ok ,let me srat off by saying this isnt an emergency.

I need to know a few things:

What models of thirdgens did the "wonder bars" come on?

What models of thirdgens have the thicker anti sway bars?

Now this is a dumb question..... where excactly is the anti sway bar?

 

Anti-Sway Bar/Anit-Roll Bar:
Helps stop "Rolling/Swaying " effect when taking corners at high speed. it's also known as "lean"

Ex. "Your car leans to much in the corners, you had better get a thicker Anti-Sway Bar to stop the lean."

Robert

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Chevy 2.8L 60° V6
Mods:
•K&N Filter Lid
•87 Formula Hood
•Bosch Platinum +4
•Hi-Flo CatCo CAT
•Flowmaster 80 Series Muffler
•83 Trans Am 15x7 Turbo Fin Wheels
•B.F.Goodrich Radial T/A 225/60-15
•Chevy 2.8L Heddman Headers (Going on soon)


http://www.geocities.com/fiream/RobsCarArtPa.html?994187591828

 

GO to the EARLIEST Z-28 & Trans Ams. Those bars may be the tihickest ones you'll find. Take everything you can. Every nut & bolts & bracket & rubber/poly you find!)

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Chat Soon,
KED85
Karl
1985 Firebird 2.8 to 3.4 swap project for Smog Happy LA, CA

 

You can get a wonderbar BRAND NEW for 30 bux that includes shipping from gmpartsdirect.com
But i coudlnt get mine to fit

 

I love junkyards... (means: long message ahead)

The most visible anti-sway bar is under your rear axle. It's held to the rear axle by two "mounting bushings", and the sides of the car by an "end-link" on each side. There's a similar setup in the front.

If you find F-bodies with the RPO option code sheet in the center console (every f-body I find in a junkyard has the f'ing sheet missing!!), look for a car with the "WS6" code. Some Firebirds (formula, t/a's) also have a "Performance Suspension" badge above the passenger's feet- that's a giveaway for the WS6 package. WS6 cars got the 36mm front anti-sway bar, a larger rear anti-sway bar, and a performance "quick-ratio" steering box. They also got 16 inch wheels.

More on the steering box: If the car has 16 inch wheels, the lock-to-lock "travel" is reduced a bit. This is to prevent the 16" rim/tire combo from rubbing on the inner fender. The fast ratio is still there, though. This shortened travel won't affect you on the highway; it might mean making a K-turn in a parking lot will be more effort since the car won't be able to turn as sharply with the steering wheel turned all the way to one side. I have a quick-ratio box in my basement, waiting to go on... the casting number is 26000525, and it has a large "Z" cast into it as well.

Earlier f-bodies had a "solid" 30mm front bar. When GM went to hollow bars, the front bar diameter increased to 32, 34, and 36mm. Your car might already have a 34mm front bar (like mine and Dale's do); in that case, unless you find the 36mm bar, don't bother changing it.

If you don't have calipers to measure diameter, you can do it another way. Get an open-ended adjustable wrench, and snug it down on the center of one of your anti-sway bars. Remove the wrench. Now, either measure the wrench's gap (to determine diameter), or, trace the wrench's gap on a piece of paper. (The paper method might be easier in a junkyard since it's very visual, and you don't need to carry a ruler around). Bring that paper (and the wrench) with you to a junkyard, and check each car. What I was doing (besides the paper method) was setting my adjustable wrench to my rear sway-bar's size, and then just sliding the wrench onto the junkyard rear bars. It was a quick way to blitz the whole yard!

IROC's and later model Z28's got the Wonderbar. I don't know which trans-am's got it. If you've seen a pic of an installed Wonderbar, then you've also seen the front anti-sway bar. http://www.sethirdgen.org has a tech article written up by GMTech that shows the installation (and location) of the Wonderbar (and front anti-sway-bar).

Bring a hacksaw. The end-links rust together. The problem is where the thru-bolt goes through the center sleeve- the bolt rusts to the sleeve. You might have to cut the end-links in half... or, you can try snapping the nut off the bolt with some muscle on the wrench.

New end links are available CHEAP for "stock" rubber, and just as Cheap for polyurethane! Summit only wants $14/bar for Energy Suspension's endlinks. The end-link part number is ENS-9-8117x, where x=color (R=red, G=black, Y=yellow, B=blue, might be more?). I definately say to go for the poly sets... why spend $7 now for stock endlinks and buy the poly later? Look for my old message about installing the anti-sway bars if you need info on other polyurethane part numbers & prices...

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-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l)

[This message has been edited by TomP (edited August 16, 2001).]

 

Hey while you are there i need a 1986 roller 302 motor....

David

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[IMG]http://64.81.114.233/hosting/74Grabber/mav2test.jpg[IMG]

1974 Ford Maverick Grabber 302 - yeah its fast enough. Former owner of a 1991 Firebird - long live the firebird.

 

Ok , this is prabably a stupid question , but dont laugh, what is a wonder bar ?
Wayne

 

A steering box brace... Needed more on V8's to prevent stress cracks..

 

Hey fastrs.. you can get a new wonder bar for 20 bucks locally from house of camaro..walk in and they are hanging on the wall..

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1989 Firebird
-New Drivetrain Soon-

"I'd rather run last in a full out race, than to NOT have run at all"
#3 Forever

My Site:
Click Here to see my car!

 

Just visit that link I gave; http://www.sethirdgen.org , go to "tech", click on "How-to", click on "wonderbar install".

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-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l)

 

What's 36mm in inches?
Not on a Woman !

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Chat Soon,
KED85
Karl
1985 Firebird 2.8 to 3.4 swap project for Smog Happy LA, CA

 

TomP-

My 92 has the RPO code sticker on the inside of the locking compartment in the left rear hatch area....opposite the spare tire.

Could be some of the F-bodies you're finding w/o sheets in the console have them the same place as mine.

T

 

bring a magnet, maybe you can find one of those aluminum drive shafts.

 

I've never located the RPO sheet. NEVER. BUT I did locate the build/birth certificate.
That was just as good to me!
Showed I have the F41 package and a Y99 package, too.
Those are good things to have.

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Chat Soon,
KED85
Karl
1985 Firebird 2.8 to 3.4 swap project for Smog Happy LA, CA

 

Thanks 25th, I'll have to start checking there, too. It always seemed odd to me that I couldn't find one RPO sheet! Many of the consoles had sticky areas on the inside wall, which I assumed to be the missing sheet, but some had no trace whatsoever. Maybe those were in the rear compartment.

I swear tho, if I ever junk my car, I'm taking the RPO sheet out as my bit of revenge.


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-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l)

 

Tom, ever look under the back seat cushions?
That's where I found my build sheet. I've looked at the rear tire compartment on mine and no sticky film, either, NOR the console lid!
Then I removed the back seat cushion, driver side.......

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Chat Soon,
KED85
Karl
1985 Firebird 2.8 to 3.4 swap project for Smog Happy LA, CA

 

Hell no! Rear seats in junkyard usually have "the thing" growing in 'em!

I found the build sheet for my parts car behind the rear seat; unfortunately, none exists in my car- and I've had the whole car apart by now. Oh well.


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-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l)

 

How many buildsheets does a f-bodys have or do they just have one .Back in 95 when I got my 88 rs , I noticed a sheet attacehed under the drivers seat , I left it there for awhile , then I decided to remove .I still did not know know what it was but kept it .A few weeks later I learned it was a buildsheet , Is it possible there is another in the passenger's seat behind the driver ? Thanx , Wayne

 

As far as I know, just one. To the guys building the cars, they're trash; many got thrown out. Luckily, some guys liked to hide them... behind seats, under carpet, in dashboards, etc. My car was originally totalled in a rear-end accident; it has the back of a red Firebird on it. I figure either the guy that welded the back 1/4 on (and changed my rear seat fold-down to one that doesn't match the car) either found it and threw it out, or, the assembly line guys threw it out. (sigh)


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-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l)

 

99% of the time, just one.
I HAVE SEEN SEVERAL REAL SPECIAL CARS (like a fully optioned 1970 LS6 Chevelle Convertible) that came with two build sheets.
IT is NOT COMMON to find more than one, tho.

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Chat Soon,
KED85
Karl
1985 Firebird 2.8 to 3.4 swap project for Smog Happy LA, CA