Another Hidden Wiper Approach

[esenior]

I know...I know...not another thread about hidden wipers. Just wanted to offer another approach that I don't believe has been discussed.

I also smoothed my firewall on my 69 Camaro and didn't want to mount a wiper to it. I bought the WWK-2 kit from Specialty Power Windows (http://www.specialtypowerwindows.com/) a few years ago with no idea on how I was going to mount it. At the time, I paid over $250 for it, but you can now find these kits on ebay for under $150.

My original concern was that I didn't want to mount it anywhere where a painted panel would have to be removed to access it (like under the fender). I finally decided to mount it behind the glove box in the interior. I welded threaded studs to 2 pieces of square tube, and welded them inside of the firewall to hold the motor assembly. I made a hole in the cowl (which will eventually get a grommet) for the drive tube to run through. It'll probably be a lot louder being inside, but at least the motor and even the transmission aren't visible as the drive tube tucks nicely up into the top of the cowl.

If you want to go this route, make sure you get the larger knurls (sp?) for the Camaro arms. You'll also need to use the mounts from the old transmission assembly. I can provide more information on this if anyone needs it. ---Eric

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/04/69CAMAROPT_100418_05MJPG-1.jpg

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/04/69CAMAROPT_100418_12MJPG-1.jpg

[brans72]

I kinda like the idea! Thanks for the post here. Brandon

[Conrad283]

Will it interfere with a vintage air type piece?

[esenior]

Will it interfere with a vintage air type piece?

No...plenty of room for the RH vent duct to run in front of the motor and the wiper is mounted pretty high up (much higher than the AC unit would be). The picture I posted was a bit deceiving since the camera was aimed upward. Here's a better shot showing the position of the wiper motor above the glove box.

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2010/05/69CAMAROPT_100418_08MJPG-1.jpg

[Conrad283]

Plenty of room ... Thanks for the post ... Nice placement.

[lbdz28]

I did something similar using a wiper off an Astro minivan.

[esenior]

I did something similar using a wiper off an Astro minivan.

Is the Astro van wiper cable actuated? Might be a much cheaper alternative to the SPW kit.

[Jim Nilsen]

That is a nice unit and is a little more compact in some of the dimensions than the DSE kit I used. It would leave a bit more room for a glove box than mine did.

It is a common sense place to put it if you get past the need for the glove box.

Good job and it gives another alternative for parts that can be gotten for a good savings it sounds like.

If you look you will find mine in a thread with some pics.

[esenior]

It is a common sense place to put it if you get past the need for the glove box.


Actually it doesn't impact the glove box at all as it is mounted much higher than the glove box. The Vintage Air plastic glove box fits perfect, although I built my own AC bracket to move the condenser back and to the right. I'm pretty sure that I could even squeeze in an original glove box, but not sure I'd have enough room to route the vents!

[Jim Nilsen]

Actually it doesn't impact the glove box at all as it is mounted much higher than the glove box. The Vintage Air plastic glove box fits perfect, although I built my own AC bracket to move the condenser back and to the right. I'm pretty sure that I could even squeeze in an original glove box, but not sure I'd have enough room to route the vents!

The way mine is placed and the size of the DSE motor setup I lost some space, I could have made the glovebox smaller since it is just cardboard but it would only hold gloves and a map if I was lucky

Theone setup that was shown is a ctually more campact and goes up a bit higher and will allow for everything, it actually seems like the way to go for most if they want a heater and glovebox.

The whole modification keeps getting more refined all the time and it won't be long before it becomes a kit somewhere.

[esenior]

One cool thing about the SPW kit is that the motor can be clock in a different direction than the transmission box. This allows for a wide number of mounting options.

The only negative (so far)....noisy!

[sweet motion]

How often are we in the rain anyway!!? Thanks for all the great ideas!

[dontlifttoshift]

I know this thread is old but the kits that you buy on ebay are not anywhere near the quality of the Specialty Wiper kit. As for the noise, you did grease the cable right? Burrs on the flared tubing where it goes into the transmissions will cause noise.