VIC Mk1 antiroll/sway bars

[Browneye]

Hey rubber-dub-dubbers,

I'm keen for some front and rear sway bars for my 76 2 door and have money to give one (or maybe two) of you lucky lads.

If anyone has some sitting around at home or is wrecking a late model cabby, I'd be very interested in talking to you.

[sports racer]

I might be tempted to take the standard GTI ones off my MK1 if you can't find any local.

I need to put thicker ones on anyway.

Cheers

Paul

[Browneye]

I might be tempted to take the standard GTI ones off my MK1 if you can't find any local.

I need to put thicker ones on anyway.

Cheers

Paul

Is there any way of fitting sway bars from other cars to the mk1? Say if I went to the junker, is there any car in particular I should be looking for?

What is needed more, front or rear?

[Notso Swift]

More rear

Yes, maybe search on Autospeed, I think they had something on that years ago
Mount brackets are easy, will not be as neat, obviously

[sports racer]

The front bar doesn't do much compared to the rear which makes a big improvement to the handling. I'd only fit a front bar if I was racing and needed the extra poofteenth improvement.

Years ago I fitted the front bar from a 1980's Mitsubishi Sigma on the rear of my MK1. Dead easy to do.

Start by measuring the rear beam on the MK1 and see how wide and deep the space is to fit a swaybar. Take your measurements to the wreckers and look around for a front bar off any car that will fit. Don't go looking at rear bars, you won't find one thick enough - you want at least 20mm thick, 24mm is probably best.

When you get the swaybar make sure you buy it with all the fittings as you will need to weld brackets onto the MK1 rear beam for the fittings to go onto. DON'T fit the swaybar so it mounts to the back of the body, it will twist and eventually brake the body where it's mounted. It must be made to fit inside the rear beam so it stiffen's the beam.

I've done this to a couple of MK1's and the improvement is fantastic. Add a front lower strut brace and you'll be taking corners at twice the speed you're doing now, with so much confidence you can setup the car so it 4 wheel drifts coming out of corners just by throttle control.

It still puts a smile on my face thinking about the number of cars I've suckered into trying to stay with me through the big sweeping (270 degree) corner that comes off Victoria Rd onto James Ruse Rd. There used to be a long concrete dividing wall as you come out of the corner (on the outside of the corner) and I could setup the Golf so it was going so fast through the corner it would slowly drift across the lane towards the concrete wall, all controlled by how hard I put my foot down. It was so easy to control I could put the drivers mirror within a few cm of the wall coming out of the corner and hold it there if I wanted to.

Pure magic.