Ok, I have an 84 camaro Berlinetta thats been modified quite a bit. As far as the suspension goes, I've put in a new steering box, new struts/shocks, poly bushings, and the wonder bar. But I'd like to stiffen it up even more. First of all I want to know if putting in the rear sway bar helps these cars handle much better, take corners better without rolling as much? Cause I can get the whole assembly, bar and brackets for $15. My next question is about the steering braces I guess you'd call em. They're triangle shaped and on the drivers side it goes right under the steering box and braces the frame there. Awhile back, my car did what many other camaros are famous for, where my steering box is, the frame rail there rotted out and got real loose, and messed my steering all up. Well since then I've gotten it welded up, and put the wonder bar in, which helped alot. But what I'm wondering is if those braces would help me anymore? Would they stiffen up the front end even more? Will it help tighten up the steering even more, kind of like putting in a strut tower brace? Basically would it benefit me at all, and is it worth putting them in, will I feel the difference?......Thanks

 

Oh hell yeah put a rear sway bar on!!! And I'd say to put the triangular braces back on, if they weren't needed, GM wouldn't have spent the extra $$ to put 'em on.

You should re-post this on the Suspension/Chassis/Brakes board, and, maybe do a search on that forum. Think about putting polyurethane bushings on both sway bars, that'll help alot, too.

 

A rear sway bar will help a bunch. I had an 84 that had no rear sway bar, I went with a 24 rear and changed the front to 36... let me tell ya, that car would corner.

The stock bolts are metric. IIRC its 12x1.75, you can just get a tap and tap the holes in the frame rail. GM didnt tap the holes on cars that didnt have the swaybar already.

 

For fifteen bucks for a reaar stabilizer, I'd jump on it.

If you're talking about the corner braces from the K member to the frame side rails at the front of the K memeber, replace them. There cars need all the help they can get between the front rails. Not as flexible as a Mustang, but still loose up front. All that and a STB wouldn't be too much. Once you stiffen up the front end, watch the idler arm and inner tie rod ends closely. They'll start to take the wear faster since the frame isn't flexing as much, but the car will still be tighter. Moog makes an upgraded replacement for the idler arm, and many aftermarket tie rod ends are heavier than stock.

When you grab the rear stabilizer, see if you can get the track bar, track bar brace, and the associated bushings and brackets from the donor car ("panhard rod" for us old farts). That will keep the rear axle in tighter as well. You can fab up the brackets and weld them on if you can't get them.

 

Ok thanks alot guys. Got a couple questions though. Doesn't my car already have a panhard rod? Or did they only put those on later camaros with rear stabilizers? Or is the panhard just better on the later model camaros? And my next question is gonna sound really stupid probably, but I just realized that I'm not sure how the rear stabilizer goes in, because the rear axle from the donor car is gone. Does it just go in using the 2 brackets, 1 on each side into the frame rails? Or is it connected to the rear axle in some way? Also I'm gonna need new end links for the bar, I already have some poly bushings, anyone know where to get those, are they at Autozone, Advanced Auto or any other big chains?....Thanks alot, gettin all this stuff today

 

The ends of the bar attach, via end links, to brackets that are inside the rear wheel wells of the car.

The middle of the bar attaches, with muffler-style clamps and bushings, to the axle itself. A bushing is on each end of the axle, about mid-way between the axle tube end and the center pumpkin.

Best way to explain it is to go find any 3rd gen camaro in a parking lot, and look underneath - from 50 or 100 feet away. You don't want to get your butt kicked. I bought a universal greaseable anti-sway-bar mounting bushing kit from Summit Racing... had poly bushings, bushing brackets, and a packet of lube in it... for I think, $15. You're going to need those factory style clamps, though. The u-bolts are longer than that of a muffler clamp, and, the clamp is slotted so it doesn't spin on the axle. Energy Suspension's site is http://www.energysuspension.com , call summitracing.com at 800-230-3030.

Maybe you want to go to a junkyard and get the rear sway bar off a junkyard f-body. I bought my 21mm trans am rear bar for $15, and took it off myself.

 

Well I'm gettin this bar off a camaro in a junkyard, its just that the rear axle has already been taken. So I'm not sure if I'm clear on what you said. It looks like what I need is all the brackets that go onto the axle itself. Will those come in the kit? Do they have to be welded on?...Thanks for responding so quickly, because I am leaving to get this stuff real soon.

 

ummm, i had a sway bar on my convertible....swaped to a 9 bolt and the sway bar is different and i have not put it back on yet....the only change i noticed was i can get on it harder sooner into the turn to get out of it....if that made sense...i don't think i am going back.....

 

Okay; I'll re-phrase what I meant - get the sway bar off a junkyard car that still has the rear axle. Then you can see how it bolts up! The kit comes with the mounting bushings and brackets only. Visit the ES website to see what they look like- online catalog, camaro, page two. You'd need to get the clamps off of the junkyard car, muffler clamp u-bolts won't be large enough. Notice how the sway bar clamps each have a notch cut into them, on the bottom, which mates with a corresponding tab on the rear axle.

And a sway bar's a bolt-on, no welding required.