Wiper Pivot Assembly

I used an aftermarket wiper system from the hot rod market which has worked well:

I was asked about the wiper system so I thought I would post it here for everyone to see.

I used a wiper system from this company:

http://www.spwkits.com/products.php?c=2

I also used their system on my MGB and have been quite happy with it. One reason I did so is because electric motors are simply better than they were 45 years ago.

I made a plate to mount the wipper motor. I have a drawing but I cannot remember if it was the final drawing. Seems like I moved it a little but it is a starting point for reference. There is a 10 degree bend in it:

http://www.rc-tech.net/cars2/p.../Wipper%20Mount2.jpg

Notice the drawing has a 5" square box. If you can print it and the box comes out 5" square you should be in correct size. Keep in mind though something tells me I changed or shifted something but that was 5 years ago.

This is a photo of the assembly mounted:



A simple pulley was used to bend the tubing:



The direction and stroke easily adjusted with pulley and arm setting:



For mounting I used the chrome bezels from the MG. There is a chrome bezel on each side and the desired angle was sanded into the base:



There are easily available at places like:

http://www.victoriabritish.com...g/full.aspx?Page=152

Although this is on the MGB this is how the back side looked with the chrome bezel used to match the angle on the back side too:



BTW the control has different speeds and if you push the wiper button it commands the washer pump (may depend on what model you get).

I bought from these guys. Complete with tubes, wiper motor, boxes and the inner cable was 169,50£ incl shipping to DK.

It is 100% as OE. However if you order a motor you need to get the correct gear degree, which I unfortunately dont remember. You can most likely do a search and find it.


http://www.s-v-c.co.uk/product/14w-wiper-wheelboxes/

Thanks guys! Helpful information.

I just wanted to confirm shaft length so it will sit high enough through the grills to mount the factory wiper arms (which I have) and the diameter.

Regarding the wiper motor gear, I was told the Pantera used 95 degrees.

Tim its not the shaft length that decides the height. It is the two spacers/bushings which by the way comes with this gear in the correct height and angle.

That makes sense goodroc.

Here are the parts I found in the US.

Wiper Pivot

They appear to look the same as from S-V-C (in UK) but the gear that drives the wiper spline has 22 teeth vs. 32 & 40 teeth. I believe this would control the speed of the wiper. Anyway I may just buy these and see what happens.

ok, why dont you just get the correct ones (from the UK) if I may ask?

Great information.

I have a 73 and want to move my wipers to the 74, passenger side park position.

I may need to make a longer tube to the passenger side pivot.

What did you make your tube out of, or did you just buy it that way?

It almost looks like "electricians conduit"?

Doug I got the tubes from those guys also. They just needed to be cut and flared to fit and I used obviously the old ones as templates. It looks nice, works flawless combined with my Lucas stalk and VW.99 timed wiper relay for intermittent wiping and it will probably outlast me.

I dont understand why you want to move the parking tho the right? its quite involved and there is no benefit. You need other grills or modify the ones you have.

quote:

Originally posted by goodroc:
I dont understand why you want to move the parking tho the right? its quite involved and there is no benefit. You need other grills or modify the ones you have.

It's a simple answer really. 1) I want the wipers on the car 2) Having the blades in my face bugs me.

I just need to find another set of cowl louvres to modify so I can keep the original set in case I have to sell it before I die. I've kept all of the original parts I changed.

I had a real 74 grill here and the difference is that there are two castings for the wiper shafts.

The driver park side was undrilled.

I don't intend to drive in the rail but I'd like to be prepared so I can take the car on longer drives.

quote:

Originally posted by PanteraDoug:
2) Having the blades in my face bugs me.

I suppose you mean "the water on the windshield in front of me" bugs me? Cause the wiper blades will be in your face no matter which side they park?

There is a benefit in the arc of travel, if they park on the right the wiper is parallel to the left had side of the windshield in its travel. With left park the arc of travel is right in front of your vision.

For a LHD car they really should park on the right, but also getting them to park low enough on the windshield and not ride up due to wind resistance is a challenge. Many folks carry them in the front trunk to mount only when required.

Julian

Julian I agree and I had the exact same thought before I actually drove in heavy rain with it. There is an area on the upper left side that is not wiped when its standard 73. But the whole right side (upper and lower) is wiped and that seems to be an advantage. Not much to look for in the upper left corner anyway as opposed to the right side were it is nice to have a clean view in the traffic. The trouble with them riding up in the wind becomes less when all the parts are new and there is no slack. If they are worn and are adjusted to park/return low on a dry windshield the will slam hard onto the trim/weatherstrip on a wet windshield.

With parking in front of the driver. They are in your face. When in use it doesn't matter.

Driving at speed, the air flow at park moves them up in the middle of the glass and it makes them twitchy.

I'm not sure why the 74 US cars are the only left hand park wipers but for me that is the preferred park location.

It would be nice to have an "intermittent" switch as well.

I'm going to repaint the car soon, so this is the time for me to be gathering parts.


This is the back of the '74 grill. It has the right hand park pivot hole plugged.

It had been "repaired" with crazy glue which makes it useless if one is going to use the original mounting method. It takes a good deal of force to install them in those hard white nylon nuts and this one would just break again upon installation.

I'm not sure that my 73 grills look like this underneath? I don't remember? If they have casting "plugs" for both locations, then all I need to do is drill the unused side and plug the other.

They are so difficult to get off without chipping the cowl paint and have such a high risk of breaking off the mounting studs that I don't want to screw with them until I have another set.

Apparently the late model part uses counter sunk screws instead of the blind studs. I think that is a much better mounting method.

As a matter of fact I'm thinking of cutting off the studs, drilling through and countersinking the screws, with the "new" set that is?

I suppose everything is severely worn out if they can move up on the middle of your window? I found a random photo of my car and you see the location of the wiper. We drove "relatively" fast on that trip (maybe up to 160km/h) and that is about how much they move up.

Anyway if you want to move them just consider what I wrote concerning clear view to the right. DeTomaso must after all have had a reason to park them on the left? To my knowledge it was some US-DOT rule in 74? Later GT5, GT5-S, SI´s and all european etc. still have them parking left to my knowledge.

Concerning the grills I drilled the 8 holes slightly larger and used small standard rubber grommets in stead of those horrible hard plastic ones. I can pull it off very slowly one millimeter at each stud at the time if I have to. I use just an allen key to pull on the underside. Very simple.

All understood. Your picture shows the exact issue that I have with driver side parking.

My floorpans are lowered 2". My line of sight is down the hood.

The wipers are directly in the line of sight.

You might notice the difference more if you drove your car for a while without any wipers or obstruction of view?

For me, the wipers will just be there for essentially "a rain emergency".

Whether or not they cover two inches of the lower windshield is not really an issue for me.

Thanks for your input. I appreciate it.

With my classic or older cars...I try not to get them in the rain. They will last for ever if you don't get them wet.......It doesn't mean my plan is perfect. It's why I keep my wipers in my trunk.

On this day I wish I had the foresight to get the convertible top out of the trunk. Ironically I was dry inside the cab until I had to stop for construction. Fortunately they realized my predicament and waved me through routing at me as I went by!

quote:

Originally posted by comp2:
With my classic or older cars...I try not to get them in the rain. They will last for ever if you don't get them wet.......It doesn't mean my plan is perfect. It's why I keep my wipers in my trunk.

On this day I wish I had the foresight to get the convertible top out of the trunk. Ironically I was dry inside the cab until I had to stop for construction. Fortunately they realized my predicament and waved me through routing at me as I went by!

You need a co-pilot. You both go over the checklist. Roof is on that list. Roof? Yes, roof.

quote:

Originally posted by PanteraDoug:

quote:

Originally posted by comp2:
With my classic or older cars...I try not to get them in the rain. They will last for ever if you don't get them wet.......It doesn't mean my plan is perfect. It's why I keep my wipers in my trunk.

On this day I wish I had the foresight to get the convertible top out of the trunk. Ironically I was dry inside the cab until I had to stop for construction. Fortunately they realized my predicament and waved me through routing at me as I went by!

You need a co-pilot. You both go over the checklist. Roof is on that list. Roof? Yes, roof.

I am sorry sir but "We don't need no stink'n checklist!" After all, it'll all dry tomorrow!

maybe I am just deform and have an incredible long upper body. I have honestly never noticed those wipers being in the way after +20.000 km

Perhaps it could also help with a small pillow?

btw a little rain does not hurt a classic car if it is put back in a dry/heated garage where it lives 98% of its life.

What makes is rust is continued humidity/condensation in an un-heated garage on our latitude and/or leaving it parked outside. And then of course never drive in the winter where the roads are salty

Well, I'm very small and have difficulty seeing over the steering wheel.

A couple of owners have been sufficiently annoyed by the stock wipers to modify their Panteras. The first mounted a single central mount wiper, similar to racing cars. He said it was the single biggest most messy mod he'd ever attempted. Incidently, he owned a tool-and-die shop at the time. Ultimately successful but the cowl is of such thin steel, he got panel-flex that required significant reinforcement and several other things.

The other Pantera was seen at the 2009 Reno Fun Rally; the entire windshield, cowl and hood (and maybe the rear of both front fenders) were reworked to produce modern looking 'hidden' wipers. Looked beautiful but I was scared to ask what the bodywork cost! I think Wilkinson's shop was involved. I've never personally been that annoyed by a design feature to spend that much money or effort to change it!

quote:

Originally posted by Bosswrench:
A couple of owners have been sufficiently annoyed by the stock wipers to modify their Panteras. The first mounted a single central mount wiper, similar to racing cars. He said it was the single biggest most messy mod he'd ever attempted. Incidently, he owned a tool-and-die shop at the time. Ultimately successful but the cowl is of such thin steel, he got panel-flex that required significant reinforcement and several other things.

The other Pantera was seen at the 2009 Reno Fun Rally; the entire windshield, cowl and hood (and maybe the rear of both front fenders) were reworked to produce modern looking 'hidden' wipers. Looked beautiful but I was scared to ask what the bodywork cost! I think Wilkinson's shop was involved. I've never personally been that annoyed by a design feature to spend that much money or effort to change it!

The bulkhead bubble is worse and more complicated to do.
The wipers are much simpler by comparison.
I had the grills out before without breaking anything.
I dont rember how though and I'm concerned that was just blind luck?

Getting back to the thread the wheel boxes are Triumph TR6 ones,

still available new here in the UK so I would imagine the Roadster Factory in the USA will hold new stock also.

hope this helps.

quote:

Originally posted by Peter Fenlon:
Getting back to the thread the wheel boxes are Triumph TR6 ones,

still available new here in the UK so I would imagine the Roadster Factory in the USA will hold new stock also.

hope this helps.

http://www.mossmotors.com/Shop...ateIndexID=32923#top

quote:

Originally posted by goodroc:
ok, why dont you just get the correct ones (from the UK) if I may ask?

Thanks goodroc for the website. I emailed them plan to order a complete wiper assembly kit. They asked me to provide the length of each tube that connects between the motor and each wheelbox. Can you tell me the approximate length? Thanks for the help!

quote:

Originally posted by Peter Fenlon:
Getting back to the thread the wheel boxes are Triumph TR6 ones,

still available new here in the UK so I would imagine the Roadster Factory in the USA will hold new stock also.

hope this helps.

Thank you Peter. I'll check them out too.

Tim if you ask for 2 pieces of 2 feet you will have more than enough to cut from.

Thanks!