Rear Sway Bar

hotrodalley

hotrodalley

Senior Member
Has anyone installed a rear sway bar with the original reqr spring and closed driveline?

And, is there a reqa sway bar offered by any of the model a suppliers ?
 
Sorry, they are on the car and I didn't take any pictures. The panhard bar attaches to the rear banjo on one end and the other end connects to the frame. It adds stability between the axles and frame in sharp curves The panhard bars work like the ones on modern cars but are not as haavily constructed. Snyders has them pictured on page A-113. they call them pannard bars, guess i misspelled as usual. AC&R use to make them. Berts bought AC&R when they went out of bidness. They are kind of pricey but are worth it in my opinion, especially on the rear.
 
My understanding is that the panhard bar serves to keep the rear end centered under the chassis. A sway bar, on the other hand serves to minimize body roll. There is not much room under the model a frame to put a sway bar, so it might be tricky.

I have a sway bar under my '32 with a 4cyl. I am able to drive very aggressively - especially through tight turns.

I am running cokers radials, and i think the combination of the tires and the sway bar are responsible for the excellent handling characteristics.

Now i am trying to duplicate that on a model a.

Any more thoughts?
 
I have both front and rear "sway bars from the old AC&R. They work very well in cross winds, Would I drive aggressively? I also think the rear is more effective than the front.

My best description is they prevent the body from "swinging" on the shackles with the body going one way and the frame going the other, within the limits of the shackle length of course.

Richard
Anaheim CA
 
I'm not sure if we're answering the question, but I agree with Purdy and Richard. I have AC&R's Panhard bars on both front and back of my Town Sedan. The rear one made the most difference and it was VERY helpful. The sideways swinging on the shackles is dampened and the whole car just feels more solid, less loosey-goosey. My guess is that they don't help nearly as much with lighter models, like roadsters.
 
How are the panhard bars mounted to the frame? To the rear end? Which side of the frame? When they are installed, is the panhard bar level with the ground?
 
Its been seven years since I put them on my 30-31 roadster. I couldn't remember which side so I went out and looked. The thing is pretty well concealed. I rolled under it and the banjo bracket bolts to the right side of the banjo. The panhard bar connects high enough on the banjo bracket and looks like it runs fairly level with the floor There is a bracket that connects to the bottom of the frame on the left or drivers side. The bracket mounts just ahead of the rear cross member in the area between the cross member and the left rear shock. I had to drill a hole in the under side of the frame for the bracket to mount . I didn't check the front. The rear panhard bar made a noticable improvement in sharp corner turns, under acceleration.
 
hotrodalley said:
Has anyone installed a rear sway bar with the original reqr spring and closed driveline?

And, is there a reqa sway bar offered by any of the model a suppliers ?
Click to expand...

Installed a rear "Pannard Bar" on my 31 Slant Window Sedan that I purchased from Snyder's and the car is so much more stable now even in the wind, no longer is she drifting. I also rebuilt the rear spring, front spring and installed all new shackles; my shocks all were replaced two years ago and I checked them and they function perfectly. Bottom line the car definitely so much more stable now, we had strong winds this past Saturday and in the past my car would be all over the road, now it is hardly effected, just a HUGH DIFFERENCE! :) but I would also recommend you check your shocks and shackles because both components will effect the stability. I also plan on ordering and installing a front Pannard bar.
 
Snyders instructions states that the panhard bars can't be used with modern tubular shocks. It appears the fronts would conflict with each other because both the shocks and panhard bar are mounted on the inside. The rear panhard is mounted on the inside of the axle and the tube shocks are on the outside in the photos. Is this correct? Also, if using the accessory tubular shocks, are the panhard bars even necessary ?
Just checked and the panhards on the rear work fine with the tube shocks, but there is an interference conflict on the front.
 
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Designed to prevent the body rocking on the shackles, apparently this was a problem years ago when guys were travelling at high speeds and as mentioned the bar provides a more positive feel thru corners.
I think Ford used them on the front of cars in the late forties.
Just a word of caution, it is best if installing a front and rear set up that both bars are connected to the same side of the frame.
Which side is unimportant if you are running the stock model A push/pull steering, but if in the future you upgrade to cross steering then the bar needs to be mount to the frame on the drivers side.
Opposite mounts of front and rear bars or opposed to cross steering cause a scissor effect which I am told is not what you want especially if you happen to be out of control/skid or with one wheel in the dirt...

I am sure there are experts out there who could add more.
 
RockHillWill said:
How are the panhard bars mounted to the frame? To the rear end? Which side of the frame? When they are installed, is the panhard bar level with the ground?
Click to expand...

LOL...

Will,..you forgot these questions. Is it full length? Above the axle center line,
in the middle or below the center-line? Man,..were not going to ask which
way you turn the most..
 
I crawled under mine and took some pictures. The rear panhard rod is mounted just above the differential with brackets supplied and the other end just below the chassis using the holes for the original shocks, again to a supplied bracket. I thing it helps on hard cornering.
I tried putting the front one on, but it was in the way for the tube shocks. Also the bracket that went to the frame flexed way too much to be much good. They both mount to the left side of the chassis under the stock shocks.
Good luck
 

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With panhard bars, remember the longer the better and level at ride height is good.
I had a much newer street car with a rear panhard fitted by the maker and every time I crossed a particular intersection where the road had a big undulation in it you could feel the panhard bar push my rear end sideways.
Obviously the bar was not set correctly or the undulation was just too big...
 
best way i can describe what a panhard bar fixes is a standard pickup truck that is hauling alot of tall heavy things (think of an f150 hauling water heaters) going around the corner, the forces tend to want to roll the body more and feel like its going to tip over like a ship at sea. The bar helps keep the body from doing this.
 
I installed the rear pan panard bar on my '29 town sedan several years ago. Put 350 lb of adults in the back seat and the panard bar will really dampen body roll. Snyder's disclaimer re modern tube shocks is aimed at modem tube shock package that they no longer sell. Their catalog template was never updated. I run their modern tube shocks and panard bar with no problem! However, front tube shocks will not work with front panard bar.
 
No one has explained the difference between the panard bar and a sway bar. Like where does a sway bar attach and what does it do that the panard bar does not do?
 
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