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Let’s face it, our favorite early muscle cars weren’t exactly known for their ability to carve corners or lie flat on a long-handed sweeper. No, GM designers and engineers never intended the OEM suspension components to endure severe cornering loads or heavy track use.
Thankfully, with the flood of suspension components in today’s aftermarket, there’s a ton of options to choose from. Since our ’66 Chevelle is destined to be a street cruiser, potentially a daily driver, and the occasional autocrosser, we knew our original suspension just wasn’t going to cut it.
Our initial glance told us that most of the bushings on the Chevelle were trashed. Not only were some completely missing, but some were hard as a rock. This caused the factory sway bar bushings to pop and grind as the car was placed into a turn.
As far as the shocks were concerned, they had seen their last rebound in the early ‘80’s but we’ll deal with those at a later date. With that in mind, we set out to replace the worn-out factory pieces for a better-than-factory feel, all while keeping within a reasonable budget. With the flood of aftermarket companies available, choosing one can be a bit overwhelming.
That’s OK, too, since most serious aftermarket companies like Hellwig Motorsports have done all the necessary research and development for you. Hellwig Motorsports has complete front and rear sway bars for nearly any application. What’s more, they come complete, too, with new bushings, and end links and the option for tubular or solid configurations. With overall driveability reigning supreme, we opted with for a simpler upgrade: front and rear sway bars.
A Cut Above
To contend with the aging suspension components, we contacted Hellwig Motorsports for a complete weekend makeover. Hellwig suggested their complete A-body kit with their solid sway bar for the front end along with their tubular setup for the rear end. Luckily, Hellwig’s complete front and rear kits (PN 5703 front, PN 55864 rear) come with new end links, bushings, and included all-new mounting hardware.
What’s so great about the Hellwig line of products? Well, for starters, we contacted Hellwig’s Engineer, David Wheeler. Wheeler explained, “Hellwig’s Pro-Touring tubular sway bars offer lower installed weight as well as performance that compliments today’s suspension upgrades.” This not only cuts down on weight that’s being tossed around on the front end of the vehicle during spirited driving but also satisfies any further upgrades to the suspension later on.
Wheeler also described the benefits of the Hellwig rear sway bar and added, “The sway bars mount to the axles and attach to the frame with adjustable end links to allow suspension to articulate freely for better handling and ride quality. Hellwig rear sway bars also incorporate 3-adjustment holes for tuning the roll stiffness of the sway bar to optimize suspension upgrades.”
The removal of the front sway bar is an easy task to the say the least, requiring you to remove the end links from the A-arm and brackets from the frame. The rear took a bit longer, with mounting the new Hellwig Motorsports rear brackets being the most time consuming portion of the install. Next time, we’ll finish up the Chevelle with some new hoops and rubber but until then; follow along to see what to expect when performing a similar upgrade for yourself.
Skinnies in the front and meats in the back really aren't the ideal wheel and tire combo for getting our intermediate-sized Chevelle around the track. We'll address the rubber situation later.
A quick assessment of our '66 Malibu's factory suspension left much to be desired. While today we're fixing the sway bar situation, we'll be really digging into this A-Body's handling at a later date.
Our '66 is fun driver, but its road manners are sloppy and its ride is akin to a farm truck. Time to step things up a bit.
The ’66 Chevelle
Once destined for the strip, the owner, Jay Giradi has had a change of heart. Though launching the car for 1/4-mile blasts can be fun, driveability was now becoming a priority. It’s sloppy suspension and aging undercarriage needed a quick upgrade that wouldn’t send the Chevelle keeling over mid-turn. Giradi needed a change and this is where Hellwig Motorsports provided their solution.
First, a little on the Chevelle. Our ’66 Chevelle in question is nothing fancy, or show-worthy to say the least. It’s all-business, here. Under the hood is a massaged over Mark IV big-block with a 4-bolt main, and a high-lift hydraulic ‘stick. Up top sits a set of oval port cylinder heads with a dual-plane Edelbrock intake. Feeding those heads is a traditional 650cfm Holley double-pumper.
For the remaining drivetrain, the traditional Th400 was stuffed with a 2,900 rpm stall converter and B&M shift kit. From here, twist is sent out to a modified Ford 9-inch rearend housing with track-friendly 4.10 gears in place. Trust us, this is no slouch. Unfortunately, the suspension has never been touched. It’s still all factory underneath, which means it’s still sporting the small diameter front and rear sway bars.
Hellwig's complete front and rear kits come with everything you'll need for a complete installation.
Hellwig's rear sway bar are pre-drilled to allow up to 3-points of adjustability to fine tune the vehicles handling characteristics. Assembly of the new end links, using all new hardware with bushings, is quite simple. Beginning with the end link bolt, its only a matter of layering the flat washer, bushing, mounting bracket, and spacer tube. Then, another flat washer, bushing, and washer finishes off the assembly. Hellwig adjustable end links are made with heavy-duty components and materials. Each unit is designed to handle high degrees of articulation with specially designed polyurethane bushings, high-tensile strength threaded studs, and durable heavy thread cores. For durability, they’ve been powder coated and Zinc plated, too. What’s more, they can be installed and adjusted with common tools.
The Hellwig Motorsports Solution
“Hellwig’s Pro-Touring tubular sway bars are lightweight and add additional performance that compliments today’s suspension upgrades.”
Additionally, Hellwig’s larger than stock diameter optimizes handling and reduces body roll. The Hellwig sway bars are strong, too, and are precision engineered in the USA. For additional strength, Hellwig then heat treats the chromoly steel and wraps them in an attractive hammertone finish for durability. Enhancements also include internal forged (not welded) end links, high-durometer polyurethane bushings, and heavy-duty zinc-plated hardware.
The best part, Hellwig’s sway bars don’t require any special tools to get the job done.Their all completely bolt-on, which means a set of hand tools can get the job done in almost no time. Hellwing Motorsports solid sway bars offer increased cornering capabilities with a tailored fit.
When you put the sway bars next to one another, it’s obvious that the new Hellwig piece, at 1 5/16 inches, is no match for the factory toothpick. Our new bar from Hellwig is a solid unit and will match perfectly with no fitment issues. Once the assembly of the end links is complete, we moved on to position the bushings over the sway bar. First, however, we greased the insides of each frame bushing. Again, this is to prevent squeaks, and eliminate the chance of moisture settling in. Then, with some patience, we slipped them over the new Hellwig sway bar for final. Now, we were ready to install the new bar to the frame. We positioned the U-plates over the D-shaped polyurethane bushings and positioned the new Hellwig sway bar on the frame with the original frame mounting bolts. The completed end links were then installed through the coined ends of the Hellwig sway bar. We tightened the lock nuts just enough so that the polyurethane bushings produced a slight bulge.
The Front end Install
There’s nothing romantic about removing the factory bars. In all, it’s actually very simple. To start things off, we got Girardi’s Chevelle on the lift at powerTV headquarters. It was there, Sean Goude and Dean Jigamian took over to get our Hellwig bars installed.
Beginning at the front, Jigamian, began by loosening the frame bolts from the factory U-plates by using a 1/2-inch socket. From there, he attacked the lower A-arms to begin removing the end links. Removing the endlinks is quite simple, too. Using a 1/2-inch wrench, Jigamian loosened the lock nut at the bottom (underneath lower A-arm) and then pulled the bolt through. With it came the spacer as well as the tired, worn, and cracked factory bushings. He applied the same methodology to the drivers side.
With both end links removed, we could go ahead and remove the factory U-plates completely. Keep in mind to retain the factory frame bolts. They are used again to fasten the new Hellwig front sway bar in.To prevent any future squeaking or binding, the new D-shaped Polyeurethane bushings from Hellwig were liberally greased with white lithium poly grease. Next, they were ready to be installed into the new Hellwig U-plates.
In all fairness, the rear end install entails a tad more labor. However, it’s nothing the weekend-wrencher shouldn’t be able to handle. This end of the install does require a bit of drilling and depending on your vehicle, may cause some relocation of exhaust hangers, and fuel or brake lines, too.
Before drilling, double-check for any fuel or brake lines that may be in the way.
We then installed the mounting bracket on the froward side of the cross member with the tab pointing down using the 3/8 x 1-inch bolts, washer, and lock nuts. Finally, we attached the end links to the outer hole of the sway bar using the 7/16-20 x 2 ½-inch bolts, lock nuts, and washers. We made sure to align the end links for the best fit. It’s also important to note, too, the end link must be attached to the outer hole prior to initial use. We torqued the axle U-bolts and end link mounting bolts to 35-40 ft-lb. We also tightened the jam nut on each end link to lock in the adjustment.
The Rear end Install
With the rear suspension removed, Jigamian located the outboard mounting hole for the muffler hangers. These holes are located on the upper control arm cross member, about 32 inches apart. With a 13/32-inch bit, we drilled these holes larger.
In order to gain access to the rear, the spring and shock combination must be removed from the car. To do this safely, Jigamian supported the car and rearend. Of course, we were using a lift, however, anyone at home could use a set of jack stands to support the car on.
Next, we installed the mounting bracket on the backside of the cross member with the tab pointing up using a 3/8 x 1-inch bolt and nut. The bracket will be used as a template to mark the location of the 13/32-inch hole that will need to be drilled 1 ¾-inch above the existing hole that has already been enlarged.
Jigamian then aligned the bracket in a vertical position and marked the location of the hole. Then, removed the bracket and drilled the holes.
At this point, we could go ahead and reinstall the shock and spring combo. Before we went any further, though, we set the axle at ride height. Then, we began to assemble the end links. For the correct assembly, we inserted the bushings first and then the inner sleeve is slid into the outer link (lubricate bushings before installation).
Then, we installed the 9/16-inch nut on the threaded section of the end link before assembling the two halves together. It’s important to know that the end link threads are not powder coated. To prevent corrosion on the threads, we lightly coated them with black spray paint after adjusting them to the desired length.
To install the D-shaped bushings, we placed them onto the straight areas of the bar on each side of the center hump, and as close to the outside bend as possible. Then, holding the sway bar up against the underside of the rearend tubes, we determined the location for the U-bolt to mount.
However, in our case, you may have noticed Girardi’s ‘Velle has a 9-inch in the back. This caused a slight clearance issue with the U-bolts and saddle brackets. With a quick call to Hellwig we got some simple advice: Clearance the saddle brackets as needed.
Next, we positioned the U-bolts over the tubes (threads pointing down) and placed the saddle brackets onto the U-bolts. We then placed the U-plates over the D-shaped bushing on the bar and attached the bar to the U-bolts and saddle brackets with the flat washers and Stover lock nuts provided (leave loose at this time). Before we hit the streets, Hellwig suggests that the rear sway bar be adjusted to the outer most hole first. Then, as the driver becomes accustomed to the handling characteristics, a firmer setting may be desired.
From The Drivers Seat
For just under $500, Hellwig supplied our Chevelle with a complete suspension overhaul. Prior to installing the sway bars, Girardi explained to us that the Chevelle would pitch and roll. Even Entering and exiting freeway ramps were full of dramatic suspension lean.
Once the new bars were installed we had Girardi take the ‘Velle for another spin. Immediately, he noticed that turn-in had improved, and that the new bars actually inspired confidence when making turns. Girardi also noted that the bars provided increased road feel and almost made the car seem smaller, and more nimble. Girardi went on to explain that the Chevelle remained unbelievably well-planted. Best of all, Girardi was pleased that the overall ride quality remained the same and hadn’t been compromised. He went on to elaborate, “The bars are virtually invisible until you need them—best upgrade thus far!”
After the install, it's clear that Hellwig's front and rear sway bars are doing the trick. The heavy A-body now stays flat during a turn even with a set of skinnies up front!
