I would imagine that a majority of R&C readers have owned or driven a tri-year Chevy at one time or another. They've always been popular cars and, at least here in California, you were the big-man-on-campus if you owned one in high school. My high-school ride was a bright yellow '57 Chevy hardtop and I was very happy with how the car rode and handled--happy because I didn't know any better!
Since my high-school days, I've owned some really great-handling cars, so when I got a chance to drive my friend's '55 Chevy on Americruise, I was amazed at how poorly the old car handled. I was driving the car through the Rockies on the way to Denver and had to slow down to a crawl around the sweeping corners because of excessive body roll and a feeling the car would lose traction at any time. My first question to the owner was, "Did you put antisway bars on this thing?" The reply was "no," but he planned to when he got it back home.
The nice thing about tri-year Chevys is that plenty of top-quality companies are making parts for them and that includes antisway bars. During the buildup of the '57 Chevy we've been featuring, one of the chassis improvements we made was installing Performance Suspension Technologies (PST) front and rear sway bar kits. The kits come complete with all of the parts you need and easy-to-follow instructions. With careful testing, PST found the perfect bar size to stabilize the body roll without making the ride harsh. You get the nice ride characteristics of a tri-year Chevy, and the cornering ability of a new Z28. If you are in the process of building a tri-year, we suggest that you invest in a set of antisway bars. You'll be glad you did. The only rock 'n' rolling you need is what's on the radio.