A front swaybar brace, a good/useful idea?

[Ugly1]

I made both of my jounce bars and GP bar out of rigid conduit, which is nearly twice as thick as the factory bars and I also made a crimper to put a nice crimp on the ends which I also used when I made fender to core support braces.
I feel like this set up made a vast improvement even over just having the stock set up.

View attachment 226319
View attachment 226316 View attachment 226315 View attachment 226321

If you could pattern that gp bar to sell just that piece you’d make a lot of happy people. Rather than having to buy all three brackets as one.

 

[liquidh8]

If you can't source the factory bars, the UMI is a nice piece. I've been running a variation of said factory bars on every G-body I've owned and built.

 

[melloelky]

I made both of my jounce bars and GP bar out of rigid conduit, which is nearly twice as thick as the factory bars and I also made a crimper to put a nice crimp on the ends which I also used when I made fender to core support braces.
I feel like this set up made a vast improvement even over just having the stock set up.

View attachment 226319
View attachment 226316 View attachment 226315 View attachment 226321

that crimp is 🏆

 

[Undercover87T]

I'll add another recommendation for the UMI front triangle brace assuming you don't have anything like an intercooler that would interfere (won't work on a GN with FMIC). Then add the fender to core support braces and a bigger front sway bar. Front end will definitely feel tighter.

 

[liquidh8]

I'll add another recommendation for the UMI front triangle brace assuming you don't have anything like an intercooler that would interfere (won't work on a GN with FMIC). Then add the fender to core support braces and a bigger front sway bar. Front end will definitely feel tighter.

Agree, I have a PTE FMIC and fabricated my front brace to fit

 

[81camel]

I'll add another recommendation for the UMI front triangle brace assuming you don't have anything like an intercooler that would interfere (won't work on a GN with FMIC). Then add the fender to core support braces and a bigger front sway bar. Front end will definitely feel tighter.

Do you know who sells those Fender to Care Support Braces? I saw someone that had them but couldn't find a vendor for them in my searching.

 

[scoti]

I made both of my jounce bars and GP bar out of rigid conduit, which is nearly twice as thick as the factory bars and I also made a crimper to put a nice crimp on the ends which I also used when I made fender to core support braces.
I feel like this set up made a vast improvement even over just having the stock set up.

View attachment 226319
View attachment 226316 View attachment 226315 View attachment 226321

Do you recall what the wall thickness was of the conduit used for your home-built braces?

 

[565bbchevy]

Do you recall what the wall thickness was of the conduit used for your home-built braces?

I believe I used 3/4" rigid EMT which is .107" wall thickness.

 

[scoti]

I believe I used 3/4" rigid EMT which is .107" wall thickness.

Thanks. Looked up 'rigid' conduit but was guessing on size/OD (assumed 3/4") & it didn't list wall thickness so thought I'd inquire.

 

[Sweet_Johnny]

I must admit that I've considered trying something like this, although slightly different. Even with the jounce bars and G.P. bar I figured something similar to the Camaro "Wonder Bar" might be worth a shot considering how much stress the frames take near the P.S. gearbox during turns. I planned on looking into it further next year, and have considered using the sway bar bolts as a mount since I already have to weld there anyway. But I would absolutely reinforce that area and probably incorporate threaded steel inserts that go to the roof of the K-member, and weld them there as well so they'd be anchored top and bottom. It seems stronger than welding in a nut plate or popping in a Riv-Nut, but it's also probably excessive for 99% of us. I just like to overcomplicate things.

Edit to add that this would allow you to run a much longer bolt, and that would drastically decrease the chance of ripping out of the frame. However, at this point you might want to upgrade to a larger bolt with a wider head flange to prevent simply snapping the head off. And now it's overcomplicated.

Edit 2: The use of a Wonder Bar was mentioned by CutlassJ back in 2009 on page 3 of the F41 And Aftermarket Bracing Diagrams thread. https://gbodyforum.com/threads/f41-and-aftermarket-bracing-diagrams-more-pics-added.8126/page-3