body roll

[REDROCKER652002]

Greetings all.

My son took me for a ride the other day in his truck, 69 stepside, and one thing I noticed was the amount of body roll it had in the turns. Now, my son is 19 and it could very well be his driving, but I was kinda curious if there is a way to stabilize the body other than the Panhard bar on the rear end? He put new shocks on, and it looks as though the front end has been worked on and upgraded, but I am not 100 percent sure. The truck has coils all around and while they look worn, they don't look bad. It's 0600 here in Cali, and I am just looking and thinking of what my next suggestion to him would be for a weekend father/son time. LOL. He will probably ignore me, but what the hell, it is worth a shot.

I know I am being vague, partly because I really don't know what to look for.


Anyway, any suggestions would be most appreciated.

RR

[A1971Blazer]

Front sway bar will improve the handling dramatically...it's not an expensive or difficult upgrade.
Do a site search for "sway bar"....lots of posts about it

[Beach-Burban]

Originally Posted by REDROCKER652002

Greetings all.

My son took me for a ride the other day in his truck, 69 stepside, and one thing I noticed was the amount of body roll it had in the turns. Now, my son is 19 and it could very well be his driving, but I was kinda curious if there is a way to stabilize the body other than the Panhard bar on the rear end? He put new shocks on, and it looks as though the front end has been worked on and upgraded, but I am not 100 percent sure. The truck has coils all around and while they look worn, they don't look bad. It's 0600 here in Cali, and I am just looking and thinking of what my next suggestion to him would be for a weekend father/son time. LOL. He will probably ignore me, but what the hell, it is worth a shot.

I know I am being vague, partly because I really don't know what to look for.


Anyway, any suggestions would be most appreciated.

RR

Red...I had severe body roll on my stock-height C/10 Suburban, and just recently upgraded my front coil springs. My '72 came from the factory with a small block, but has been hauling around a 454 since 1990...and the original owner kept the 350 springs (the bump stops were beat to death). After installing springs specific for a big block, the body roll has dramatically improved (not that I'm going to Auto Cross with it, but it feels that good now). I screwed up when it came to the rear coils, though! Besides being a 9 passenger Suburban, it also has a 45 gallon tank (gas and tank weigh around 400 lbs)...and I should have put on the HD springs instead of the standards, so the rear still feels kind of mushy (but not as bad as before) and I do plan on swapping them out for HD. I don't know if any of what I shared applies to your situation (especially HD springs in the rear of a pick-up), but the front springs might be something to think about. Good luck with your father/son project!

Woody

[garyd1961]

I second the front sway bar, made a huge difference in my 70 C10. I had one off a 70 suburban I used with new neoprene bushings.

[68 P.O.S.]

Another vote for a sway bar here. It will really help. I have a rear bar as well and there is almost no body roll.

[LockDoc]

-
Here is a good "how to" by member "Tx Firefighter" and a few others.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...ad.php?t=72338

LockDoc

[gmc684x4]

Yes add a front sway bar will make a big difference
And check cab mounts to see what condition there in as well

[HO455]

If the truck has a sway bar what diameter is it?
The largest factory ones are 1 1/4". These are noticeably better at controlling the body roll over smaller ones.

[bry593]

You should be able to find a factory sway bar pretty easily. Just search facebook or craigslist. The 3/4 tons came with anything from 1-1/16" to 1-1/4" and will make a HUGE improvement over no bar at all. Plus if you use factory stuff, you know it will fit and work properly because it was designed by GM engineers.

[3767]

Sway bar is a great place to start if u don’t have 1 already. As stated before a factory hd bar would b good. Also...your truck height can come n2 play. A lowered truck will handle some better due to the stance. U didn’t say much on the springs but if u suspect they are worn, then replacing them will help as well. Look at his tires. Thicker ply will make the sidewall stiffer. Example.a thinner ply sidewall will cause it to have some “mush”. U are n a rolling brick and not a rice burner so that extra weight comes n 2 play.Even if he kinda ignores u now, he will thank u later. Most likely after u forgot and moved on with something else..lol.

[Boog]

If anyone ever doubts the benefit of an anti roll bar do this. Go out and remove the end link on just one side of your modern truck or car that has an anti roll bar and drive it like you normally do. The effects are immediately noticeable.
Good shocks help with that some too.

[Steeveedee]

Shocks, and to some extent, springs, don't really control body roll in a hard turn. The shocks and springs both compress, albeit at different rates. Installing a stabilizer bar, as mentioned, is the best choice for cornering lean, since the bar uses some of the weight on the other side of the vehicle to control it. A stiff enough suspension could actually show the unladen side of the vehicle with the front tire off the ground. That's flat track cornering, not something I'd want to drive on the street, too much. I would like to mention that, in general, trucks don't have a rear stabilizer bar, since in most conditions, the truck is unloaded. Putting a load in the bed generally leads to reduced speeds for prudent drivers, so a rear stabilizer bar isn't generally needed.

That said, I worked for a couple of Chevy dealers in the early '70s before I joined the Navy, and I was able to purchase NASCAR stabilizer bars for my '64 Malibu SS. That was a cornering machine, to say the least. Though not as good as the guy I knew who had a Datsun pickup that he lowered and tricked out the suspension on. There was a construction site in our area that had a kink in the road that was posted for 15 MPH. I managed to get my Malibu through it at 60 MPH, but I was being a little bit careful, because if I wrecked it I would have been walking (if I had lived). The guy with that Datsun truck made it through at 105 MPH. Good times!

[REDROCKER652002]

Thanks guys. For some reason I did not get any notifications that my post was replied to. I will check it out and tell my son and let him make the decision.

[special-K]

There are adjustable shocks as well as spring-overs that help with body roll. Most anything to do to control body roll will result in a stiffer ride

The panhard bar has nothing to do with body roll control. Although without one your truck would be all over the place wiggling down the road . They serve to keep the rear located, since only having coils would obviously be highly unacceptable.

For the rear, there are sway bars as well. But I would suggest Air Lifts inside the coils. Fully adjustable for firmness and ride height to a degree. They are highly effective and last time I bought them they cost $80-90. Multiple benefits with those

[Ironangel]

Sway bar first, then shocks...A sway bar up front is the one biggest bang for the buck as it will render shock choice to low dollar stock replacements. Couple those with a front sway bar and your truck will steer like a Camaro, guaranteed!

[REDROCKER652002]

Thanks for the info guys. Now on to recommendations. It seems CPP is mentioned alot as well as ECE. I have used Brothers with mixed results. He is 19 and is working part time, but budget is always an issue. Which company do you guys feel gives the best bang for the buck, so to speak. And would it be better to get the front and rear as a package deal? I have been looking on line, and while it probably isn't as easy as they say, it does look like a good weekend project.

Once again, thanks to all for the input. It is most appreciated. RR

[CarlsLQ9SS]

I got my 1 1/4” sway bar at a local junk yard for $20.00. In my opinion a local junk yard would be the cheapest place to get one. Mine come from a 87 suburban.

[3767]

Previous post is spot on. The factory bar will b the cheapest at a jy. With some of the aftermarket bars, u could run n 2 fitment issues or fit may b closer to a suspension part than u like. Example...the end links of some may get n2 or close to your tires or the tires may get close to your bar at full turn. U also may have to run shorter frame brackets for clearance depending on how low your truck is. If u go factory, get 1 from a 1 ton if possible. Big bar better performance. U can get the short frame brackets and the bushings from rock auto or most any other LAPS.

[REDROCKER652002]

Thanks guys. A member reached out and he has a front bar from a 71 C20 with the bushings on it available. Working out the details. I looked at my son's truck and he has no bar that I can see. So are the holes already there or do i have to drill new holes. Any info would be much appreciated. I am going to do a search as well.

[Boog]

Get the bar with the brackets and bushings. The holes are already there.

[REDROCKER652002]

Awesome. Thanks. Working out the details now. Thanks to all who replied. Appreciate your input.

[REDROCKER652002]

Going to revive this thread as the bar I was talking to another member with was way expensive to ship, so he decided, and rightfully so, to try and sell it locally. My son and I will be looking thru some salvage yards to see what we can find. Any specific years or models I should be looking for? I know the 3/4 ton's were a bigger bar, so I should probably look for those. Thanks guys, I am going to check local yards and see what is around here. RR

[3767]

Late 60's to mid 70's. Measure at the frame and the a arm distance before u head out. This will b as a reference to what u need. U may find a bar from another model or even make that will work. Doing this will give you a possible option u didn't know u had before. Just food for thought.

[mr48chev]

To add to their suggestions . 3/4 ton camper specials and trucks with tow packages have the front sway bars.

The rear end should already have a panhard bar on it. The 60/72 Chevy coil spring trucks don't handle worth a hoot without them.

[HO455]

Originally Posted by REDROCKER652002

Going to revive this thread as the bar I was talking to another member with was way expensive to ship, so he decided, and rightfully so, to try and sell it locally. My son and I will be looking thru some salvage yards to see what we can find. Any specific years or models I should be looking for? I know the 3/4 ton's were a bigger bar, so I should probably look for those. Thanks guys, I am going to check local yards and see what is around here. RR

67 to 87 trucks, and Suburbans till 1991. Don't bother with any size other than the 1 1/4". In the later years they are very common and easy to find. Got mine a wrecking yard for $40 and I ditched the 15/16" one that was on the truck. Big improvement.