'69 Passenger Wiper

[Dennis W.]

Hello all - I have had my wiper motor & pump refurbished by Steve Hackel and am closing in on completing re installation.

I researched this site and have seen the threads related to getting the washers positioned properly. The driver side is fine. The passenger side seems to be far too low compared to the wiper blade to simply bend the brass tubing, see attached photos. The arm is so close to the blade that to bend the tubing would require very sharp bends to get up & over it. I feel as though I must be missing something here. I would appreciate any advice.

Thank you.

PS - Disregard the little flecks of solder. Those will be addressed before this is complete.

[Anthony F.]

Re: '69 Passenger Wiper

Hello Dennis,

The tab needs to be able to pivot on the blade, did you solder it to the arm?

Here is a pic I found on the web:

I also checked my 72, appears that the tubing is attached to the arm with something (solder?).

[Anthony F.]

Re: '69 Passenger Wiper

For some reason I am not able to edit my post, but I meant to say that the tubing appears to be soldered to the tab, not the arm.

[Dennis W.]

Re: '69 Passenger Wiper

The tubing is (or will be) soldered to the tab, not the arm. My tabs don't pivot but are in the right position. However, they are below the top of the wiper blade as shown on the side view photo.

[Anthony F.]

Re: '69 Passenger Wiper

Dennis,

I'm not the worlds foremost Corvette expert, so maybe I'm wrong, but I believe the 69 wiper arm assembly is the same as a 72, and the only way this is going to work is if you pivot the tab over the blade (just like the picture I attached). That's the way it is on my car, and I've had it for 45 years, and the tab pivots over the blade. If I move it to your position, the tubing does not fit into the tab.

Check 'Similar Threads' below, you should see a post '1972 Passenger Side Wiper Arm'. It has a better picture showing the tab pivot. If yours is not moving, that's a problem. It could break if you try to move it. Is yours an original wiper arm? If it's a repro, maybe it's not correctly made.

[Dennis W.]

Re: '69 Passenger Wiper

Sorry about the delayed response - several business trips and it's not looking any better! Thank you for your reply, I realize this is not a hot topic for most.

It is an original wiper arm and I think I can work with the tube to get it positioned. Thanks for the photo. If you look at the side view of the two photos that I attached, the blade is ABOVE the tab that holds the tube. I could swing the tab all around and it would still be significantly BELOW the blade. THAT is the problem. I am thinking outloud here but I am beginning to wonder if the spring in the blade is worn out and allowing the blade to straighten out (not pushing down). I know the wiper rubber is very soft, although not dried out.

Two things: 1) Would you be so kind as to take a picture of the side view of your passenger wiper so I can get a perspective from the same angle. I took mine looking down from the top of the windshield down toward the engine compartment. 2) I followed the 1972 link and can't see the photos, can you? I can see the text describing what is in the photos. I can also see your top view photo just fine.

Thanks so much - Dennis

[Michael L.]

Re: '69 Passenger Wiper

Dennis,

I'm restoring my 69 and currently working on the wipers. I do not have a pic on what you are asking. I will try and get to my shop in the next day or so and take some more pics that show what you are questioning.

mike

[Anthony F.]

Re: '69 Passenger Wiper

Hello Dennis,

No problem.

I checked the photo's from the link, they are no longer accessible, some kind of Photobucket account issue ( I've been seeing that issue on other Photobucket images lately in other posts, including posts on 'Corvette Forum'). But if you do a Google Image search on 'C3 wiper arm', you will see a number of photo's showing how the tab pivots, and the position of the tubing. Here is one of them:

http://keenparts.com/news/2009/09/1969-74e-wiper-arms/

I know it doesn't seem right, but you have to pivot the tab over the blade, which then kind of forces that side of the blade down into an almost 'un-natural' position against the windshield. In my case, the rubber on the blade isn't totally flush to the windshield, but that may be because of age ( I replaced the inserts about 5 years ago ), or as you stated, maybe the spring in the blade is worn out. I never noticed that until now, I don't drive in the rain that often. Maybe someone else following this post has an opinion on that.

I'm attaching a couple of photo's of my arm & blade, I think you can see that the tab on mine is lower than the blade where it is attached to the arm (just like yours), but then it's pivoted over the blade, forcing the blade down (note: Not original passenger side tube, replaced that recently as the original broke off).

Like I said, it doesn't seem right, but it appears that's the way it was designed. Maybe it would have made more sense to run it like they did on the driver side.

[Dennis W.]

Re: '69 Passenger Wiper

Thanks, Anthony. I see what you mean and it doesn't seem "right" but does appear to be the way it is.

A couple of follow up questions. 1) Was your tab always at a ~45 degree angle to the arm or did you turn it? 2) It appears that yours is bent up slightly to go over the blade better, is it? The reason I ask these questions is that my tab is pretty much in line with the arm and I am hesitant to turn it (original arm) or bend it! I will but will have to be careful.

Thanks very much for spending time on this. Dennis

[Anthony F.]

Re: '69 Passenger Wiper

Hello Dennis,

Answers to your questions:

1. My tab was always at approximately 45 degrees. Before I soldered on the new tube, it moved freely.

2. As far as I know, the tab always had a slight bend in order to clear the blade.

I thought about your earlier comment regarding the spring being old and perhaps affecting the way the blade sits ( the blade was not flush against the windshield on mine ). I believe you and I have both have the original blades. I replaced mine with a set ordered from Ecklers. They are supposedly 'original', but they actually aren't exactly identical to the 'factory' blade. The Ecklers blade is slightly thinner and lower. They actually work perfectly, and the blade is now flush to the windshield. Also, the tab does not need a bend to clear the blade.

My thoughts:

1. You can try and search for a blade that exactly matches the original, I searched numerous vendors (including dr rebuild), they all seem to only carry the type I got from Ecklers. Maybe you will have better luck, and maybe one with a fresh spring will sit differently and not require a bend in the tab.

2. If you want something that looks close to original, and does not require a bend in the tab, order the supposedly 'original type' that seems to be the one that the vendors are carrying.

Maybe you know someone locally that has a 69 through 72 (possibly up to 74) so you can see their setup.

Good luck!

[Anthony F.]

Re: '69 Passenger Wiper

Quick update: I did some more searching, ACDelco 89000993 looks just like the original blade. It's available from numerous non-Corvette specific vendors ( Advance Auto, Amazon, Summit Racing, Walmart ), about $10. If you decide to try them, I'd be curious to know how they worked on your car.

[Dennis W.]

Re: '69 Passenger Wiper

Thanks Anthony! I am 98% sure about my wiper arms, but not the blades. You will probably have to magnify the photo of my driver side wiper but does yours look like it or the one from Doc Rebuild below that? (The blade supports are different.)

And last question (I hope): With the your new blades, do I understand that the tab doesn't ride on the blade?

Thanks so much, Anthony, I really appreciate your time. Let me know if I can ever help you. Dennis

[Anthony F.]

Re: '69 Passenger Wiper

Hi Dennis,

Here are some quick answers:

The Doc Rebuild blade in the pic doesn't look correct at all.

The using the Eckler's blade, there is no need to bend the tab, it slides over the blade and doesn't touch it ( at least on mine ).

I'll try to follow-up with more detail.

T

[Dennis W.]

Re: '69 Passenger Wiper

Good to know. Thanks, Tony.