1965 Rear Sway Bar
Did the 65 small block Midyears have the rear sway bar? or big blocks only?
Thanks!
Thanks!
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Re: 1965 Rear Sway Bar
big blocks only.mike -
Re: 1965 Rear Sway Bar
Bryan, Mike is correct. One small point is that big block sway bars required holes on the frame undersides to retain the bar and bushing. The nuts were welded on the inside of the frame during its fabrication. There were two different frames made (with these holes, for the big blocks, and without, for the mouse motors
). Some people use this as a possible indicator of BB (along with the trailing arm holes for the link bracket).
But these frame holes are not definitive proof of BB, as sometimes they are found on small blocks. VIN # 23563 is one such L75 (always has been, never run since 1973) with the BB frame holes & internal nuts, yet no sign of ever having had a sway bar installed. [maybe they ran out of SB frames this close to the end of production
].
Just another example of "never-say-never.Last edited by Wayne M.; August 6, 2009, 11:43 AM.Comment
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Re: 1965 Rear Sway Bar
Thank you for the excellent info. I'm looking at possibly acquiring a 1965 coupe with a/c. Currently installed is nom small block. A pic sent to me showing the trailing arm details showed a rear sway bar installed. It got me to wondering if the car could have been originally equipped with a big block.Bryan, Mike is correct. One small point is that big block sway bars required holes on the frame undersides to retain the bar and bushing. The nuts were welded on the inside of the frame during its fabrication. There were two different frames made (with these holes, for the big blocks, and without, for the mouse motors ). Some people use this as a possible indicator of BB (along with the trailing arm holes for the link bracket).
But these frame holes are not definitive proof of BB, as sometimes they are found on small blocks. VIN # 23563 is one such L75 (always has been, never run since 1973) with the BB frame holes & internal nuts, yet no sign of ever having had a sway bar installed. [maybe they ran out of SB frames this close to the end of production ].
Just another example of "never-say-never.Comment
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Re: 1965 Rear Sway Bar
It's not that uncommon for prior owners to have acquired the sway bar setup and installed it if they were into performance...
If you suspect the car might have been a BB, then look for other forensic details: (1) LH battery, (2) firewall clips located to support a LH battery, (3) the car's VIN number as BB's were introduced mid-model year, (4) oil pressure gauge, (5) size of front sway bar, (6) the radiator and radiator core support installed IF they're original, (7) prefix code stamping on the rear end, again IF it's original to the car and the list goes on...
It wouldn't be the first time an original BB car 'lost' its factory original motor and was converted to a SB for driving purposed. But, most all of the forensic 'acid' tests like those listed, all presume this/that part is actually original to the car and NOT 'borrowed' from another car by prior owners...Comment
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Re: 1965 Rear Sway Bar
Bryan
If the car is a 65 and has factory A/C it can't have been originally a BB. BB with A/C wasn't available until 66.
JohnComment
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