These are both quotes from Mean69 from a differnet site, sorta confirms whats already been said, I still say you try out some differnet bushings in the rear shackle but this is what I found;
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A Panhard bar, or Watt's link, is very commonly used with the vintage race cars, and is pretty effective, especially if rubber type bushings are used on the leafs. You won't get any cross talk, or not appreciably, between the vertical motion of the leafs with regard to the PHB. There is a very slight lateral motion as a function of bump with the PHB that can be minimized with a suitably long bar (over 36" is probably fine for a limited amount of vertical travel, but make it as long as you can). In addition, the bar should be parallel to the ground at ride height, and most importantly, the roll center of the PHB should be as close as possible to the roll center height as determined by the leaf springs, or you will get some form of battle/bind = not desireable. The roll center height of a leaf setup, I am 95% certain, is defined by drawing a line through the front and rear leaf bushings (side view). Where this line intersects the axle, vertically, is your RRCH from the leaf standpoint.
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I have seen a lot of debate over this for the past several years, and the conclusion I have to draw from all that I have seen is that your car will probably run faster using one, than it will without using one. Virtually ALL of the early Trans Am cars, and a darned good amount of the early B Production cars I have seen that use leafs either use a Panhard, or Watt's to futher locate the axle assembly. The A-sedan Camaro in my shop right now has a Watt's/leaf setup. There must be a reason for it!
The biggest debate comes in the form of defining the roll center. The leaf springs have one, and there would be a second one defined by the PHB/Watt's. If the two aren't matched (and this is nearly impossible in bump/droop), there will be some form of associated bind between the two. One of those things that you look at and scratch your head, until you see a car on track with one that performs really well (or in the case of the vintage races down here two weeks ago "dozens" of them working well).
If it is just a street driven car, I wouldn't bother, but I would go with a set of the available delrin type bushings. If the car is going to spend a good amount of time on the road course, I'd recommend looking into it a bit further. Though not offered as a product, it would be pretty easy to adapt the Watt's we are using on our three link kit for leaf's. There is a commercially available PHB, and Watt's for early Mustangs (Maier Racing, and Fays II, respectively).
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