sway bar info needed

[beandip]

I am in need of some info on installing a sway bar on the rear of my '73 . there appears to be hangers or tabs on the under body shell and that is all . What years are swapable and how difficult is the mod. and installation ? I dont know if this car ever had a swaybar installed from the factory . It is a vary late '73 in the production year. Any information will be helpful , thanks.

[kmack]

The first cars I'm aware of that came w/ rear sway bars from the factory were the 260's. If your car is a late '73 then you might have the mounts for it. The bars on the 260's I've seen mount in front of the rear suspension. The bar ends mount into the rear swingarm, and the body mounts of the bar mount up to the unibody structure near the front portion of the wheel wells.

There are kits available to mount bars on the 240's. I have one on mine, but it mounts on the diff. support, behind the rear suspension. It required some drilling.

[Royce]

Actually it was a little before the 260. Starting with the '72 model year the Z's had a rear swaybar, mine missed it by 2 months! I believe the stock diameter is the same even though the car got heavier over the years. I've got three of them from various cars (240, 260, 280) and I'll double check the diameters.

The sway bar end links attach through holes in the rear control arms and you found the front mount points at the unibody frame rails. For the best performance many go to a totally different design that attaches to the rear suspension members instead of the unibody. This is also best option for early pre'72 240Z folks.

For $20+ UPS ground shipping, probably less than $10, I could send you a good used complete stock setup with-bolts, nuts, hardware, bar and the best used bushings that I have. It will all bolt up to what you have. Send me a private message or email with your ZIP if interested.

Also, probably best to replace bushings with poly bushings but this will get you started. Unless you upgrade your suspension and the front bar, like for series autocross or racing, you probably won't want much thicker than stock in the back. Adding a heavy rear sway bar gives you more rear wheel spin or oversteer.

Hope it helps! Have fun!

[justaZcarguy]

I can't believe you posted this, I was just getting ready to ask a question about the same issue (kinda) and Royce actually covered my question. (Which by the way, thanks Royce... )

AND I would like to know the stock thickness Royce, as I think this is a thicker sway bar and I feel the same way you do regarding the wheel spin as I experienced that problem w/ my 280. I am actually considering leaving the sway bar OFF the rear.

PLEASE FEEL FREE TO GIVE SOME OPINONS ON THIS IDEA AS THIS WAS GOING TO BE MY ORIGINAL QUESTION. And sorry, I did not mean to yell.

Since I'm close, you are welcome to come and check out the setup that I may opt to install. What the person before me did was bolt and weld brackets onto the rear suspension member. Just please ignore the rust on the frame and the crappy primer as this is a problem I have yet to tackle.

I'll even by you a beer, if that's what you fancy.

Let me know sir. And Royce, thanks for any info ya got.

[Royce]

SORRY FOLKS, MY '73 240Z (BUILT 10/72) DOES NOT HAVE THE MOUNTS FOR A REAR SWAYBAR!!! DOOH!

I hate it when that happens! I just went out to measure it and there wasn't one and I don't even see the mounts for one! Looks like I have been under too many different Z's these days. I did check my 260 & 280 and although I cannot say for sure that they are the original bars they are the same diameter, approx. 21MM.

Regarding whether to run a rear sway bar or not on a Z, I really don't have any info on that. The only Z that I have really driven hard enough to cause understeer or oversteer is my '71 and it doesn't have a rear bar. For the $$$ to get the custom rear swaybar setup I would rather get the strut tower bars to stiffen up my chassis. One of the potential problems with a rear bar is that if your suspension and chassis is too soft and you corner hard it could actually pick up a tire. If you don't have a limited slip diff. you will be sitting until that tire comes back down. Of course if I have the mounts for one I would probably try it just to see what happens.

Have fun!