A panhard rod keeps the rearend from moving in a sideways motion.

It will not act like a sway bar.

A problem with panhard rods is that if they are not long enough you will get a side load on the rearend and ladder bars as the vehicle moves through it's vertical travel.

 

interesting enough I have a set of aftermarket lower control arms I dont need now, they are for a chevelle

 

This looks to me like a much better route than the ladder bars:

http://www.employees.org/~*******/carstuff/rear.htm

 

brainsboy- thanks for the offer (?) but i already have boxed lower control arms and since i will be eliminating them then i wont need another pair .

billyshope- all he has is the stock setup with airbags and an added sway bar. im going for more of the straight line route and thought it would be best if i went with ladder bars other other than traction bars or an all out 4 link setup. thanks for the link though.

 

what is your intended use of the vehicle if you have boxed in your control arms i would just replace the bushings and use them that way unless it is an all out drag car i wouldn't go with the ladder bars. and for the street you would be better off with the four link you have now eich is what the stock is.
Jesse

 

well iam planning on hitting up the strip quite a bit but i also want to drive it on the street also. im hoping to see 10's when all is said and done with the motor though, thats why i thought i should go with ladder bars.

 

Ladder bars are no good for the street. They are designed for straight line as in drag racing.
Trust me I went that route and found out the hard way.
I've now built a new frame and went with a tri-angulated 4 link and air ride. You on the other hand can use coil-over shocks. No need for an anti-sway or panhard bar with this setup.

http://www.angelfire.com/super/1950bulletnose/Triangular4Link1.jpg
http://www.angelfire.com/super/1950bulletnose/Triangular4Link2.jpg
http://www.angelfire.com/super/1950bulletnose/RearShockwave3.jpg
http://www.angelfire.com/super/1950bulletnose/NewFrame16.jpg
http://www.angelfire.com/super/1950bulletnose/AirbagsIFS1.jpg

 

why are the ladder bars no good for street use? and why would i only need to run the coil overs? everything will still be able to twist at launch still right? as compared to using a sway bar to help with that.

 

Ladder bars don't allow for roll. They will only travel up and down. As you can guess this would make them no fun on the street.

Think of it this way...
When you take a right hand turn the body wants to roll to the left. This causes the left ladder bar mount to want to go down and the right ladder bar mount up. This tries to twist the axle tube and in essance turns the axle tube into "one really huge sway-bar!". Obviously the axle tubes arn't going to twist (till you shear the plug welds holding them into the axle housing ) and what you end up with is a car that can't roll. If you hit a pot hole with just one tire it will transmit the force through the axle and to the body and will cause a very jaring ride on anything that isn't smooth.

 

With coil-overs you don't need anything else. Also coil-overs give better launch characteristics.

Again ladder bars are for drag racing only and if someone told you different, you're in for a costly mistake. I know, I went that route and it cost me. I'm now selling the ladder bars and coil-overs to recoupe some of my loss.

Ladder bars use a lateral bar as opposed to a panhard bar. Attached pic of my old setup.
http://www.angelfire.com/super/1950bulletnose/stude1015.jpg
http://www.angelfire.com/super/1950bulletnose/stude1016.jpg

A Tri 4 link and a parallel 4 link are the only ways to go for a street application. I don't think a tri 4 link would be any good on the strip, I'd go with a parallel 4 link if you're thinking of the pro street approach.

 

Ladder bars are great for street cars if installed correctly. They can be made to work with any type of spring; leaf, coil, 1/4 elliptic, etc. Send me your email address and I'll send an article on how to mount them for max suspension flexibility.

 

Would you send me the info on ladder bars? I want to install them on a 1971 chevelle

Bluemagic920@cox.net

 

willys36, you've got a pm.

i understand that with ladder bars on the street it can be a very rough ride but is this the only downside?

 

Oh I didn't notice sorry