Rear Swaybar

[befarrer]

I will be adding a rear swaybar to my Fiero this winter, I dont think I have heard of anybody using this one, it is from a 1989 Buick Rivera, it has the same rear suspension as the Chevy Lumina with the fiberglass springs, but the sway bar runs infront of the rear suspension, where the lumina one is more bendy, and runs behind the rear suspension. I also noticed the the Buick has the brake caliper on the front of the rotor on the passenger side and the back of the rotor on the drivers side :scratch: .

Anyway, it measures 16MM in diameter, and it is 50.5" wide, and it is almost flat!! It has horizontal holes at each end to attach to the suspension, compared to the vertical holes on the stock front Fiero sway bars, so a bracket could be made to attach it instead of a long bolt. My stock 86 front sway bar measures out at 23MM.

Here are some pics of it:




This is where it will be attaching, it lines up almost perfectly with them 2 holes on the front of the a-arm, and I plan to attach it to those holes.


I plan to run the sway bar infront of the a-arms, which is opposite of what most people do, I will make some brackets to attach to those holes on the front of the a-arms and either use the existing dog bone style frame mounts or make my own depending on where the midde of the bar sits.

This sway bar should be a good match for my factory front bar, I will keep you posted when I get around to installing this.

[jelly2m81]

Good plan on mounting it to correct way, I can't believe people chance mounting them with the ends pointing forwards.

[Mickey_Moose]

Good plan on mounting it to correct way, I can't believe people chance mounting them with the ends pointing forwards.

My 88 GT came factory with the ends pointing forward... :la:

...but I do have to agree...

[AkursedX]

Good plan on mounting it to correct way, I can't believe people chance mounting them with the ends pointing forwards.

My 88 GT came factory with the ends pointing forward... :la:

...but I do have to agree...

It's not a big deal on our 88's because the bar is mounted on top of the cradle and attaches rather high up on the strut. The 84-87 swaybars attach under the cradle and mount to the bottom of the rear control arm. Obviously this is much more susceptable to being ripped off by some sort of road debris or the road itself.

[The Dark Side of Will]

Take some serious thought to getting a pair of '88 swaybar brackets (from HMS if no where else), switching them left for right and attaching to the back surface of the strut. Then you can run 11 or 12" links (small angularity) down to the bar and get ~40% more stiffness out of the same bar than if you mounted it on the control arm like you're planning.

[befarrer]

This bar was originally mounted to the strut, but rather low, like 1" above the bottom of the strut.

Does anybody have a pic of a rear swaybar setup on an 88, or atleast how and where it mounts to the strut?

[Mickey_Moose]

Does anybody have a pic of a rear swaybar setup on an 88, or at least how and where it mounts to the strut?

here you go (rear of the car is on the right of the picture):

[The Dark Side of Will]

I also noticed the the Buick has the brake caliper on the front of the rotor on the passenger side and the back of the rotor on the drivers side :scratch:

That's so the same caliper works on both left and right...

[befarrer]

Got a position figured out for the rollbar, not exactly where I wanted it, but it is out of harms way:




I couldnt put it any higher, it hit the rear tie rod ends, and or the exhaust pipe. It wouldnt fit anywhere infront of the engine, unless it was mounted below the cradle. The fan belt gets close to the cradle, and it also hits the bellhousing or front engine mount. As it site right now, the roll bar is above the bottom of the cradle by 2" or so.