Hello all, I just bought and temporarily installed a manual (hand) windshield wiper assembly onto my 1923 touring/pickup. I used the clamp-on mount so that I didn't have to drill a hole in my windshield frame. The wiper is cute, but after mounting it it seems somewhat clunky and using it would be more trouble than it's worth. Plus, the thing wants to hang down right in my field of view, I suppose I could rig up some wire or string from the rear view mirror to hold it up. Does anybody have any pictures of their clever installation of this accessory that would make it more secure and practical? For now I've removed it and just plan to drive the T in good weather.
Use Rain-X to treat the windshield and you won't need a wiper. I have driven in heavy rain with no issues after treating with Rain-X.
Be_Zero_Be
I haves manual wiper in my 42 Ford GPWs, and they work great, they need to be adjusted so they put pressure on the glass so they will work best, and this makes the wiper have some resistance to movement, so it will stay up and out of the way.
Best
Gus
I decided to take another crack at mounting the manual wiper. The pivot shaft is a very loose fit in the holes of the clamp bracket, so I decided it needed a spring to help hold it steady. I pulled out the bag of springs that I bought decades ago:
and picked out the small compression spring shown:
It had to be pretty short so that it wouldn't coil bind in the space available. Then I remounted the wiper assembly and made a hook out of a coat hanger to hold the handle up when the wiper is parked. I like the look, we'll see how well it all holds together when I drive the car.
Can't say it's original since they were an accessory but it was original to my 25 Touring; The inside wiper arm has a soft rubber wheel that keeps pressure on the glass and thus the wiper blade. The wheel is not too soft now and the blade rubber is gone but it's clear about the intent.
Your blade is too long on top. I would start by trimming about an inch off the top. See if that lets it rotate more in line to the top of the frame. As it is now it's hitting and pushing up your upper seal and riding on the frame without making much of a sweep.
Will do, that will also allow me to shorten the coat hanger parking loop so that the wiper will park higher up out of my line of sight, thanks!
I removed the wiper and cut 1 inch off the top of the blade, it no longer hits the windshield frame. I decided to leave the length of my coat hanger parking hook the same, as it holds the wiper high enough to be out of the way.
On to the next project!
A clear sweep to victory!
I have a light spring that attaches from the mirror to the wiper. It allows me to wipe the window (with some resistance from the spring) but I can let it go and it returns to it's 'parked position'. No hook required!
Hmmm, I like that idea, I'll dig into my bag of springs and see if I can find one that will work, thanks!
A rubber band works too. John
Nevin, can you post a picture of your spring set-up? I couldn't find a spring in my bag that was light enough to allow full swing of the wiper, yet strong enough to hold it up in the parked position.
I have a bag of rubber bands, I'll dig through that as well.
Thanks again for your help.
Ken: I can't figure out what the rubber wheel is you mentioned.
Ken, I'd like to see a picture of that setup also if you can, it sounds like a neat way to maintain alignment and pressure on the wiper blade.
It sounds like a rubber donut type washer might work there.
Bob