Re: [Amc-list] Electric Windshield Wiper Motor for Americans - NOT

[Tom Jennings <tomj@xxxxxxx>]

On Fri, 1 Feb 2008, Frank Swygert wrote:

> You're almost stuck with vacuum wipers. The early American
> wipers go back and forth opposite each other (both go out away
> from each other, then in toward each other), not both back
> and forth together. That makes things difficult!

It also makes them very cool :-)

Vacuum wipers are superior in every way to electric ASSUMING
the motor is OK and the booster pump works. (Big ASS U ME 40
years later.) Of course if you're doing performance mods and
ditching the fuel pump (not likely with a pre-1964 American)
all bets are off.

When they are in good shape, they're infinitely variable,
absolutely silent, smoothly adjustable, and don't slow down at
all going up hills.  I've got a manifold vacuum guage, with
zero vacuum you wouldn't notice the slow down if you weren't
measuring it.

You'll have to rebuild the fuel pump eventually, and if you have
a usable core (eg. you're driving it) it's only an incremental
cost increase.

My American came with a spare fuel pump in the trunk; I
rebuilt it and installed that. I got the kit from some place in
Mass. Cost about $60 including shipping. (I saved the original,
bought another kit, am rebuilding that, and will keep it in
the car along with a water pump -- the two things that could
fail on-road and be a big PITA).

Peter Stathes rebuilds them for $100.

Wiper motors, you can easily disassemble it, and unless it's
trashed usually cleaning and lubrication makes them like-new,
and even if the sliding seal is worn, clean+lube will give you
a year or so.


Especially these days, all the odd little "old car" things I used
to swap out without hesitating, I now cherish as things that make
the car unique and fun to drive -- as long as they all work :-)

(The two-tube, two-transistor 1962 radio is one of those
things; it has to warm up! -- not even most adults remember
tube radios! -- and reception is actually OK now that I got it
all aligned and tweaked up.)
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