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Posted by: biosurfer1 Sep 7 2003, 08:11 PM

I've been hearing alot about the sway bars, i have a 74 2.0 and according to this BBS, i should have them already, but how do i check? if i dont, where can i find them and how much do they run...are they worth it?

Posted by: seanery Sep 7 2003, 08:21 PM

If you ax or tt or de, then the front at least is a must. If you do a lot of "spirited" driving then, yeah, you might want 'em too.
If you go to the grocery in your teener and that's about it, don't worry about it.

Pelican Parts, Performance Products, Paragon-Products, Tweeks, GPR and others have them.
Front 19mm is about 250, can't remember what a rear is.

Posted by: seanery Sep 7 2003, 08:22 PM

Oh, and my 74 2.0 didn't come with them.

Posted by: TimT Sep 7 2003, 08:42 PM

Yea and look at the avatar....... no sway bars on that car

Posted by: seanery Sep 7 2003, 08:43 PM

that's the 74!!!

Posted by: -P- Sep 7 2003, 08:51 PM

Check the pelican parts article about installing one to see if you have one. My car didnt have one, but did have the Utabs for mounting.

Posted by: airsix Sep 7 2003, 11:28 PM

I have driven 914's with and without swaybars. I'll just say that if I ever buy another 914 and it doesn't have a swaybar, the very first thing I would do is put one on it. And when I say that's the very first thing I'd do, I mean to say that's what I would do right after replacing all the old fuel lines.

If you haven't driven a 914 with a swaybar you haven't driven a 914. IMHO

-Ben M.

Posted by: J P Stein Sep 7 2003, 11:44 PM

No sway bar


Attached image(s)

Posted by: J P Stein Sep 7 2003, 11:45 PM

Swaybar


Attached image(s)

Posted by: J P Stein Sep 7 2003, 11:47 PM

More rear spring


Attached image(s)

Posted by: Brad Roberts Sep 7 2003, 11:49 PM

Looks like the car came to a stop.


This is your brain... this is your brain on drugs.



B

Posted by: Mockmaw Sep 7 2003, 11:53 PM

I'm getting ready to purchase a new 19mm Sway Bar Kit this week (it appears that GPR has the best price by quite a margin.) I know that my car has the U-tabs on the A-arms. Are there any other parts that I'll need to order besides the kit to install it this upcoming weekend? Thanks!

Posted by: Andyrew Sep 7 2003, 11:56 PM

Biosurfer, If you need one, Jim Couper (xdecman@attbi.com) has a weltmeister (I think) its a 19mm, he also has all the stuff. He will give you a good deal if you want it. And if you want the rear bar for some odd reason, then I have one for sale.

I just finished installing my front sway bar, and I have not had it on the road to test it .
Tomorrow, dang, I have been saying that for a week straight! If you dont have a sway bar, we'll take you for a ride and see if you want a stiffer suspension (I have koni's up front, and no clue in the back, were thinkin stiff..)

Andrew

Posted by: Brad Roberts Sep 7 2003, 11:57 PM

1 1/16 hole saw and 3/8 drill bit. I suggest you weld in a gusset plate... but the 19mm bar is small and couldnt probably hurt a fly...lol.

Oh.. and I suggest you replace the fuel tank fuel lines while you have the tank out.



B

Posted by: Mockmaw Sep 8 2003, 12:00 AM

I have the hole saw and the drill pit, and new fuel hose ready to go in when I take the fuel tank out.

Is this part needed, or does it come with the kit: Weltmeister front triangle mount adapter kit ... SB-1955

Brad, can you explain more about the gusset plate?

Thanks!

Posted by: SirAndy Sep 8 2003, 12:00 AM

Posted by: Brad Roberts Sep 8 2003, 12:02 AM

Tyler.. I'm close to worthless when it comes to installing Welt bars. I havent done one in over 3 years so I have NO idea what they come with and what they dont.

B

Posted by: Mockmaw Sep 8 2003, 12:03 AM

Well, my fuel tank is already drained from when I did fuel line work in the engine bay (getting ready for carbs.. please don't shoot!)

Also, any idea on the estimated amount of time it takes to install one? Not sure if I should squeeze the project into this weekend or the next trip.

Posted by: Brad Roberts Sep 8 2003, 12:04 AM

It should take about 4 hours. The biggest headache is cutting the notch to access the bottom bolt inside the small frame rail under the mounts.


B

Posted by: SirAndy Sep 8 2003, 12:05 AM

Posted by: Mockmaw Sep 8 2003, 12:06 AM

Thanks for pointing that out, I'll try to keep that in mind to see if I can minimize the pain when I go to install it.

I've heard that removing the gas tank can be a real PITA because the original fuel lines are so short. Any idea what the best way is of handling this? (or is this misinformation that I've gathered?)

Posted by: Mockmaw Sep 8 2003, 12:06 AM

Very helpful pic, thanks Andy

Posted by: SirAndy Sep 8 2003, 12:07 AM

there's a big access hole from underneath the car.
very easy to get to the lines from there.
if you have the metal protecting cover for your suspension, you need to remove that first.

Andy

Posted by: Mockmaw Sep 8 2003, 12:08 AM

I'm 99% certain that the protective plate is NOT on my car. Sounds like with a hoist cutting the lines through the access hole should be cake.

Posted by: Brad Roberts Sep 8 2003, 12:10 AM

Jack the car up and remove the lines from the bottom (after pulling the splash pan off ..4 bolts) then yank the tank out. No biggie. This way it doesnt matter what the length of the lines are. After the tank is out..THEN replace the lines with something "slightly" longer if you feel they are too short. If you go to long.. the tank will pinch the lines and cause you all kinds of pressure related headaches.


B

Posted by: SirAndy Sep 8 2003, 12:11 AM

da hole:


Attached image(s)

Posted by: synthesisdv Sep 8 2003, 03:43 PM

I have a weird swaybar on my car right now that bolts up to the underneath of the suspension. It attaches to the stock utabs with a bracket. It seems to work OK but only gives me about 2.5" of ground clearance. I will probably replace it with a tarret unit soon.

dr

Posted by: -P- Sep 8 2003, 03:50 PM

Actual work time on mine was about 5 hours. The hardest part was cutting the holes like brad mentioned earlier, and making sure the mounts were aligned before I drilled. the fuel tank removal was surprisingly simple. The welt bar does not come with the backing plate. its around ~$20 extra.

Posted by: rdauenhauer Sep 8 2003, 04:31 PM

Brad Are you suggesting that the triangle back-plates be welded in instead of just using the bolts to sandwich the well?

Posted by: Dave_Darling Sep 8 2003, 05:06 PM

Yes, he is. Especially for the 22mm bar. Not a bad idea for the smaller ones, but not that necessary. It makes for a stronger attachment.

DO NOT USE the "no gas tank removal required" kit. It sucks and will tear out.

The under-body sway bar setup may be off a 911, if you have a five-bolt conversion, or it may be aftermarket like Addco or one of those. It is regarded as slightly inferior to a through-body sway bar.

Check the Pelican tech article for questions on installing the through-body sway bar.

--DD

Posted by: SirAndy Sep 8 2003, 05:26 PM

Posted by: Bruce Allert Sep 8 2003, 06:20 PM

I did my front sway a couple weeks ago... wasn't too bad either. I followed the tech article from Pelican
http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarticles/914_front_swaybar/914_front_swaybar.htm
One of the things he mentioned about the fuel lines was after you get the passenger side of the gas tank up so you can see the fuel lines just reach in & cut them since they wil be replaced anyway. That I did & it was really easy from there. A normal sized set of dykes (side cutters ) did it quick. To cut the area for the back plate I used a 3/8ths drill bit and made about 5 holes. Then attached a metal rasp to my drill & shaped the cut out to allow enough room to get the plate & nut down in there. I think that was the hardest part. But then there was the other part of puting the bar through the bushings. The article says to bolt the outside plate with the bushings to the rear loosely. I found it didn't matter how loose it was the damn bar wasn't gonna slide thru no matter how much slick-um I had on 'em. I undid the top outside bolts, and let the outside plate fall forward. Then put the bushing on the bar & was able to slide the outside plate over the bushing, put in the bolts & tighten 'em up. Worked great & I didn't bust a vessel try'n to push that bar thru like the article suggests.
This sway bar made drivin' 100% more fun!
bruce

Posted by: Mockmaw Sep 8 2003, 08:34 PM

Another question.. for the backing plate, do I just buy 'one' (and the package comes with plates for both sides) or do I need to buy a quantity of 'two' of the kits?

Posted by: Bruce Allert Sep 9 2003, 12:07 AM

Don't know about buying the plates... sorry.
I made mine. They were rough but they worked fine. Get some steel the same thickness as the outside mounts, trace a pattern from them & cut away! I used a hand held jig saw. Went thru 4 or 5 blades cuz I was impatient & tried to cut too fast The bottom nut that goes into the cut away area on the inside of the fender was where you need to either spot weld or get it to stick long enough to the home made plate to get a bolt started. I used AB epoxy that sets up in 10 min.

Posted by: J P Stein Sep 9 2003, 01:18 AM

I don't suppose youz guys wanna hear bout the .06 doubler plate I welded to the outside of the inner fender in that inverted U shape area ..............

Posted by: Brad Roberts Sep 9 2003, 01:19 AM

Show us pics...



B

Posted by: J P Stein Sep 9 2003, 01:46 AM

Did I tell ya that my wife bought this new puter for me....without akin' me bout the subject?

She decided I didn't need a floppy drive on it. All my old pics are on them floppy thingys. I'm gonna have to go buy an external floppy drive.....when I get done being pissed.

I tried puting this here drive in the puter.....wrong wire loom...got that...no mounting brackets....show stopper.
No pics.

Posted by: Brad Roberts Sep 9 2003, 01:48 AM

Ha ha ha...

I bet is has 350 USB ports tho...


B

Posted by: Charles Deutsch Sep 9 2003, 08:55 AM

Do sway bars wear out or get "tired"? If they're rusty, can they be bead-blasted without harming their performance?

Posted by: Pnambic Sep 9 2003, 09:48 AM

Hey J P,
For the time being, just open the case up, plug it in and let the floppy drive sit on its side on top of the case or something. Hopefully the cables are long enough to give you a little play. At least it will allow you to get the pictures off the floppies and onto your hard drive or a CD if you have a burner.

Or maybe borrow someone elses computer (that still has one of those ancient floppy drives) and email the pictures to yourself?

Or lastly, if you just lay the floppies on the monitor, osmosis will generally work...

Thanks to the common misconception (among 1 yr. olds) that the floppy drive is a great place to put anything and everything small enough to fit in it, I haven't used a floppy disk in years. Mine probably has a buck in change rattling around in it.

Posted by: seanery Sep 9 2003, 09:51 AM

on the computers without floppies:

Does the Motherboard still have a controller for it?
I'm guessing no

Posted by: Steve Sep 9 2003, 05:47 PM

If you have an available slot you can still buy an ISA floppy controller card.

Posted by: seanery Sep 9 2003, 07:04 PM

i dont have a computer with a single isa slot anywhere.
all pci and agp