Topic: Sway bars

[ChrisD]

Hi all,

I would like to install sway bars to my 1000TC replica to increase the handling of the car. I managed to find an old 850 donor car to a junk yard and I have heard of people installing the sway bars of the 850 to the 600 chasis. Anyone has any instractions on how to do such thing? I would like both front and rear sway bars.

Thanks for your help

Chris

[zippyfiat]

Hello Chris,

I added Fiat 850 sway bars to my old 600 (long time ago now!).  It was not that hard, but I cannot remember exactly what I did.  I made some stand-off brackets from scrap pieces of heavy steel (probably 1/8 inch) and welded them to the 600 chassis.  You need to make sure that they are not welded onto a weak location, or if you do, you will need to re-inforce the chassis.

I think I took the sway bar attachment fittings off the 850 front leaf spring and put them onto the 600 spring.  Either that, or I ground a bit of metal off the 850 leaf and put that into the 600 spring assembly.  The 850 spring is a little wider.  Maybe you can remove the 850 piece and get it riveted back onto the 600 spring by a spring shop?

On the rear, I think you need to cut off the 850 attachment pieces and weld them onto the 600 traling arms.

The 850 swaybars worked very well for me.  Scuderia Topolino has some information on their website about swaybars for 600s.  With 850 swaybars, you could also put the rear bar onto the front and get a new heavy duty one for the rear if you wanted to stiffen up the handling characteristics.

I have a set of Abarth replica swaybars that I am going to use on my Abarth replica, mostly because of the "originality."  850 swaybars are supposed to work better....

Gil

[ChrisD]

Thanks Gil for the info. It was in a way what I had in mind. At least for the rear sway bar. You also took the mouning point of the 850 chassis on the rear sway bar an weld it in the 600 chassis?In the front I was thinking of taking the 850 leaf spring too to remove the sway bar attachment points. I know it is wider than the 600 but I belive it will work.

My car is for road use and small trips. Adding the sway bars is just.....an extra I wanted to add. No need for a heavy duty sway bar.
And a maybe dumb question: Does the rear sway bar prevent the trailing arms from droping down when I razie the car in a jac or during a road bump or it does not effect that at all?

[Pantdino]

If you raise the whole rear or both wheels hit a bump like they put in parking lots to slow cars down, the sway bar pivots and the suspension arms both move up or down like they did without the sway bar.

If you only raise one side of the car or only one wheel hits a bump, that suspension arm doesn't move as much as it would if there were no sway bar. 

[Paul vander Heyden]

Chris,

I have a whole section devoted to sway bars on my website under "stabilizers".  It basically deals with some research I did some time ago and the conclusions I reached.

The 850 sway bars are a good start.

Regards,

Paul Vanderheijden
www.scuderiatopolino.com