There was a time when sway bars – be it front or back – were a performance option, and not just standard suspension fare. Crazy, huh? Well believe it. Those high-tensile steel bars keeping body roll in check are relatively new in the history of the automobile, meaning there might be quite a few classics out there riding still riding around without sway bars at all or the chintzy factory bars.

That is where Hellwig Products come in. Making top-tier suspension components for most – if not every – performance application you can think of, Hellwig put together a cool little Before and After video with a pretty clean ’56 Chevrolet Bel Air and a set of their front and rear sways.

The big shoe box is already running on some modified suspension as is, with 2-inch drop springs up front with aftermarket disc brakes riding on stock spindles and A-arms. Out back are the stock 4-leaf springs and a 1-inch lowering block, helping give the ’56 its nice lowered stance.

Before the swap, the Bel Air leans and rolls through the slalom rather gingerly, clearly not giving the driver much confidence through the cones. These coupes were meant for driving comfort and cruise-ability, not hard turning track prowess, so cut the Chevy some slack! After the swap with Hellwig’s 1 1/4-inch front sway bar (PT# 5722) and rear (PT# 5822), the Bel Air is immediately changed for the better!

Watch how level the ride is through the slalom compared to before. If you didn’t believe the difference a pair of sways could make, you need to watch this video one more time.