Nascar sway bar install, How I did it. Pics! Options

[Andyrew]

Well, heres what i've been doing past couple of days, between work...

Dad told me to make it strong enough to lift the car... so hopefully I did..

My welds were not what I would have liked them to be.. there was something wrong with my welder, it was giving me inconsistant wire speed. I'll take it in and have it looked at. and the angles were hard...

I can make good welds.. Honest (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/welder.gif)

bla bla bla...
heres the pics

[Thorshammer]

This is a difficult job, and your solution is rather clever. spread the load out, nice, heres why you have had some probems welding this, I am not a welder, but when I started with my 110 VAC mig welder, my beads looked like yours.

First, You have removed the paint from the car, but the metal you are using has a corrosion coating on it that must be ground off at least 1 inch back, so the heat does not allow it to migrate into the weld, this will account for the splatter. That is why the lower piece looks a little better.

Second, it is always hard to weld different thicknesses of material and get a good weld, The secret as I have found it is to concentrate the heat on the thicker material and then move the torch (wire feed) over just a bit to fuse the thinner material. This may not be the proper method (I did say I am not a welder), but it has worked for me.

I also run a very stiff front sway bar, 1 1/8 hollow, .110 wall thickness. It runs in needle bearings, it was very important to get the bearings in the same plane. or the bar will bind.

Good luck on welding, You know, most welders will spend a few minutes with you and teach you some basics, and for me it was the difference between welding and slag.

Good luck,


Erik Madsen