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59 Chevy Truck sway bars

Good evening Classic car lovers! Since I’ve been driving our 59 Chevy, I’ve noticed when going around corners/curves, the truck tends to lean a bit, or body roll. So, I purchased a set of sway bars (front and rear) for the old truck from Performance Online.

new tires and wheels4

 

 

The price for front and rear sway bars was only 250 with free shipping which I thought was a pretty good price!

The instructions were a little vague, but I don’t think I really needed the instructions as it’s pretty much a common sense installation, but I put the instructions here for you to see;)

sway bar instructions3

 

As usual, I pull out my handy fold up table and lay things out. This portable table is really nice to have around when needed, just don’t pile stuff on it or it will never be the same! The front bar is 1″ diameter, I think the rear is a little less in diameter.

sway bar front

 

Sorry about the fuzzy picture, but you can make it out I’m sure. Notice my 2 leaf posie slider springs;)  Gee, I need to clean them up a bit:(

sway bar

 

I’d say this is one of the easier installation things I’ve done on this truck. Just drill a few holes, bolt up the brackets and mount the sway bar. The bar must be centered very well as there’s not a lot of room as when the truck bounces. Oh, I love my headers!;)

sway bar3

 

 

 

The rear sway bar: My sway bar had to be mounted opposite of this picture, or with the ends pointed forward.

sway bar instructions2

 

 

Here is the mounting kit for the rear less the sway bar.

sway bar rear

 

 

You can kind of see why I had to mount my sway bar pointing the opposite direction. The under the bed gas tank was in the way and the exhaust as well. On the driver’s side, the exhaust appears to be very close to the sway bar bushing, but that’s an illusion and is not neat\r it at all.

sway bar2

sway bar

 

 

Betsy, the name of the truck, now rides exceptionally well, no body roll, and takes curves like a newer truck!new tires and wheels2

There’s not a lot to say about this installation other than I believe it a worthwhile investment for a much more stable ride, an affordable price, and not to difficult an installation.

I hope this short blog has been informative! Please sign up for updates from Classic Cars and Tools, I try to make it fun and interesting!;) dne’

ps: hi, I’ve been getting a few emails (the most recent was Larry;) about how the old 59 rode after the sway bars, as I’ve had ample enough time to say something, long overdue I might add. I wound up removing the rear sway bar as for me, it just rode way too rough, like the rear had no suspension. I removed the rear sway bars and the truck rode very well without the annoying harshness or rough ride. I feel the front sway bar is all one needs, but each of us are different, besides, it’s not all too hard to put on or remove!

cheers from dne’;)

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4 Responses so far.

  1. Les says:

    Thank you for posting this. The instructions I received were awful. After reading your blog and seeing photos, the project went smooth.

    • admin says:

      Hi Les! I’m so happy to have helped! You’re going to enjoy the ride with the new sway bars!
      thank you for letting me know;)
      dne’

  2. larry says:

    have you driven it since you installed the front sway bar ? if so, how is it holding up and did it make a big difference.

    • admin says:

      Hi Larry, Thank you for responding as I needed to get back to this particular blog a long time ago!:( After having had both front and rear sway bars on for a while, I found it to ride way too rough, like there was no suspension in the rear. I must say it rode like, someone put it, “like it was on rails”. I wound up removing the rear sway bars and it was I had hoped, It rode much much better, but also rode smoother~ especially with my husband riding shotgun;) All in all, the old trucks need a little sway, eh~ Knowing what I know now, I feel the front sway bars takes care of a lot of the normal sway and no need for the rear, but I’d suppose if you were racing on a flat track, like road racing, one might want the Railride;) Let me know if this helped?
      your friendly Classic car and tools hostess;)
      dne’

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