#21  
Old 03-25-2023, 04:09 PM
mgarblik mgarblik is offline
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Did some crawling around under the car today. Took multiple measurements of
the front sway bar. It is only 3/4"! No wonder it looks so tiny, It is. The 1 1/8" bar possibly offered will be a very tight fit as mentioned in a post. It really fits in the frame channel tight. Looking at the rear, a frame mounted bar looks to be a very difficult fit with my 2 1/2" full exhaust installed. It's a fully welded system so really a no-go without allot of work. I am going to try the 1" control arm mounted bar and see how it does. Suspension bind is possible but only if the control arm bushings can't deflect and deform as designed. I can see where arms with poly urethane or other hard bushings could be an issue. Think I will fill the lower control arms with a hunk of aluminum and mount the bar through it. That will sort of box the arms without welding. Thanks for all the input and ideas. Don't need race car handling, just want to improve it to an acceptable level. I have new rear springs and KYB gas shocks as well to install.

  #22  
Old 03-25-2023, 04:20 PM
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They are identical or very close. '62 cars had a 1" longer wheelbase so the rear control arm mounts may be 1" farther back but the difference may have been control arm length. As far as that goes '61-'64 frames/bodies can be switched there is enough slop in the body bolt holes in the frames.

  #23  
Old 03-26-2023, 10:38 PM
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I have a 1.125" front bar on my '62 that I got from Paul @ Ram Air Restoration when he was still in Illinois. Believe it was an Addco bar but the guys at UMI should be able to make one if Addco is not interested. Let me know if you need more info or photos of my front suspension. As I said back in the 2020 thread the 1.125" front bar along with the 1.0" rear bar & Bilstein shocks made a significant improvement in handling.
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  #24  
Old 03-27-2023, 08:48 AM
mgarblik mgarblik is offline
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That Addco bar is still available and you can confirm it is 1.125? It's unfortunate that every different vendor and web site has the same Addco bar listed as part #199 but the size varies in the description between 7/8" and 1/125". Just wish I could get an answer before I buy one. I absolutely hate sending stuff back because it is falsely represented. I e-mailed Addco two times, tried an on-line chat and left questions with three vendors of their bars. Not a peep back from anyone. If I was ordering 1000 of them, someone would probably get back with me. Thanks for the information on your car. That front bar looks HUGE compared to the tiny piece of spaghetti my car has on it.

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Old 03-27-2023, 11:05 AM
mgarblik mgarblik is offline
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Well, the confusion continues. I was finally able to get through to the manufacturer Addco, on the phone. Gave him the Addco part # 199. He looked up the build specs and said it was .875", which is 7/8", constant diameter bar. So that means possibly ram Air restorations had some bars specially made for them or the 1.125" bars are some other Addco part number or the build spec. sheet from 50 years ago is wrong or they made a diameter change and didn't update the drawings. Anything is possible. Anyone have a bar on their car that is 1.125" and was purchased under the part number Addco #199? Or some other manufacturer and part number? If I change my front bar, I would want the 1.125" bar. Going from .750" to .875" wouldn't do enough to make the change worthwhile. This would be for a front bar. I have a rear bar ordered. Thank you.

  #26  
Old 03-27-2023, 02:28 PM
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Mike, as I said, my bar is a 199 and it is 1 1/8”. I bought it quite a while ago. I would assume that Addco changed it at some point. Perhaps call the company I added a link for that lists it as 1 1/8”. They may have “old stock” as I doubt they’re a big selling item.
BTW, I did not buy mine from RARE. I can look for my receipt but I don’t think it matters at this point.

Update! I rechecked that link I posted earlier and it has changed to listing it as .875!
Good luck . . . .

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Old 03-27-2023, 02:58 PM
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i had a front one special made for me 1 3/8" call them

ejabour@addco.net
Ernie Jabour
ADDCO
15700 SW Farm Rd
Indiantown, FL 34956
Main/ 855.522.5378
Direct/ 828.676.6795
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Old 03-27-2023, 03:06 PM
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My order. Bought it on eBay but it shipped directly from Addco. 2009!

1 3/8”! That’s a fat bar!
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Old 03-28-2023, 10:50 AM
mgarblik mgarblik is offline
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Thanks again for the information. The forums are always helpful. Wow 1 3/8" front bar for a 61-64 Catalina? That must have been an extremely tight fit. I would be fine with 1.125". The current 3/4" bar is not much more effective than an old coat hanger!

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Old 03-28-2023, 11:08 AM
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actually its in a 66 4 door bonnie, i had to redrill the frame and i nut and bolted it by put a bolt facing down rather than the threaded frame i have a bit of a ways to go with the project but with the heavy front end i figured if they said they could do it why not

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Old 03-28-2023, 11:26 AM
mgarblik mgarblik is offline
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Well, from my experience, the 65-66 full size cars handle much better than the 62. At least the one I have now. So you are better to start with. I called Ernie Jabour at Addco and he called me right back. Finally, got a knowledgeable guy to talk to. He said he honestly doesn't know how some 1.125" bars got out there under the #199 part number. He did say Addco would make you a bar any diameter you want as a "special". Not a crazy price either for a 1 off. A little less than $400.00 as a kit with links, straps and bushings. Summit price for the stocking 199 bar is $300.00. He also said difference between sizes would be approximately as follows: 3/4" to 7/8" double. 3/4" to 1.125 3 times 3/4" to 1.375" five times. Interesting info.

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Old 03-28-2023, 06:07 PM
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I'll be curious to see how this goes for you. The 62 I just got handles like a 62! Throwing it into a corner does not inspire a high degree of confidence....lol. Planning on doing something about that.

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  #33  
Old 03-28-2023, 11:31 PM
mgarblik mgarblik is offline
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I will report back but it will be a couple months before some parts are installed and I can drive it again. I am going to work on the rear first. I have new springs and I ordered a 1" rear bar. I also have 4 KYB gas shocks to put on. I will report back once all that stuff is on and I get my hood back from the body shop. I needed to install the factory hood scoop for clearance with the bathtub intake.

  #34  
Old 05-25-2023, 04:23 PM
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I finally have my car back on the road and have put a couple hundred miles on it. Suspension wise, I installed 4 KYB gas shocks and a 1" rear stabilizer bar that bolted to the lower control arms. The bar I used was spec'd for a 68-72 A body car. I filled the lower control arms with a 1.750" square aluminum bar 8" long. Marked and drilled the holes and bolted it in. Took a couple hours. After driving a few hundred miles, the difference is night and day from what I had. The car corners so much better, it's almost like a different car. At speed without the bar, the car felt like the frame was going to separate from the body or like the frame was actually bending. With the bar, the car feels much like a 69-71 Grand Prix without the disc brakes. I did not change the rear springs like I intended, because the new springs were about 1" shorter than the old ones and the same wire diameter. So I put the old ones back in.

I am happy enough with the handling now, I am going to leave the front suspension alone for now. As mentioned in another thread, my goal is to put a couple thousand miles on this bathtub intake and get used to how it behaves. So far, after about 500 miles on the street, all I can say is bring lots of gasoline. Going to actually test the mileage but my gut feeling is 10 MPG in mixed driving. Driveability, off idle response and starting all excellent as well as idle quality.

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Old 05-25-2023, 10:35 PM
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Good feedback!

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  #36  
Old 08-01-2023, 05:59 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by misterp266 View Post
Is a ‘61 frame narrower in the rear? That’s the first pic I’ve seen of one mounted outside the frame. Would be easier to mount the brackets though.
Looks mighty close to the exhaust. I would want to install the bar before the exhaust for sure.
Turned the pic.
Just an update.

Apparently the Safari bar is longer to mount “outside” the frame rails as opposed to the standard “inside” the frame rail mounting. Was looking to see how my NOS bar was going to fit and noticed it was not long enough to mount as designed. I do have the bracket holes on the outside of the frame. I think I can mount it but I’ll have to be creative on the mounts.

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Old 08-02-2023, 10:43 AM
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Good point misterp266

61 and 62 might be nearly the same although they have different part numbers. So, looking at the shop manual for 61, I see that Safari (either Catalina or Bonneville), are about 5 1/8 narrower than any other frame in the area behind the rear wheels. Perhaps that is to allow for a spare tire to drop into the spot behind the rear pass wheel. If in fact that is how it was done in that year.

It should also mean that the spring mount is also narrower on the wagons. Not sure about that. But it would explain the shop manual photos showing the mount for the sway bar being outboard not inboard of the frame. Other frame dimensions are consistent except the Bonneville (except Safari) and Star Chief which are longer behind the rear wheels.

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