73 to 79 rear sway bar on a 66

66camperspecial · Post by **66camperspecial** » July 28, 2007, 3:13 pm

I was lucky to get both front and rear sway bars at the junkyard today and I know the 73 to 79 frames are wider in the rear,so has anyone installed one on their truck and what modifications need to be done to hook it up. Jeff

Mazlem · Post by **Mazlem** » July 28, 2007, 7:12 pm

There's a very simple way to install the newer sway bars - first procure a 73-79 frame and install that on your '66. Then install the sway bars.

REDLTD · Post by **REDLTD** » July 29, 2007, 2:02 am

The rear swaybar you have will bolt right on to the axle. just drill a couple of holes where the end links meet the frame. At least thats the way it worked on my kid's '63. Of course, the front straight axle is a whole 'nother thing.

Ford4jack · Post by **Ford4jack** » July 29, 2007, 1:31 pm

Checked a rear bar from a 79 bronco to a 65 frame.
It looks like if you just flip the struts to where the offset goes to the inside then bolt then to the outside of the sway bar it will fit to the outside of the frame.

This was checked just setting on top of the frame though. there might be some clearance problems when trying to install it that way. Haven't got to that point yet.

Noticed the bronco axle mounting brackets are for a fatter axle tube than my 66 half ton has.

Ford4jack · Post by **Ford4jack** » July 30, 2007, 8:25 am

Tried a fit up on the rear with the bronco bar yesterday. No workie in stock form.
Just a bit to wide.

Hawkrod · Post by **Hawkrod** » July 30, 2007, 9:49 am

I did not pipe in because there were already answers posted so I assumed I was wrong but my brain says the wider bar will interfere with the rear springs. You can use a rear bar from a 73-77.5 F250 4X4, a 73-79 F350 chassis, flatbed or pickup (super camper special style), or a Crew Cab as they do not have wider frames like the rest of the trucks do. The hard part is finding one and then you also need to figure out the mounts. When I built my 76 Crew Cab I wanted a rear bar and ended up getting one from an F350 SCS but those had a Dana 70 rear so I also grabbed mounts to the axle from an F250 regular truck and it all bolted in. If you have a 9 inch you will probably have to make the axle mounts as the F250 and F350 mounts will be too big. Hawkrod