SOBE IT
October 29, 2024
THE AUTO BUILDER
Featured
A Tale of Two Tensioners
This is a story about two tensioners, one fabricated with machine tools and the second fabricated in a garage with a minimum of tools. In fact, the only power tool you will need is a drill motor, yet the finished products will be almost identical.
Your first response to fabricating something may be, “I don’t have the necessary tools; I don’t have any way to get the materials I will need.” If you have a door number so the UPS man can find you, you have everything you need. The materials list at the end of this story contains everything you will need. The rod-end bearings and lock nuts were purchased from AFCO Hot Rod Parts. The aluminum round stock and cutting tools were purchased from MSC.
FLAMIN’ HELL
It seems to more than the occasional observer that there are about five Fords that make up the heart of the super rodding and custom car culture: the ’27 T pickup; the ’32 roadster; the ’33-’34 Ford coupe; the ’40 coupe; and the ’49-’51 “Shoebox” Ford, in all of its deviations.
NO MORE POLISHING!
This is an easy-to-apply product that was designed to prevent dulling and oxidation of aluminum, retaining the polished brightness and luster.
Spotlighter
VISIONS OF Grandeur
Author
Warren Boughn
Story & Photography
Installing Specialty Power Windows’ Electric Two-Speed Wiper Kit in a ’55 GM Truck
Adding multiple-speed electric wipers in an older, classic vehicle has become a necessity, as well as a comfort convenience. Replacement wiper parts are getting increasingly harder to find. If you’re lucky enough to find them at all, you will most likely have to pay a premium. Then you’ll need to clean, inspect and rebuild them.
In the past, a solution was to use wrecking yard parts and retro fit them into our vehicles. This was great if you had good fabricating skills and the knowledge of the geometry it takes for the wiper arm travel to work correctly. However, by the time all this is done, you’ll come pretty close to making the same investment as you would by changing over to a new aftermarket kit designed for your vehicle.
Ask yourself whether the investment you have in your pride and joy is deserving of a well-operating wiper system. If so then look to the aftermarket; there are specialty kits available to fit a wide variety of trucks. Specialty Power Windows (SPW), for example, has a two-speed wiper kit, one of its universal designs that is time tested and has a great warranty. It manufactures its own parts and gives a lifetime warranty on all of its kits.
The SPW kits come complete with a 12-volt drive motor, all the necessary hardware, wiring harnesses, switches (many to choose from), cabling, bezels (many to choose from) and easy-to-understand instructions. The only thing you need to bring to the equation is your own wiper arms. SPW has them as well, but they’re an option.
To undertake this project you will need a drill motor with an array of bits, an assortment of hand tools and a die grinder. Follow along and see how Precision Street Rods & Machines installed SPW’s electric wiper kit into a 1955 Chevy truck. This kit can be installed over a weekend with no problem. TB
This is one of many kits that Specialty Power Windows offers. As you can see, it is very complete. The universal dual-wiper kit employs a cable worm-drive system much like those used in English cars of the ’50s and ’60s. The kit features a remote-mounted, two-speed motor with 300-in-lbs-stall torque, two wiper arm drive assemblies with an adjustable sweep, worm-drive cable and housing, your choice of a rocker or a rotary switch, wiring, mounting hardware and instructions.
Since we are installing a wiper kit in a 1955 Chevrolet truck that came with wipers from the factory, we won’t need to drill access holes for the wiper arm shafts. Simply put, we will remove the factory wiper arm shafts and replace them with the new ones that came in our kit. The stock bezels work perfectly with the kit. If your bezels have windshield washer tubes, they will need to be removed.
With the wiper arm assemblies in place we can begin to put the motor and the motor transmission together. The parts will be assembled in order from left to right.
The assembly starts off by installing the motor to the motor transmission housing via an adapter ring. There are three small retaining bolts with washers that secure the housing to the motor. The motor has full rotational adjustment so you can place it where it benefits you the most.
Determining the sweep angle of the wiper blades was next. This is the total angle in degrees that the wiper arm travels from its “park” position to the point of maximum sweep or travel. SPW’s wiper drive wheel has eight selections, ranging from 90 to 160 degrees. The holes are 10 degrees apart. This allows you to pick the hole that works best for you.
The drive wheel attaches to the splinted motor shaft via a nut. We will be using the 100-degree setting. The position of the drive wheel hole determines how you want the arms to respond (in-to-out or out-to-in). If it is in the position closest to the cable it will work opposite of the position farthest away, or 180 degrees apart.
With all of this behind us, we can install the transmission housing lid. It is held in place by four small machine nuts at the corners. There is a slotted hole for the cable housing to lock into. It is placed toward the end opposite the drive wheel.
15 There is a motor assembly mounting plate that comes in the kit. It attaches to the same four studs that secure the motor transmission lid to the motor transmission housing.
We will be mounting our motor assembly to the top of the firewall-to-dash support bracket. 17 & 18 We made and tack welded two angled, 14-gauge sheetmetal brackets to the motor assembly
We made and tack welded two angled, 14-gauge sheetmetal brackets to the motor assembly mounting plates.
We drilled four 1/4-inch holes and bolted the remote motor assembly to the firewall-to-dash bracket.
With everything mounted, all we need to do is make and install the cable housing between the two wiper shafts and the motor. We started by making wire templates with the bends no tighter than 3 inches, or less than a 3-inch straight section coming out of the motor assembly.
You will need access to a tubing bender, tubing cutter and 45-degree flare kit, such as the ones shown, to get the job done.
Here is a look at our cable housings after we made them. Note that we have a 3-inch section of straight at the very end. This allows the cable to be housed without protruding through the end when it’s in its maximum travel sequence.
Now that everything has been made, we can start assembling the pieces. A modest coat of wheel-bearing grease was applied to the lids and all of the moving parts, including the cabling.
The electrical was temporarily hooked up and the unit was tested.
Now that we know there isn’t any binding and we know where the “park” position is, we can go ahead and install the cable linkage. It should be parallel to the cable when it’s in the selected drive wheel hole, as shown.
This is how the cable housing connects to the wiper shafts.
This is where our switch will reside—out of sight for that clean yet accessible look. 33 The very last step is to install the wiper arms and blades.
The very last step is to install the wiper arms and blades.
ARTICLE SOURCES
Precision Street Rods & Machines
Dept. TB
19158 Roscoe Blvd.
Northridge, CA 91324
818/886-5018
Specialty Power Windows
Dept. TB
140 Industrial Park Dr.
Forsyth, GA 31029-8520
800/634-9801
