A number of issues cropped up that made me take the easy way out and roll my own sway bars. The right OE sway bar bushing mount must be a bit rusty up inside the frame rail as I snapped off both mounting bolts. After drilling (and getting the holes a little off center --

) and snapping an Easy Out in one, almost snapping another in the second, I gave up on that.
For the front, I began to take inspiration from the BRE Trans-Am car and how they both made and mounted their front sway bars. They used Stressproof steel rod, which can be heated, bent, air-quenched and still retain tinsel strength. Trevor Harris mounted the front bar bushings to standoffs and the ends of the sway bar to brackets bolted beneath to the T/C mounting points on the control arms.
(top of page 165 of the
How To Modify book:
http://www.datsun510.com/modules.php?na ... age&id=165)
After taking some measurements, doing so would allow me to skip over the busted bolts in the frame. Sure, I'd have to weld in the standoffs, but I'd have to cut and weld the frame rail to get a useable bushing mount anyway. A benefit of doing it this way, with the correct standoff measurement I wouldn't have to have a bend in the sway bar for the oil sump. NOTE: Whitebird isn't a slammed go-kart, so after consideration I didn't get too worried about the sway bar now being the low point of the car's clearance up front. I'd rather sacrifice the sway bar than the oil pan/engine, any day.
Oh, did I mention that, in addition to everything else, the Stressproof material cost me $15 for a five-foot length? Yeah, DIY sway bars, on the cheap. Add bushings and end links and I was into this project for a total of $120 - that's for front AND rear adjustable sway bars.
For Whitebird, I decided on 7/8" sway bars, front and rear. This shouldn't surprise anyone who's read through my Project thread, and should fit well with the goals for the car and the other mild suspension pieces I've installed so far. Sway bar bushings are ES pieces, as they make a product range that will fit the stock 510 mounting spacing. End links are 3/8" economy stuff, nothing fancy because they don't have to be.
I made a template from 1/4" rod, then transfered the marks to the Stressproof. I clamped the Stressproof into my bench vise and heated through where I wanted it to bend with a oxy/acy torch. I used a 4' bending rod I made up for this job, and at 205 pounds, it took about all I had to get the 45° bends I used for the front design. Still, it bent just find with no fuss. Careful bending also kept it in a single plane, which is nice.
Because when you spend a silly amount of money on a silly, trivial thing that will help you not one jot, you are demonstrating that you have a soul and a heart and that you are the sort of person who has no time for Which? magazine. – Jeremy Clarkson