C3 Rear Stabilizer shaft??

[Brandon Metzger]

Hello to all.
I have a '72 BB standard rear leaf spring. I was looking threw the assembly manual tonight and saw on sheet B1, M362 instructions on the "v-8 engine "454" C.I.D. Hi Perf. Rear Stabilizer Shaft" I know what this would do but could someone tell me what if any '72 BBs had these. I am trying to determine if my car had one. It no longer does if it did. So if I am suppose to have one could you all suggest where to look on the car to see if I could find signs that the car once had a stabilizer shaft. I am curious to know if many 454s had these.

Lastly, I would like to ask a basic question....what does C.I.D. stand for?

Thank you,
Brandon

[Joe L.]

Re: C3 Rear Stabilizer shaft??

Brandon------

All 1965 to 1974 Corvette big blocks had the rear stabilizer bar. Three different bars were used over the years, but all big blocks had one----it was part of the big block engine package regardless of HP.

The bar mounted with brackets attached to the rear frame rails. There were weld nuts on the frame rails for attachment of the bushing retainer brackets. Most Corvettes, small block and big block, had the weld nuts. However, some small blocks of the 69-74 period did not. If your car does not have the weld nuts, then it never had the rear bar (and, thus, was not an original big block).

There was also an attachment for the rear bar located on the top of the rear of the trailing arms. This is where the "triangular" bracket mounted to which the bar links were attached. There should be 2 holes on either side of the larger hole found on the rear of the t-arm upper surface. There should be some evidence of an attachment of the parts if the car is an original big block. Some of the pieces may still remain.

"C.I.D." is an abreviation for "cubic inch displacement".

[Brandon Metzger]

Re: C3 Rear Stabilizer shaft??

Joe,
Do you ever sleep?

Thanks for your answers. Congrats. on the honor...well deserved.

Mine is an original BB but the previous owners were not kind. My frame is getting cleaned and painted now so I will have to look at that when I get it back. The trailing arms do have the holes. The numbers on the frame match the VIN number on the body and this is all for a LS5 M40. Well, I guess I have some parts to find...this on top of many others. It has been a tough rebuilding a '72 that had three wheels in the junk yard. I enjoy the challenge of restoring the car back to its' glory days. I just wish I could be driving it while I was restoring it.

Best regards,
Brandon

[Joe L.]

Re: C3 Rear Stabilizer shaft??

Brandon-----

Yes, I do sleep. However, I sleep on "varying schedules" since I retired, so you never know when I'll "be around".

For some reason, I had lost sight of the fact that the car is a 1972. Of course, for a 1972 it's very easy to determine what engine was originally in the car (too bad that didn't happen about 7 years earlier). So, virtually without a doubt, you should have all of the appropriate holes and weld nuts. I don't understand why someone removed the bar from the car, but folks do all sorts of inexplicable things.

Most of the hardware for the bar installation is either still available from GM or available in reproduction. The bar, itself, is the exception. It's long-since GM-discontinued and, as far as I know, not currently reproduced.

The bar that you want is the GM #3967713 which was used from 1969 to 1974. This bar is a 9/16" OD unit and differs from earlier bars in that it has "offsets" in the major length (horizontal) section of the bar.

[Lee S.]

Re: C3 Rear Stabilizer shaft??

I went through the same problem on my 1974 Big Block Coupe. As Joe states, the bushings, pins, and assorted hardware are easily available. There are two different designs on the rear bushing... a larger one for select C2 models, and a smaller bushing and bracket for later C2's and all C3's. It seems, eveyone wants to sell the larger size. Someone like Joe will have the exact applications.

Now for the stabilzer bar itself, they frequently turn up on e-bay. Make sure it is 9/16" diameter. You may get lucky like I did and have have someone respond via e-mail to this posting who has one for sale.

This installation is pretty simple. If you have any questions, drop me a note. I have attached some phots in the link below. Just scroll down when you reach the album.




Rear Suspension Photos