Seeking '35 Hudson or Terraplane sway bar

StillOutThere

I am seeking the rear anti-sway bar and whatever brackets that was original equipment on any 1935 Hudson or Terraplane car that was equipped with the Axle Flex front suspension. OEM equip for 1935 only, on any Hud or Terra with the Axle Flex. This is the rear sway bar.

If you know of a parts car or someone building a '35 Hud /Terra street rod and the car had the Axle Flex, it would have this rear anti-sway bar as part of the original suspension.

Thanks.

[Deleted User]

Dick Riggs had that setup for sale at the Spokane,WA national meed. Don't know if he still has it or not. You should be able to find him in the HET Roster.

Tom

StillOutThere

Thanks, I'll try to get hold of Mr. Riggs.

StillOutThere

Dick Riggs does NOT have a '35 bar available. I just got off the phone with him. I am still looking. Anyone?

StillOutThere

Any lead on this part would be appreciated. Also if you have a '35 Hud or Terra with Axle Flex, it would be very helpful for me to see a photo or two of the rear sway bar in place on the car (lift photo). Thanks.

StillOutThere

SURELY there is someone reading this who knows of a '35 Axle-Flex equipped parts car, or knows a street rodder who has yanked all the original suspension off a car being built, or amongst all of you there is owned a '35 A-F car that has previously taken or would not mind helping me out by sending a current photo of what this factory rear anti-sway bar looks like.

I don't intend to let this request fall off page one of the forum into forgotten obscurity.

bob ward

The sway bar itself is dead easy to replicate and no one would know its not the original. The chassis brackets, arms, links (don't have any of those myself) and axle brackets are not so easy. The arms could be machined from solid to look like the originals but that would be an expensive exercise if you are not set up to do it yourself.

I believe I have a spare pair of axle brackets.

If you want more photos than those I posted previously let me know.

StillOutThere

Bob, If I knew what this looked like, I could follow your comments. Where did you post pictures previously? Not in this thread certainly. I take it you are saying it is a straight bar then? That would be the first description I've heard. If you have the brackets it would be a start if someone has dimensions for the bar and the links. Thank you for posting.

bob ward

The pictures are here, and yes its just a straight bar with the ends machined to take the arms.

http://www.classiccar.com/forum/discussion/comment/165145#Comment_165145

StillOutThere

Oh, its a TORSION BAR with splined ends, cast arms and brackets to the frame. Then bushed links down to special lower shock mount /spring u-bolt brackets. What an advanced piece of engineering! Thank you Bob for posting these pictures and sorry I missed them on my earlier thread which I lost while out of town.
I don't have the advanced capability to create a torsion bar and I'm sure there is no market to have this whole set-up reproduced. So I am definitely still in the market for a original complete '35 anti-sway bar assembly from an Axle-Flex equipped car, or a '34 that was retrofitted with it.

bob ward

For what reasons was the rear sway bar introduced on the 35 axle-flex cars?

StillOutThere

I would have to assume that since Hudson made it a mandatory part of the Axle Flex option that they found it was necessary to stabilize the handling of any model having the A-F front axle suspension. Very common in the auto industry for a manufacturer to respond to reports from the dealerships received after a new idea was put into production with a change or upgrade to the original design. There wasn't always time for real world testing back then and computer model simulations would have to wait almost half a century. And that is why I seek the sway bar to add to my '34.
I previously owned a '34 Hudson 8 sedan with Axle Flex and while my shocks were probably gone, that heavy 8 cylinder on top of the A-F was a handling nightmare. On my current Terraplane with the shorter wheelbase and lighter 6 cylinder, and working shocks, it isn't at all bad, but would be improved with a sway bar.

bob ward

FWIW all 36 Terraplanes and Hudsons came with a rear sway bar, as well as it being optional on 35s. The first 2 photos show the rear axle from a 36T, the pick-up points for the torsion bar are BEHIND the axle and INSIDE the springs. The second 2 photos show the torsion bar arms on my 35. I'm missing the connections between those arms and the axle but the arms seem to be arranged to connect in FRONT of the axle and on the OUTSIDE of the springs.

StillOutThere

Attaching photo of my '34 Terra rear axle area without rear sway bar or front Axle-Flex. Photo shows that the shock absorber is mounted identicall to all your '35-36 photos.

Since the parts book shows the spring bottom "PLATE", 47462 RH and 47463 LH as being the same for '35 and '36, the vertical "CONNECTION" from the stabilizer arm to the plate must have been a forged link crossing over the axle and spring from outside to inside with a considerable bend in it to get "from here to there". And so far no one seems to have those links so they were under-engineered in some way requiring removal and discard.

bob ward

From Alex Burr's collection (thanks Alex) http://hetclub.org/burr/manuals/1934-37MechanicalProcedureManual.pdf, about 3/4 of the way down is a photo of a 36 rear sway bar. Rather than a bar with separate arms attached like the 35, it has become a one piece item.

The sway bar attachment brackets seen on my 36 back axle photo are now obviously bolted on the wrong way around.

StillOutThere

Okay, I've downloaded the 333 page book. And after about a hundred page search I found page 223 (near exactly 2/3rds through the book) has the photo you must be referring to.

There is no way to reverse your '36 plates to that position and still be able to mount the shock absorbers. In the illustration the shock mount and the socket hole for the link are on opposite corners of the plate. Your photo shows them on the same side of the plate. If you reverse yours, the shock would also have to mount outside the frame.

bob ward

The 47462 & 47463 plates are small separate castings which are held to the underside of the leaf spring plates by the U-bolts. The photo is of the underside of a 47462 bracket.

StillOutThere

OKAY! That's what I needed to know!!! I thought they were full replacement plates holding the springs to the U-bolts. THANKS !