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Author Topic: Factory rear sway bar set-up, 1967  (Read 48082 times)

Jon Mello

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Factory rear sway bar set-up, 1967
« on: May 12, 2011, 04:16:20 PM »
Below are several photos of an NOS rear sway bar set-up for the '67 Trans-Am Camaro The example
in the photos is owned by Frank DiHartce and the photos are courtesy of Frank as well. This is an
extremely hard to find racing part, not intended for any street car. It is estimated that possibly as few
as 10 of these complete set-ups were made. I am personally aware of three NOS complete sets still
out there. I've never seen one, or leftover pieces of one, on any of the West Coast Historic T/A cars.
Has anybody else seen this set-up on a car?












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Jon Mello
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Re: Factory rear sway bar set-up, 1967
« Reply #1 on: May 12, 2011, 04:33:18 PM »
Wow, Jon.  And Mr. DiHartce, that is a very trick piece you have there.  I've never seen one, and in such great detail.

For some reason the threaded nut plate that I believe must be a part of a sandwich to the unibody/frame/floor of the car, really caught my eye.  That's a very nicely engineered piece.

Great stuff.  Thanks for posting.

-Chad
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Jon Mello

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Re: Factory rear sway bar set-up, 1967
« Reply #2 on: May 13, 2011, 03:39:09 AM »
You're welcome, Chad.  I didn't realize you hadn't seen one of those before.

There is more information on this set-up in Wayne Guinn's Camaro: Untold Secrets book, for those who want to learn more.

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Jon Mello
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Re: Factory rear sway bar set-up, 1967
« Reply #3 on: May 13, 2011, 05:10:33 AM »
Hello Jon,

Nope.  New to me, but then again, I need to get Wayne Guinn's book... Obviously.  It's now on my birthday list.

Quick questions for you or Mr. DiHartce.  Is the actual bar part of this assembly re-used from another GM production car?  And may I also ask the distance from eye to eye on the sway bar? 

The eye-to-eye length would help me visualize the part under a first gen Camaro.

Thanks,
Chad
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Bruce302

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Re: Factory rear sway bar set-up, 1967
« Reply #4 on: May 13, 2011, 09:58:07 AM »
Holy smoke, that is very neat.   Way to nice to ever fit to a car, even if that is where it belongs.

Having the factory finish, and the parts number stickers is priceless.

Where do things things live for 4 decades before coming back out into the light of day again ?

Bruce.
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Jon Mello

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Re: Factory rear sway bar set-up, 1967
« Reply #5 on: May 13, 2011, 07:28:47 PM »
Frank tells me the bar is identical to a front '67-'69 Camaro sway bar (except for the diameter). Many
thanks go out to Frank for sharing his photos and knowledge of this very rare piece of Camaro race
history. Frank has got one of the premier collections of Camaro performance and racing items and
hopefully we'll see more of it in the future.

I don't know why, how or where this stuff survived over the last several decades but it is sure great
to see that it has.
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Jon Mello
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Re: Factory rear sway bar set-up, 1967
« Reply #6 on: May 13, 2011, 09:39:23 PM »
Thanks, Jon... and Frank.

-Chad
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1968RSZ28

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Re: Factory rear sway bar set-up, 1967
« Reply #7 on: May 13, 2011, 09:40:00 PM »
Quote from: Jon Mello on May 13, 2011, 07:28:47 PM
Frank has got one of the premier collections of Camaro performance and racing items and
hopefully we'll see more of it in the future.

Not to mention, a '69 ZL1!    ;)

Paul
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oldtransamdriver

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Re: Factory rear sway bar set-up, 1967
« Reply #8 on: May 14, 2011, 01:17:41 AM »
I'm curious if the Historic T/A cars are running rear sway bars?  Did stock Z 28's have a rear bar?  I think we tried a rear bar a few times, and in the end decided it didn't work for us, but maybe with more test time etc. it may have done.

Robert Barg
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Bruce302

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Re: Factory rear sway bar set-up, 1967
« Reply #9 on: May 14, 2011, 04:06:55 AM »
Robert,

My Titus/Godsall built '69 Firebird has the rear sway bar. It is not the same as the one above, it was made in house by T/G and has a 3 positions for the connector links.
It certainly gave more tunability to the handling and bottom line. it worked.

There are some cars in Historic Trans Am running rear bars, but they would be the better sorted ones.

Bruce.
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Jon Mello

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Re: Factory rear sway bar set-up, 1967
« Reply #10 on: May 14, 2011, 06:57:37 AM »
Bruce, do you happen to have any photos of your rear sway bar set-up? If so, you could post them here? I'd love to see them and I bet others would as well.
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Jon Mello
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Bruce302

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Re: Factory rear sway bar set-up, 1967
« Reply #11 on: May 14, 2011, 07:41:32 PM »
Hi John,
I am out of town until the end of the week, but I will take some pics when I get back.

Bruce.
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Jon Mello

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Re: Factory rear sway bar set-up, 1967
« Reply #12 on: May 14, 2011, 10:57:52 PM »
That would be great, Bruce. Thank you.
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Jon Mello
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Bruce302

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Re: Factory rear sway bar set-up, 1967
« Reply #13 on: May 29, 2011, 08:25:38 AM »
Ok here is the first gen T/G racing 1969 Pontiac Firebird T/A rear sway bar.  Not as intricate as the Chevrolet part, as it was a race only part.

It is 3/4" solid bar and is attached to a pre-welded base with two aluminum blocks.  The width of the bar is 30" and there is 6 positions each side for fine tuning.
The adjustment points range from 4" leverage to 10.5" .



There are two Heim jointed links that attach to the leaf spring lower plate. The other factor to be considered with any bar is that the lever part is 90 degrees to the direction of the force, or the road surface to put it simply.



The aluminum blocks are both numbered, 13 and 14 in the case of this bar, and the attaching bolts are drilled head "Supertanium' items, and another brand marked L9, maybe someone can identify them. The two halves of the mounting blocks are located with a roll pin.





Bruce.

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OCTARD

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Re: Factory rear sway bar set-up, 1967
« Reply #14 on: May 30, 2011, 03:46:14 AM »
Great setup, Bruce.  

For those less intimate with these types of rear sway bar setup, these pillow blocks Bruce posted mount to a welded in base that the Titus-Godsall shops added to the rear floor/unibody just above and forward of the rear differential.

Per the note on the L9 bolt... From what I can find, the L9® Fastening System is a registered trademark of Brighton Best.  Unlike the Supertanium hardware, it would still seem readily available through several suppliers.


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