The speedirect spreader bar came a few days after I placed the order it was packaged well with a packing slip and items bagged. Most notably was the lack of installation instructions. In truth this probably isnt much of an issue as installation is fairly obvious. The spreader bar itself is an attractive natural aluminum piece. At first I thought it would be nice if there were wrench flats machined into the rod to assist in tightening of the jam nuts like the VB bar has, however it turned out to be totally uneccesary.

The speedirect assembly is lighter than the VB system which uses a steel spreader bar, and larger rod ends as well as thicker bracketry.

This is the spreader bar as shipped. I have removed ther mounting brackets from their bags so that they can be seen clearly.



The brackets appear to be made from either 10 or 12 ga. steel, they have slotted mounting holes so that the bar can be slightly adjusted forward or back on the suspension. They are not handed (i.e. they can be used on either side of the car) Slid all the way back you get about 1/4" to 3/8" clearance from the fan blades and about 1/2" to the hub of the fan pulley.



Installation is straightforward, the brackets are mounted with the tabs pointing down. The brackets are installed under the nuts holding the upper control arms on.



A tip here, if you jack the car up on the side you are working on the a-arm will be pulled outward, holding the shims in place while you remove the nuts. Once the nuts are off slide the bracket on and reinstall the nuts.

The nuts on my '78 were 11/16"



Note: the stiffners on the brackets make using a box end wrench difficult on some of the nuts and proximity to the radiator, fan shroud and power steering pump make installation a little more time consuming than one would expect.



Once you torque down the nuts lower the car and repeat on the other side.



Another thing to note, this bar will likely be tight fit if you have more than just a few shims on either side of the car. this is ok though as the aluminum bar is easy to trim down with a dremel and cut off wheel.

Once both brackets are installed and the nuts cinched down its a simple and easy step to install the bar itself. for best appearance first mock up the bar and try to match the amount the rod ends protruce from either end, it really shouldnt matter if one is adjusted in more than the other but a balance will look better.



All in all the install took me a little less than an hour including set up and clean up. The kit seems well designed and is easy to install. Its superior in my opinion to the weld up kit from VB&P since it works with the factory fan setup without additional fabrication, which the VB item doesnt

Seat of the pants impression is a noticable improvement in turn in and steering response, also the front end seems a bit stiffer over bumps..its really hard to say.

Well worth the time in my opinion

 

Nice write up. I think that is the first time I have seen the Speed Direct version of the spreader bar. I installed the VBP version on mine several years ago and was really impressed with the way it tightened the the front of the car up. To me it is really worth the effort.

 

Thanks for the write up. I am installing one next weekend after I install the Dewitt radiator/dual fans and the 100amp alternator

 

Anyone know the torque specs for the A-arm nuts?

 

My Haynes manual says 55 ft/lbs. I would also use new lock nuts just as you never reuse a cotter pin.

Now a question about the spreader bar operation: is it advisable to adjust it on the alignment rack to do away with some of a really thick shim pack?

 

Nice write up Eric! I really like the way this kit ends up looking like it belongs there. How much preload did you put on the bar or did you just end up with "hand tight?"

From this pic you can really see why the VB&P kit has tabs that you weld as part of the install to make sure that you have sufficient clearance. Not much room for error is there.

 

I just did my bar last week,,,, I havent really done any crazy roads with it yet but it does seem a little stif in the front now.. well see...

here is a pic..

 

I do not believe a spreader bar is intended to, or will, serve the purpose of eliminating alignment shims.

 

Think about it. If you tried to use the bar to eliminate the shim pack, you would have to shorten the bar, effectively pulling the towers together. To a great extent, you'd be doing the oposite of what the bar is intended to do, though at least the amount of flex would still be reduced.

 

I just installed the speed direct spreader bar 3 weeks ago and it has made a very big difference in the ride (stiffer), steering response, and handling ae well as the interior creaking that use to go. Keep in mind that I have spent a tremendous effort to reduce any bushing deflection in the front end and play (upper and lower poly control arm bushings and a custom blue printed/rebuilt OEM steering box) and in the rear (poly everything and competition struts with heim joints). I do have a fair number of shims on both upper control arms and the bar was a tight fit and will never be able to come out of there without my help-its very stiff and tight. I am awaiting the shark bar to install behind the front seats (should be here this week) to further stiffen the center part of the frame. My install took about 2 hours!

 

What shark bar are you getting ? ? just surious ? ?

And mine took me almost 2 hours.. instructions say 10 minutes....My A$$..LOL

 

I have the V&B spreader bar and I don't think I really noticed much of a difference.

What I really noticed was when I had the solid engine mounts in that really tightened and stiffened up the front end, very nicely

And whenever someone says it took X amount of time to do on a C3 I multiply that by 4

 

Seriously, 2 hours not 4!! Shark bar below:

http://vetteworksonline.com/

As for those that say that they did not notice much of a difference with the spreader bar, I just cannot understand that result after what I experienced.

 

While the difference may not be that noticeable to everyone (backsides vary), IMHO installing a proper spreader bar should be on everybody's Top 10 list of mods. That said, I completely agree that solid motor mounts also help reduce chassis flex up front.

In any event, it should be installed slightly pre-loaded in compression.

 

What do you mean by slightly preloaded under compression? Reason I ask is that I removed mine several years ago, and cannot find the instructions - its a VBP.

Thank you

 

With the suspension settled, you need to tighten it ~1/8" or so beyond snug. Lost them long ago, but IIRC Guldstrand's instructions suggested setting static camber up to account for this pre-load, and then tighten the bar to adjust camber back into spec. FWIW, I emailed them for a fresh copy tonight, and will post up if I've recalled incorrectly.

 

Thank you - very helpful.

 

The amount of "preload" I put in there is hard to exactly determine. As tight as I could get it by hand. However unlike the VB&P bar there are no wrench flats on the bar itself, making preload in excess of hand tight pretty much impossible.

I agree there is little room for error in the setup, in fact i wonder if slid all the way forward if it would work at all, as it looks like you could adjust it enough to hit fan blades. Still the kit itself proves a weld up system is not required, at least in so far as small blocks go. Its notable that the steeroids kit says its for small block equipped cars.

 

Buying today....

 

UPS visited yesterday mid-morning.

Determined the bar position, took it to my brother's shop to weld the tabs, repainted and installed in the afternoon.

This is the kit jb78L-82 offered up in another thread. It was just as advertised and it was a pleasure to deal with you. Thanks Jeff!