Sway bar end link bracket angle

[joekurt]

Here's my problem: We're building a street rod that looks like an Austin Healey 3000. It uses Mustang 2 front suspension. We have bought aftermarket upper and lower control arms and are converting to coil over 5 lug. The sway bar that came off of the original car doesn't fit this project. It's about 1-7/8" too wide and the ends are slightly off angle.
Here's my question: How important is the bracket angle? Assuming I can make the sway bar the correct length, can the brackets be turned to allow the end link to rotate and line up with the hole in the end of the sway bar? Original installation had the end links vertical both front to back and side to side. If I turn the bracket, the end link will be able to rotate and then be vertical front to back, but will be leaning forward (towards the front bumper) about 20 - 25 degrees when viewed from the side. Notice how the bracket is turned in the second shot. That allows me to turn end link so it lines up with the sway bar end a lot better. The first picture shows how bracket was originally installed.

 

[LILCBRA]

After doing a little bit of researching, it appears you want your end links to be 90* to either the sway bar or the control arm, but preferably the control arm. So, I'd say adjust the bar to the end link locations. If that requires cutting the ends off of the bar to relocate the bushing point, that would be the way I'd go. And, to make everything easy, I'd weld the bushing location at a 90* angle to the end link, preferably while the car was sitting on the ground fully assembled. I'd think if it were done that way that would ensure that the sway bar itself would be neutral at rest.

 

[joekurt]

After doing a little bit of researching, it appears you want your end links to be 90* to either the sway bar or the control arm, but preferably the control arm. So, I'd say adjust the bar to the end link locations. If that requires cutting the ends off of the bar to relocate the bushing point, that would be the way I'd go. And, to make everything easy, I'd weld the bushing location at a 90* angle to the end link, preferably while the car was sitting on the ground fully assembled. I'd think if it were done that way that would ensure that the sway bar itself would be neutral at rest.

Thanks LILCBRA! Kind of the way I was thinking. The research I did basically said the end link should be vertical when viewed front to rear. That would ensure 90* to the sway bar. They also said vertical to the LCA when viewed from the side was not as important. So here's the next question. Do you have any info on bending a sway bar? Each end needs to come in about 15/16". Research says it can be done by heating to bright orange (if you get to yellow and sparks you've gone too far and need to trash the bar and start over), but then people talk about destroying the hardening process of the bar and needing to have it re-heat treated after bending. I wonder how critical that really is. This car won't be raced. Just some occasional frisky driving on the street.

 

[LILCBRA]

Do you have any info on bending a sway bar?

No, not really. I've done a little Google searching and I was finding lots of conflicting info - heat and bend, cold bend, etc. I guess it would depend on what you have available to help you bend it. Sorry I can't help much more than that.

 

[IICrew]

I think the bar is upside down. Flip it and see where your at. On my cars the bar never points up as yours is in the pic. It's level to pointing slightly down at ride height and hangs down when in the air. Never up.

 

[joekurt]

Thanks IICrew! That's what I thought also, but when we turn it around it interferes with the lower control arm. The issue is that this is going onto a street rod chassis and not into a Mustang II. Also, this sway bar was supplied with the kit and I don't think it was designed to even fit a stock Mustang II. The shame of it is that it originally came with a Classic Roadsters (now out of business) Sebring kit and we recently acquired a CR Sebring MX kit which was designed for higher horsepower. It's sooo close but not right. We're going to have to bend each arm in just slightly more than 5/8" (0.653").