[9C1_2NV]

thanks for the re-post! i was just looking into a rear bar for my wagon and don't like the addco side-clamp install method, and the hotchkis bar is getting more $$$ by the day. golf caddy (bob) and i are thinking about getting the parts together for both wagons and tackling this in the near future. how's the shipping from the discount ford website at the attached link? this looks like a great project!

 

[9C1_2NV]

ok time to bump this thread, i've decided to take this project on. today i got the necessary Energy Suspension endlinks and center mounts in the mail for the fUrd 20.5mm rear bar, as well as the ES endlinks and center mounts to put my take-off SS 30mm front bar on the wagon. the 3" clamps are on back order from summit, supposed to ship on 12-18, and the rear bar should be in on monday (ordered through a contact at shop pricing). i don't expect this thing to handle like it's on rails, especially with the 15" winter tires on, or the 15" summer bfg's i run in the warmer months, but i think it should be a nice upgrade and should also provide more stability in everyday driving situations. even more so since the stock front bar endlinks are a mess and have been since i've owned the car! i also got a 20' roll of -6 AN push lock hose to replace my current transmission cooler lines of the same material. i had mounted these in a hurry the first time around and now one has started to wear throught the outer layer. i'm gonna run it through the passenger frame rail this time and make sure it's done right. i also have an external perma-cool trans filter kit to plumb-in and mount as well as a secondary b&m stacked plate i'm thinkin about adding since i've plugged the radiator trans cooler and i want the vehicle to be able to tow some heavy loads after the gear install.

does anyone know the front sway bar mounting bolt size for the center mounts to the frame? when i swapped bars on the SS a hundred years ago, i ordered a Totally Stainless kit. i don't want to spend the $$$ on that kit for the wagon (like i even remember what it was), is there a hardware store alternative i can pick up locally?

i'll keep y'all up-to-date as it happens.

 

[9C1_2NV]

bump...

got all the parts necessay except for the 3" clamps. they won't ship till 12-18....what to do?!

still excited for the upgrade, just wanted to keep this alive....

 

[9C1_2NV]

update: spent sunday at my buddy's shop that has a lift. tore off the crusty stock front sway bar, complete with rusted, snap-away endlinks and crumbling bushings and put on my stock SS 30mm bar with ES poly bushings and endlinks. i was surprised how easy the mount bolts came out of the frame with a little PB blaster. also added the fUrd 20.5mm rear bar with ES polys. a big thanks to bob aka golf caddy for his help throughout the day, and hopefully he'll retrieve all of the metal shavings out of his ear in the near future.

first driving impressions: WOW! even with my 235-70r15 winterforce winter tires on, and the fact that my front bar's bushings were wasted, the improvement was dramatic. one of my favorite mods ever. i would recommend this to anyone with a wagon, i'd give it 10, 10 , f-ing 10! at speed going around long sweeping bends, slower corners in parking lots, bumpy roads, train tracks, and pretty much every other driving condition you can think of has become a pleasure rather than a chore. can't wait to see how it feels with a trailer on the back. don't spend time thinking about doing this mod, get the parts and see how great it is!

sidebar: throughout the course of it's well-used life, the top of the left and right front door run channels had rolled under and were not allowing the glass to fully close. this resulted in very minor windnoise, poor insulation, and now that it's freezing here, there was frost on the INSIDE of the windows. well i borrowed a heat gun, pulled the channels out, and carefully used the heat to reshape the channels and put them back into place. between these minor "mods", it feels like i've taken 10+ years off of the age of this vehicle! sometimes it's the cheap and even free mods that make the biggest differences.

oh, and don't ask for pics, we brought the camera, and only managed to piss off bob's wife and my fiancee for taking so long on a "2 or 3 hour project". carstuff + yuengling = late for everything.