Date:         Fri, 7 Apr 95 16:54 CDT
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         ddlroach@skypoint.com
Subject:      Re: SWAY BARS

>Can you please tell me what this bar does, can it
>stabilyze the bus in the freeway at hi speeds
>against the wind? and where can I buy them?
>
>Your answer will be appreciated, I have a 71
>camper with a Toyota 1600cc. engine and I love
>it except in windy conditions. Thanks
>

A sway bar is a torsion bar like rod that attaches the left and
right suspension arms together.  The idea is that when a van turns
all its weight is thrown towards the outside of the van, causing
the outside suspension arm to compress and the inside sumpension
arm to extend.  This makes the whole van lean like it wants to
tip over.  The sway bar works tranfering some of the upward force
on the outside suspension arm to upward force on the inside
suspension arm, helping to equalize the lean of the van.  It is
not perfectly stiff, it can spring, so the independent suspension
action is not totally taken away.  

Overall, it does help a lot.  Yes, it does help wind problems, but 
it doesn't cure them.  The car also suffers some ride quality, like it seems
a little stiffer going over bumps.  This doesn't bother me
much though.  You can buy them from a few different places.  The
places I know of are J.C. Whitney, The Bus Boys, and The Bus Stop 
(Rocky Mountain Motorworks).  Sway-A-Way is a good brand if you
can find it, but it may cost more.  The cheaper ones may also work
just as well, I guess I really don't know.  They should fit on a
'71.  My '77 already had a front one from the factory, but I put
a larger Sway-A-Way on as a replacement.

ddlroach