74 ford-302-2wd-need to know good supplier of front and rear sway bars.any help greatly appreciated

 

J.C. Whitney has decent prices on Hellwig bars (better than RoughCountry.com on price and shipping for my order). If you get Whitney's catalog, look for a coupon deal on the back (one on every catalog) where you either get free shipping or 10-15% off your order. I just ordered two bars (front of '95 F150 and rear of E350 motorhome) and got 15% off. Also you may wish to visit www.hellwigproducts.com just to check out the general info on their bars. Calling Hellwig helped me to know in advance some details for my Whitney order. Also Hellwig e-mailed me the instructions so I could make sure it was going to work out before I bought.

INLINE SIX POWER!
300 Cubic Inches of Low RPM Truck Torque! And twin-I-beams too!

 

just to let you know i just got a quote in from www.shox.com and they want 139.00 a piece.plan on quoting hellwig also,will post it as soon as i get it.

 

For a '74 F150 (Whitney dosen't list F100; may be same; ask Hellwig) Whitney lists the front for $134.95 and the rear for 124.95.

 

I installed the front Hellwig sway bar last night on my 2wd '95 F150. Took some side street corners at 20 mph this morning and it handles them beautifully. You can hear a slight howl of the tires, so a little faster and I would probably break em loose. Now the question is, "will I wear my tires out faster because it is so much more fun to whip around corners with this bar?" But it really does seem to handle a lot better, need to test more, like in high wind. Installation took a couple hours and I had to modify the hardware. They gave me links that are bolts with the bushings and a sleeve. Immediately when I was looking things over I could see the bolts were too long so I called and they sent a shorter set. Turns out the shorter set had the bar pressing on the steering linkage, so I shortened the sleeves on the longer bolts and got it in. Odd thing is I have one 1.25 inch clearance over the steering linkage on right front, but several inches at left side. Left side bar pretty close to frame (about 2") and could hit. I jumped like a mad ape on the bumper corners and finally was able to get a smack on the drivers side, so I took another 1/4 inch off each sleeve. Seems fine now, but close. Seems the bar could be designed a litle better, like with a permanent twist to keep the left side lower (or is it due to the dent in my frame cross member?), a drop in the bar ends so the links could be shorter, & lighter weight (probably expensive to do). This bar mounts to the I-beams with U-bolts. Ever try to pull 75 foot pounds with the torque wrench upside down and you are on your back, with no clearance to see torque scale? I wraped masking tape around the scale so that the pointer would hit the tape at 75 ft-lb. I don't plan on getting a rear bar for this thing. With the light rear end and leaf springs, I don't think the benefits would be all that great. I would guess the front bar probably gives twice the benefit over stock as a rear bar would give over what I have now. Next, the rear bar on the motorhome (here I see a lot more benefit with this heavy wind catcher). Looks like the brake line junction on the rear axle is just about where the U-bolt has to go.

 

I called Hellwig today. I have a '69 F100 1/2T 2wd. They didn't list a sway bar specifically for my pickup. Does anyone have any experience with installing a '73 sway bar on a late '60's pickup?
Any help is appreciated.

Randy

 

Did you talk to one of the technical persons at Hellwig? They may be able to explain why they don't make the bar or even help you by providing parts for several different years. You could check out a newer Ford pickup, take some measurements and compare to your truck to see if the newer bar might fit. If you don't have the front curved cross member, Hellwig provides a different, bolt on cross memer (at least on my '95) so frame rail spacing may be important. You may be able to fit it up with some mods to cross member and link length. Mainly need enough clearance above steering linkage and at the same time below frame. I-beam cross section is variable over different years too, so the u-bolt width may be an issue.

Also, can try other bar companies, but I suspect the year of your truck and its relative scarcity makes is low on the list of profitable ventures for a company to develop the bar.

 

When I bought my '75 F100 2WD 300 short bed new, I adapted a '58 Olds sway bar to it and put a 2nd set of shocks on the front. I also replaced the bias tires and 5.5" wheels with radials and 6" Chrysler Imperial wheels. The improvement in handling was phenominal! I also swapped in a '56 Ford 3 speed w/OD. With the stock 3.70 gears, it is a perfect long legged runner that corners like a sports car.

 

Eureka!!
Hellwig does have a sway bar for the 68-72 F100's. The first tech rep didn't have a catalog that was old enough. I did find a rep that did. The correct front sway bar is Part Number 7422. List is $216.00
I feel certain that we can find one some less than that. I will be ordering on soon!!
Thanks for the help.

Randy