Can someone please tell me what the steering bar does/goes and where to get it(any sites),also how much it costs. For an 85 IROC. Thanks in advance, Mike

 

The wonder bar bolts in between your frame rails to tie both sides of the frame together out at your idler arm/steering box. I would try the junkyard first and then either Global West or the dealership.

 

Oh so I have it already? Is there a difference between stock and global west's bar?

 

The Global West bar is beefier. It bolts in where the sway bar bushings are.

------------------
-Justin-
T-Top '86 5.0L LG4 700R4 WS6 Now Bilstein equipped!
T-Top '92 5.0L TBI 700R4
My '86 Firebird Homepage
The F-body Model Kit Pictoral Archive (updated 5/15/00)

There can be only one!!

 

If you have a stock one on your car, it's plenty strong.Save your money for something else.

My brother whipped one out for my car in about 30 minutes using scrap tubing and flat stock.

We also made SFC's but that took a couple of days.

------------------
Nor Cal Mike
Red 84 Z28, stock L82 350, L69 carb, intake, and air cleaner
5 Spd, 3:73 Posi, 1 5/8" SLP headers, 3"cat connected to
stock L69 exhaust, KYB's
Some are faster but mine's fast enough.

 

Mike, it never ocurred to me that I could weld one up! (Instead I'm about to weld my own creeper.. I might as well make something performance-orientated instead!) Did you have yours bolt between the frame & anti-sway-bar bushings also?

-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l) from http://www.f-body.net/mailbag/3rd/3rd_mailbag.html message boards

 

Yes, it is sandwiched between the subframe and sway bar bushings. He used 2"x 1/4" flat stock for the mounting tabs and 1 1/4"x 1/8" square tubing for the wonder bar. The tube runs parallel and just in front of the swaybar. It's probably a little heavy but like I said, it's what we had laying around.

Mike

 

Wow.. that's thicker stuff than what I have in the basement (1/8 inch thick stock), but hey since you think yours is too strong, I might as well give it a shot. Thanks for the details!

-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l) from http://www.f-body.net/mailbag/3rd/3rd_mailbag.html message boards

 

TomP, IMO the greatest torsional stress is placed on those mounting tabs. It would be better to skimp on the bar wall thickness than the mounting tabs. I'm the only guy I know of who is into 3rd Gens, in my area. I've never seen a factory wonder bar or an after market one. I couldn't tell you what size the engineers decided was enough. I tend to over build stuff.

Mike

 

Hm, I could always weld two 1/8" plates to get a 1/4" mounting plate. Maybe I'll go find some thicker stock, too. I have no problem whatsoever with overbuilding, that's what guys do.

Hey one more Q if ya don't mind.. I was looking at my car last night, and wondered if the bar is between the engine & sway bar, or sway bar & bumper?

I've only seen a picture of the wonderbar at the Global West website- of course, they didn't have it installed. Around me, the junkyards don't get too many IROC's..

-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l) from http://www.f-body.net/mailbag/3rd/3rd_mailbag.html message boards

 

Tom the steering brace goes between the sway bar bushing brackets and the frame. Drop the sway bar off the fram and put the brace in there. It does suck that none of the yards around here dont get any Irocs or WS6 birds.

james

------------------
If the women don't find you handsome they should at least find you handy


[This message has been edited by scooter (edited September 22, 2000).]

 

between the sway bar & bumper.

 

Tom, instead of welding 2 plates together, you should use the 1/8" stock and gussett it with 1/8" stock. Remember this basic rule of engineering - triangulate everything. If you design it properly it will be both stronger and lighter. For the bar i would use 1" x 0.095 round or 1 1/4" x 0.083 round.

 

Here's a diagram #49 is the wonderbar. http://members.aol.com/ohnny101/Front-endDiagram.html

 

Hey, great, thanks zghost, Merf, & John! When it happens, I'll put a message up as to how it goes!


------------------
-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l) from http://www.f-body.net/mailbag/3rd/3rd_mailbag.html message boards

 

I picked one up at the local junkyard Monday for $10 , and they took it off for me too! I painted it Monday afternoon and installed it Tuesday. I like it !

 

If you have an 85 IROC, the brace is already in place. They were standard in IROCs.

JamesC

------------------

 

Actually I saw an 85 IROC in a junk yard without a wonderbar on it. It may have been removed before it got to the junkyard though. But the sway bar was still in place.

James

------------------
If the women don't find you handsome they should at least find you handy