Rule Change/Clarification Proposal: Fox to SN95 Sway Bar

[RichardP]

The Fox and SN95 platform Mustangs use a different front sway bar attachment method. There are very few different Fox sway bars available to help tune the handling of the car. There are several SN95 sway bars covering a wide range of stiffnesses to help with tuning the handling.

On Fox Mustangs, there is a bracket welded to each side of the frame rails that the sway bar bushing bracket bolts to. On SN95 Mustangs, there is no bracket welded to the frame rails. Instead, there are two T-shaped slots cut into the bottom of the frame rails. Into each of these slots is inserted a captured stud that hangs down from the bottom of the frame rail. The sway bar bushing bracket is bolted to the frame rail with these studs.

Per the current CMC update/backdate rules, the SN95 sway bars are legal to be used on the Fox platform Mustangs. Because of different height and mounting widths, you can not attach a later model sway bar to a Fox car with the stock sway bar brackets. If you go to attach the later sway bar brackets, you will find that there are no T-slots in the lower frame rail.

Some method of attaching the SN95 sway bar bracket to the frame rail needs to be fabricated to make this work. This fabrication and the associated modifications to the frame rail in order to make this work are not currently legal by the CMC rules. Some words in the CMC rules allowing minimal mods to the factory frame rails for the purpose of attaching the SN95 sway bar brackets would be helpful to those trying to tune the handling of their Fox platform Mustangs.

To attach the SN95 sway bar bracket to my car, I welded two bolts to a plate. The bolt spacing was the same as the sway bar bracket bolt spacing . I then drilled two holes in the lower frame rail in the correct location for the new brackets. I then fished the weldment up through another hole already in the frame rail and dropped the bolts through the drilled holes. The sway bar bracket then bolted up to the bolts hanging down from the frame rail.


Richard P.

[donovan]

I think this would be a good Change/Clarification!


DD

[jeffburch]

Sounds great.
jb

[mitchntx]

Great idea!

[AllZWay]

Definitely makes sense.

[Todd Covini]

Pictures? ops:

[RichardP]

Pictures? ops:

I'd love to take pictures but my car is well beyond useful for a CMC discussion. I have no Fox sway bar stuff anymore. The stock brackets welded to the frame rails were cut off long ago (cause they were heavy ).

I could take pictures of my current attachment but my exact method wouldn't work for a CMC car because the stock welded on brackets would still be in the way.

Yea, we need pictures.


Richard P.

[David Love AI27]

I am fabricating a bracket to use on my fox body since I have added the sn95 lower control arms and sway bar. I have decided that I'm not too happy with the current rules for the fox body so the car will NOT be a CMC car but will be run in TT and fun runs. Jason's 3rd gen will be the the LiiR entry in CMC.