Terry Stellman asked about "low-buck" wiper motors for AD trucks. I have a
2-speed electric motor from a '70's VW bug in my '53 . The knurled stem
where the VW driver's wiper arm was mounted becomes the "driver" of the new
system. Take the little two-sided lever from your old vacuum motor, round
out the hole in the middle so it can slip into the knurled stem mentioned
before, secure it with the nut that kept the VW wiper arm in place. The
only "specialty" tool I remember needing was a hacksaw to cut the "passenger
side" of the VW wiper frame off, and also to cut a flat plate with two
little "dog-ears" and a hole in the middle, to mount the new system where
the old vacuum motor went. I hung the electric motor end of this
arrangement with two metal straps that attach to the sheetmetal screws that
hold the windshield frame in place. One drawback; most of the '70's VW bugs
had the wiper switch in a lever off the column, so you need to get a two
speed dash switch from an earlier bug, maybe late 60's, with a little
encouragement it fits in the original spot on the truck. In combining the
later motor with the earlier switch I lost the "self-parking" feature, but
if you get all the parts from the late '60's bug you could maintain the
self-parking feature and then you could add a JC Withney wiper delay for a
few more bucks.
I made this change in my truck over four years and have not had a problem.
If I did, there are still plenty of bugs in the salvage yards! Good luck.
Carlos Madero
'53 3100
Memphis
oletrucks is devoted to Chevy and GM trucks built between 1941 and 1959
|