Front Sway Bar Size Issue

KMoore68 · KMoore68's Garage

Hi,

I have a 1977 911 S Targa that I am doing a front suspension/turbo tie rods refresh on.

I ordered the 16mm sway bars bushings from Elephant Racing however they don't fit. I don't have a tool to measure the diameter of the bars so I used my tape measure and it is between .70" and .75" which seems to be much bigger than the 16mm and even bigger than the 18mm they also offer.

Any ideas? I'm guessing I should buy a tool that allows me to measure the diameter more accurately.

Thanks,
Kevin

KMoore68 · KMoore68's Garage

I did some more research and I'm going to buy a Vernier Caliper to measure the actual diameter and then go form there ...

Bill Verburg · Bill Verburg's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by KMoore68

Hi,

I have a 1977 911 S Targa that I am doing a front suspension/turbo tie rods refresh on.

I ordered the 16mm sway bars bushings from Elephant Racing however they don't fit. I don't have a tool to measure the diameter of the bars so I used my tape measure and it is between .70" and .75" which seems to be much bigger than the 16mm and even bigger than the 18mm they also offer.

Any ideas? I'm guessing I should buy a tool that allows me to measure the diameter more accurately.

Thanks,
Kevin

If it's a factory bar 20mm was std on '76/77 Carrera 3.0 and on SC/Carrera thru '85, for '86 up it was 22mm

stownsen914 · 02-28-2022, 11:43 AM

Is your bar an aftermarket through body / early style bar? A common size for those is 19mm (almost exactly .75").

KMoore68 · KMoore68's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by stownsen914

Is your bar an aftermarket through body / early style bar? A common size for those is 19mm (almost exactly .75").

Unfortunately I don't know the actual size of the bar and need to measure it accurately.

I think it is a 20mm bar but will confirm with a Vernier Caliper measurement.

70SATMan · 02-28-2022, 12:26 PM

If it's a solid bar, throw an open end wrench on it or a crescent and then measure the opening.

If it's a hollow bar then it'll have an effective rate and that won't be apparent by the outside circumference.

KMoore68 · KMoore68's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by 70SATMan

If it's a solid bar, throw an open end wrench on it or a crescent and then measure the opening.

If it's a hollow bar then it'll have an effective rate and that won't be apparent by the outside circumference.

Good idea, thanks! I'll try that when I get home