Anyone have pics of a front swaybar installed on a MII suspension? I wanna get one for my TCI MII on my '56 F100.....just wanna see how they look, how they are installed, installation pitfalls, etc.

 

I don't have any really good pics on the 54 install, but I can tell you about it.. (there are a few in my 54 gallery)

the bar goes thru two block that bolt to the backside of the cross member. If the member was planned for this, there is a small area on the outside edge of the back face of the cross member that the block bolts to. this tab off the bottom of the cross member apparently doesn't come on all..

I was considering welding a panel to close the bottom of the cross member to clean it up, but one of the nuts for the sway bar block mounting would be inside, and I didn't have a weld on nut at the time..

also, on the lower A arm, there is a welded on post for the heim joint bolt to go into at the end of the bar.

this TCI manual shows the bar attachment, but the cross member is different..
++ Total Cost Involved Engineering, Inc. ++

Sam

 

NOW I see....I thought the bar would have been routed to the front of the Crossmember somehow. There are 2 mounting holes on the Cross member for the block and there is also the welded on post for the heim joint. Got it.
Thanks Sam....Now all I need is a video with sound of a fresh 460 firing up !!!!

 

got the oil system primed last weekend, and the valve covers back on, and distro in place.. now have to run the plug wires (custom make), and load up the other fluids..

this moving crud has sure cut into my fun time.. (moving to a new place with room and a nice big shop to work in)..

Sam

 

I used a sway bar from No Limit. It is for an older style MII such as mine from TCI. It is mounted to the bottom of the frame rails in front of the rack and pinion. It came with weld on tabs that I had to weld on the lowere A arms. I'll see if I can get a photo.

 

This is the best I can do for now.

 

now you guys have piqued my interest....

one is mounted behind the crossmember, right ??
and
one is mounted in front of the crossmember ???

why ?? and does it have any effect on handling characteristics ???

I'm certainly no suspension guru...guess I could go over to HAMB and ask the question and get my head handed to me... ElPolacko or PHAT used to be the gurus over there and were both very helpful to me back when...

We used to have a couple of sharp guys that knew their ifs stuff... but I can't remember who they were...

any ideas guys on the handling and why it's front or back mount ???

later
John

 

the rear mount attaches to the cross member
the front mount to the chassis rails..

I think the rear one is more like the one AX talks about for his racers, square corners.

the front mount one is more like the typical car bars..

no idea which works better, or what the difference would be

Sam

 

Unless your crossmember is designed for the rear mount I believe the lower bar mounting holes are below the crossmember, therefore requiring a mounting tab to be added below the member which will also reduce what little ground clearance there is.

I also don't know if there is any advantage of one over the other. I added mine after I had about 1800 mi on my truck and I can really feel a difference. The whole front end feels more solid now and I,m still getting used to the idea that I don't have to baby it around corners now.

I haven't installed one on the rear yet, but it is on my short list.

P.S. Rob at No Limit told me that they have even mounted the end links to the upper arms and that it works just as well.(for what that is worth)

 

My SwayBar is on order....it is a behind the crossmember type as Sam mentioned. Would be nice if it would come in by this weekend......if Dolly doesn't intercept it! Anxious to feel the diff.....will report.

 

Well , received my front Sway Bar today.....well, sorta. I shoulda suspected something was up when it took so long for the order-taker guy to complete my order for one sway bar. I told him I had a '56 F100 which has a TCI MII installed with a power rack. He had my ordering history pulled up on computer.
I received 2 packages ! One had a Sway Bar and hardware in it and the other package had another sway bar (same length) plus a chrome manual Rack and Pinion with a bunch of hardware. The Invoice reads Sway Bar only and that's what I got charged for........oops!
Double oops: Both Sway Bars are about 4" too short!

 

So yestreday I received the correct Sway bar and painted it and today I installed it. Took it for a test drive and am pleased with the results. A lot more solid when cornering. Me likey!

 

Speaking of sway bars, I have this crazy notion that I can adapt the sway bar that came from the front of my engine donor to the rear of my truck. I had to remove it to get the engine out of the E 250 van that surrendered the 460 for my 56 Effie.

Preliminary fittings and measuring show that the front sway bar from the E 250 will fit on the rear if I finagle a way to rotate the stock shock mounts 90° and remount them above the spring pads. I believe I can do this with a U-bolt using the spring pad to hold the mount stable. Pics to follow if this hairbrained stunt works.

If it held the front of the van with the 460 stable, it should be able to handle the light a$$ end of the 56 with no problem. When it comes time to do the front end I will get a sway bar from Air Ride Tech that goes with the control arms and Shockwaves.

 

cool!.

Sam