Swarr Auto Swarr Bar - Tech Inspection

For more years than we can remember, welding an 8.8 rearend's axle tubes directly to its differential housing has been the trick to keeping the rear braced and void of flexing under drag-strip launches or other hard acceleration. The practice has certainly become more popular throughout the years, as horsepower and torque levels have increased thanks to the advancement of bolt-on performance parts for post-'86 V-8-powered 'Stangs.

We believe in the theory that power has a way of finding weak links in a driveline. While transmissions, driveshafts, and axles are all vulnerable, an 8.8 rear's axle tubes sometimes draw the short straw among other driveline components when the combination of big power and heavy-duty torque are imposed on the rear as a 'Stang digs in and leaves the starting line. The tubes flex, twist, and ultimately lead to catastrophic failure that can set you back a nice chunk of change.

The aforementioned welded-tubes procedure is easy enough to do yourself if you have welding skills. You can also have it done by a professional, especially when swapping gears or building a new rearend.

For those 'Stangbangers who want the security of welded tubes without the welding, Swarr Auto's Swarr Bar is a bolt-on, mild-steel alternative that may be exactly what your street/strip 'Stang needs.

We decided to put a Swarr Bar through the ultimate real-world test. We wanted to see how simple or difficult it is to install at the track, and make runs with and without the brace to determine whether the bar provides any improvement in 60-foot e.t. and seat-of-the-pants feel, among other things.

Erik Brill's '87 LX is our test ride. The car is clean with the rare Smoke Gray paint and blown with a Vortech T-Trim. It's also street-driven-there's a baby seat on the passenger side for his daughter when Erik cruises the streets of Newbury Park, California.

Read on for photos and info about the install and details of how Erik's Pony performed with and without a Swarr Bar bolted to the 'Stang's 8.8.

This junction between the axle tubes and differential housing is one of the biggest points of resistance in a 'Stang's 8.8 rear, as the tubes are only welded on the inside. Welding around the circumference of this area is a common practice that's aimed at preventing axle tubes from binding and twisting as power hits the pavement. A Swarr Bar provides the same type of support and security without welding. It's also completely removable.

A good set of jackstands is a must for any install operation that requires lifting the front or rear of a Mustang with a jack. After blocking the front wheels, the 'Stang is jacked up by the differential and Erik Brill places stands at solid points on the chassis, forward of the rear wheels.

The brace is mock-fit first, with the plates and hardware installed but only secured to a snug tightness. That establishes a balanced alignment in relation to the differential housing. Some side-to-side movement will probably be necessary, as the goal is sufficient space in each axle-tube-to-housing gusset plate to drill holes for the Swarr Bar's mounting-tab hardware.

After drilling a small pilot hole, we stepped up to a 251/464-inch drill bit to bore through both gusset plates. If you've aligned the bar properly, there should be a significant amount of gusset-plate material around your holes. If they fall too close to the edge of the plates, Eric Swarr recommends you remove your 8.8 and have it checked for straightness.

Our testing consisted of three non-Swarr Bar passes and another three laps with the bar bolted in place.

It was a smoldering day at California Dragway and traction wasn't optimal, so we tried to keep launch-affecting variables such as tire pressure as consistent as possible.

Once Erik completed three passes without the bar, we bolted everything in place and went back at it. The MIG-welded Swarr Bar looks stout attached to this 8.8. Our bolt-on version is powdercoated in high-gloss black. A weld-on Swarr Bar ($109) is also available, but it doesn't include coating.

Our three-and-three test session at the PSCA's West Coast Shootout showed that the Swarr Bar has an effect on a Mustang's launch characteristics. Erik's three-pass average was 1.58 in the first 60 feet of the track without the bar. After installing the brace, the average dropped to 1.55. When you consider the brutal August heat on test day and a track that wasn't giving optimum hook, to pick up even 0.03 in the 60-foot is a good improvement and an indicator that there's more to come for Erik's 'Stang. "That new Swarr Bar works well," Erik says. "The launches are more solid. At first I thought something was wrong since the launch was uneventful compared to usual. The car is a lot smoother downtrack, too. I did heat up my clutch badly for the last three passes, but the 60-foot dropped by 0.03, so I'm happy."