GEN I Anti-Roll Bar(s)

[1ShelbyGuy]

Curiosity question: Were/are anti-roll bars available for Gen I coupe? Are there any other companies making anti-roll bars for the Gen I coupe?

Any inforation/assistance is greatly appreciated!

Best Regards,

John Saia
The ShelbyGuy
310-997-5530 – Mobile
[email protected] – E-Mail
www.shelbyguy.net – Website
Rolling Hills Estates, California 90274

[Jacob McCrea]

John,

I dimly remember that people were successful in installing (a) the Challenge Car bar; (b) a bar from a Miata; and (c) a bar from some vendor (which may have been a Miata bar) on the Gen IIs, which are similar if not the same in that area.

For what it's worth: At least on Gen IIs, some 1-piece bars come too close to the 1" tubing that the nose mount to. To avoid that problem, I put a Nascar-style 3-piece bar on mine, but I had to make my own mounts from 1/4" aluminum angle, and had to bend the arms with a press and a lot of heat. The fit is great, but it's not a small amount of work.

Sway Bar Arm 1.jpgSway Bar Arm 2.jpg

[Gbeck]

I installed one on my Gen2 coupe that I bought from another forum member. I think it was originally a Fortes part but not certain. I welded a mounting plate to the chassis to attach the brackets.

[Russ Thompson]

I put them front and rear on my gen1, I got them from Speedway if I remember correctly. I was not a straight bolt on, I welded some tubs for mounting.

[Ron J]

Hi, I am building a Gen 2 Coupe w/ the 2015 IRS. I purchased the front and rear swaybars from FFR when I ordered my kit in February 2016. I would assume they do sell swaybars since their current Instruction Sheet has a 02/06/19 Revision Date, but you should contact FFR to verify. Their front swaybars were configured for the Roadster and not specifically for the Coupe. However, that is a minor problem.
I don't have a picture of the Gen 1 chassis configuration, but I assume it is the same as the Gen 2 frame.
The Coupe radiator mounting bracket interferes with the installation of the swaybar when using FFR's brackets, rod ends and mounting plates. I found that by slightly notching the radiator bracket, the swaybar could be mounted using the FFR supplied hardware. I used a length of 1/2" SCH 40 PVC pipe to aid in achieving a 1/16" clearance between the swaybar and the notch in the radiator mounts. Using the PVC pipe eliminated the "guess and check" for fitting the swaybar and brackets to the frame.
In my case the front and rear swaybar provided by FFR are identical and is a 90-93 Flying Miata Part No. 8204. The swaybar has a diameter of 0.875". The PVC pipe has an OD of 0.840" so it worked perfectly as a tool for notching.
DSC_0015.jpg, DSC_0007.jpg, DSC_0008.jpg, DSC_0004.jpg, DSC_0001.jpg, DSC_0015.jpg
I hope this helps, good luck.
Ron