I'm certainly not a chassis engineer.. however the 1-1/8th" front bar is a considerable jump up from stock. It's my understanding that going really heavy on the front only, can cause the car to tend towards more understeer ( or plowing if that's easier to understand) So, if going that heavy, the rear upgrade would likely be recommended, to balnce it out some.  Also, a very heavy front bar puts more loading into the front chassis.. As for the T. Bird steering arms change, if the car happens to have manual steering, (many probably don't) it will likely make the steering heavier..      


Paul

Sway bars, Sometime in the distant past I bought sway bars, front and rear for my 55Tbird. They were made by Hellwig
and if I remember correctly sold by JC Whitney. I don`t recall the price but it was not that expensive. Together
with a new front end total rebuild, gas shocks and re ached rear leaf springs there was an order of magnitude
improvement in the cars handling. Firm but not harsh. Pete 

CORRECTION.  Carl and Ted have corrected the error I made earlier in this thread.  The '55 station wagon had the larger front sway bar that I used back in 1966.  I stand by the '54 Ford wagons having 9 leaf rear springs (!) and the '56 - '57 Thunderbird front wheel backing plate spindles being interchangeable with the '54, '55, and '56 passenger cars as a way to improve the steering ratio.  I have not done that myself, but it was reported in the Q&A section of Hot Rod in the '60s and I had a friend do it on his '56 in the '70s and he was pleased with the difference.  My understanding is that the '55 'Bird spindles are not the same as the '56-'57 'Bird spindles.  Where's a parts book when you want it?

Thanks to Carl and Ted for coming in on this thread.  All of us try to be accurate with what we report, I slipped on this one.  Remembering things seems to be getting a bit harder for me with age.  Remembering things incorrectly can cause others frustration and problems.  I don't mean to do that!  I've greatly appreciated all of the helpful and accurate information I've gathered from this site since becoming a member.

Regards,
Charlie 


NoShortcuts
a.k.a. Charlie Brown
near Syracuse, New York

I have one off of a '56 wagon that I ran on my T bird for some time. I replaced it with a heavier after market bar. Wagon was bigger than my Bird. Will sell it reasonable if you are interested. Not sure what shipping would be. Will have to measure it to verify diamater.

The Aftermarket Ones from Concours are 1 1/8 Front and 1" rear.

  

Ted is correct ,the 55 wagon bar is 7/8" and the car is 3/4"  Carl

I put the ’55 wagon sway bar on my ’55 Customline and it was larger in diameter than the car piece.  This was done in preparing the car for the Big Bend Open Road Race about three years ago.  The wagon sway bar that I used measures 7/8” diameter and while I don’t have the original sway bar here anymore, I believe it was ¾”.  Carl can perhaps verify the car sway bar diameter?.

Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)

  The 55 station wagon was larger diameter than the 55,56 cars and the 56 station wagons had the smaller diameter sway bar also.I think the 55 wagon bar is 1" diameter but I will measure one tomorrow to make sure  Carl

Concours Parts & Accessories also sells the Bars. As a Set $449.00.

  

Bird and passenger car bars are different.. Interesting about steering arms  Likely the bird's are a bit shorter