some different mounting brackets as I did. FF to page 3.