Fabbing up a rear sway bar for a Lark

[PackardV8]

but is there a reason nobody has mentioned the sway bars sold by Dave Thibeault?

Yes, that would be the easy and logical way to get a rear sway bar.

No, some will take pride in not doing it the easy way. For the same reason CASOs don't drive Toyotas. That would be too easy and make too much logical sense. If we don't scrounge it from the scrap pile or the Pik'n-Pull, we don't feel we have done our duty to go boldly into the weird.

Maybe, a few Stude owners also have a Toyota and obviously, Dave sells some sway bars. However, for many here, a different drummer, a music no one else hears, is the only way to dance.

jack vines

jack vines

[r1lark]

Yes, that would be the easy and logical way to get a rear sway bar.

No, some will take pride in not doing it the easy way. For the same reason CASOs don't drive Toyotas. That would be too easy and make too much logical sense. If we don't scrounge it from the scrap pile or the Pik'n-Pull, we don't feel we have done our duty to go boldly into the weird.

Maybe, a few Stude owners also have a Toyota and obviously, Dave sells some sway bars. However, for many here, a different drummer, a music no one else hears, is the only way to dance.

jack vines

jack vines

Jack,

Very well put!!

[(S)]

The most universal one I know of that does the job is on a mustang.

Look up what others have to go through....... There are MANY other forums reinventing that wheel... http://6263meteor.proboards.com/inde...int&thread=521

I'd look for one like this, but be sure you get any drop down links and hardware that came off the car.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/GT-rear-sway-bar-Ford-Mustang-V6-GT-79-98-5-0-3-8-21mm-/220723002943

[Jeff T.]

Gee, I know T-bow sell full kits, so does SI...

Time I have, cash is another matter entirely

By the time I am able to doing something I may have the cash for the proper part

If anything, I have discovered that the Ranger rear sway bar will work on my Champ project so my time invested was worth it.

Jeff T.

[sbca96]

...For the same reason CASOs don't drive Toyotas. That would be too easy and make too much logical sense.

Logical sense to drive an over rated brand that drives more money and jobs overseas.
"How would you use Toyota technology to make the world a better place?"



"A terrible car crash in August of 2009 was the starting point for all of the Toyota recalls. Three family members along with relatives of a California Highway Patrol were killed and now Toyota Motor Corporation is being blamed for their deaths. John Saylor (off duty CHP), his wife, daughter, and brother-in-law died on August 28th, 2009. They were all in a 2009 Lexus ES350 when it took off at full speed, reaching 120 miles per hour in rush hour traffic in suburban San Diego, CA. The brother of Saylor’s wife called in the emergency and told the emergency dispatcher that the accelerator pedal was stuck and Saylor was unable to slow down. “We’re in trouble. . . . There’s no brakes. End freeway half-mile,” Christopher Lastrella said during the recorded conversation. Saylor, 45, his wife, Cleofe, daughter Mahala and Lastrella were killed instantly. Immediately after the crash Toyota recalled millions of cars for the same reason, sticking accelerator because of a floor mat jam. Toyota officials said they do not discuss the pending litigation."

Floor mats? Its in the programing/design, its also not solved by relocated the gas pedal.
They got off way too easy.

Tom

[sals54]

My heart breaks for the passengers and innocents killed in this accident, but if the driver panics to the point of losing all common sense and can't figure out to put the car in neutral or turn off the key, I have little sympathy for him. Too many people have become complacent in driving their cars these days. It has always been and will always be a very serious business to take 2 tons of rolling death onto a highway and not have enough brains to know what to do if your throttle sticks. I always drive with the idea that somewhere around me is some nut-burger who is not paying full attention. It has saved me from many accidents through my 40 years of driving.

[sbca96]

My heart breaks for the passengers and innocents killed in this accident, but if the driver panics to the point of losing all common sense and can't figure out to put the car in neutral or turn off the key, I have little sympathy for him. Too many people have become complacent in driving their cars these days. It has always been and will always be a very serious business to take 2 tons of rolling death onto a highway and not have enough brains to know what to do if your throttle sticks. I always drive with the idea that somewhere around me is some nut-burger who is not paying full attention. It has saved me from many accidents through my 40 years of driving.

First off the guy was an off duty CHP officer, so my guess is he had more training in
driving a vehicle than most of us. Secondly, a Lexus has no "key" - it is a button that
must be depressed for a number of seconds to shut the engine down. The car was
borrowed so its doubtful that he read the entire owners manual prior to setting out,
as a matter of fact, I bet most Lexus owners still dont know this. As the woman who
testified when her Toyota did the same thing: the car can not be put into Neutral. The
computer overrides the shift to avoid damage to the engine by over revving. A shift to
Reverse, same thing, overridden, shift to park finally worked apparently when she'd
got the car under a certain speed by a wing and a prayer.

GM cars are designed to default to idle when a DBW failure is detected, apparently a
Toyota defaults to WOT or as a University teacher proved : doesnt detect a failure at
all. Times have changed, many of todays cars are designed to protect the warranty
over you life. Toyota did an excellent job of sweeping this under the mat, while the
American public made excuses for them and blamed those that died. It is so very sad.

Tom

[DEEPNHOCK]

As posted in the original bash Toyota thread...
Be real careful about pointing fingers of blame about this.
That pedal was built in Indiana by Americans. It was also used by Ford in vehicles exported to China.
There is/was a single feedback data loop built into it's circuit board.
That data stream has a redundant path built into it on other styles of pedals in 'drive by wire' engine controlled automobiles.
This (dual path data stream) was a requirement from other marques engineers.
Seems if the data stream was 'lost', the throttle position sensor would go wide open.
I have not followed this in months, but do know the vocal media sure made a target of one company/competitor.
Blame the fuel pedal design, or the management reaction to a problem, sure....
But even then, who were the engineers? American engineers employed by Toyota? I don't know.
Who were the managers that made these decisions? American corporate managers and lawyers? I don't know.
Was our media hot to bring this all out at a time when our manufacturers of cars were hurting?
Were a lot of the runaway incidents later proven false by data stream recordings?
Lot's of questions, and not a lot of answers.
That professor you mentioned hot-wired the circuit to produce that fault, and did it for media exposure.
He did not point out the circuit design flaw fault. He created one for TV.
But...Toyota is ultimately to blame, because it was their vehicle had an anomaly.
How they handled it was poor, at best.
But they are not the only company to address problems like this.
Remember the Toyota spare tires falling out of the trucks, because of frame rust?
That was heaped into the 'pile on Toyota' bandwagon during the same time as the gas pedal incident.
Who ended up taking the blame for that?
Dana did, as the stamping company that made the frames.
Were they wrong? Or did they stamp and coat/plate/paint to Toyota spec's?
The fickle public pointing fingers is nothing new.
People want someone, or something to blame when death and injury are a result of poor design.
I just would like to see people be careful pointing the blame gun.
It's easy to point it at an offshore owner.
Sometimes, we Americans could be in the sights if we made the part, or built the car here...

First off the guy was an off duty CHP officer, so my guess is he had more training in
driving a vehicle than most of us. Secondly, a Lexus has no "key" - it is a button that
must be depressed for a number of seconds to shut the engine down. The car was
borrowed so its doubtful that he read the entire owners manual prior to setting out,
as a matter of fact, I bet most Lexus owners still dont know this. As the woman who
testified when her Toyota did the same thing: the car can not be put into Neutral. The
computer overrides the shift to avoid damage to the engine by over revving. A shift to
Reverse, same thing, overridden, shift to park finally worked apparently when she'd
got the car under a certain speed by a wing and a prayer.

GM cars are designed to default to idle when a DBW failure is detected, apparently a
Toyota defaults to WOT or as a University teacher proved : doesnt detect a failure at
all. Times have changed, many of todays cars are designed to protect the warranty
over you life. Toyota did an excellent job of sweeping this under the mat, while the
American public made excuses for them and blamed those that died. It is so very sad.

Tom

[r1lark]

Whoa, this has gotten way off topic.

Anyone have pictures of rear sway bars that they have successfully adapted to a Lark?

[sbca96]

That pedal was built in Indiana by Americans..... snip ... Sometimes, we Americans could be in the sights if we made the part, or built the car here...

Not in todays market, working in the manufacturing field I can tell you this, junk
in junk out. The parts are made to the print, if the print is wrong the part is also
wrong. If the part is made wrong, and not to the print, it should be caught by a
QA or QC department, as they are required to test a certain number per batch.

I only brought this up because Toyota was mentioned as a logical choice of car
to buy. Concidering that most modern Chevys and Fords rate higher, its time we
stop spreading this lie, and continuing to destroy our economy. This is real folks.









I saw a bumper sticker on a KIA the other day that said, "Keep jobs in US".

Tom

[N8N]

I only brought this up because Toyota was mentioned as a logical choice of car
to buy. Concidering that most modern Chevys and Fords rate higher, its time we
stop spreading this lie, and continuing to destroy our economy. This is real folks.

"lie" is a harsh word. truth is all mfgrs. have lots of quality issues. Just had a $500 shifter assembly replaced on my 3 year old Impala because the key would no longer come out of the ignition. Fleet lady said that this wasn't the first time that had happened. (small pool, maybe 5 Impalas in it.) Also had to have a door lock repaired at something like only 40K miles, and I KNOW that is a common problem because not only was I told so by mechanic but I had to run a coworker to dealership to have same problem fixed. Also have had two alignments done, rotors turned once (they're warped again) and both front wheel bearings replaced already. Personally I don't know who makes a really "good" trouble free car anymore. I used to really like VW but they do have their own issues, although I think their mechanicals are stronger than everyone else's.

I am not a big GM fan after having had two alignments on the Imp in less than 50K miles. I don't think the car will ever drive right, but then again I will probably buy it anyway, because like I said, I don't know that Ford or Toyota are much better, and I've been paying extra to use synthetic fluids, have trans serviced at "severe service" interval, etc. so hopefully it will last for 200K miles or more even though I don't really like it.

The difference between the problems that I've had and the problems with Toyotas are just that the Toyota problems have safety implications. However, Toyota dealerships tend to have a better reputation than any for rectifying problems without a lot of yelling and threatening.

I think pretty much all auto mfgrs. make a lot of decisions that are based on financial considerations and not making the best product that they can, sadly.

nate

[Skybolt]

I know this is late but I used the front and rear from a 85/6 firebird and bent the eas of the rear bar in a few inches and it feels like it handles better that my 3 series BMW.
This is the rear. https://plus.google.com/photos/11667...55889877658705
This is the front. https://plus.google.com/photos/11667...89296114667409
Since then I have added and extra leaf at the back and swapped the front coils for some Moog variable rate CC655's.

[Bradford]

I know this is late but I used the front and rear from a 85/6 firebird and bent the eas of the rear bar in a few inches and it feels like it handles better that my 3 series BMW.
This is the rear. https://plus.google.com/photos/11667...55889877658705
This is the front. https://plus.google.com/photos/11667...89296114667409
Since then I have added and extra leaf at the back and swapped the front coils for some Moog variable rate CC655's.

Just to clarify, you are using these on what model Lark?

[Warren Webb]

It doesn't matter Bradford. All Larks have the same frame & suspension design. Hawks too for that matter. Only the Avanti has a different sway bar setup due to the fuel tank being in another location & not bolted to the frame as in the others.

[Skybolt]

Just to clarify, you are using these on what model Lark?

I don't think it matters much, but it's a 59 Lark.

Len