[DeTomaso] Windshield wiper systems- please help!

[MikeLDrew at aol.com]

In a message dated 9/3/12 13 36 53, coreyjprice at gmail.com writes:


> I talked to Steve Wilkinson about my windshield wiper/grills near the 
> hood.  One of them is broken and I need a replacement.  However, my car is a 
> conglomerated mess of parts from a '74 and my '71 car, and he said it's 
> worse than that- there are four different grill styles.
> 
>>>The Ford part book lists three (for each side).   Outer, screw type, 
outer, pin type, and outer, pin type, RH park (from 5900)


> > I understand that the early cars had windshield wipers that park on the 
> driver's side, and later cars had wipers that park on the passenger's 
> side.  Also, the wiper arms are different- it appears that I have the later 
> version since there's a long and a short one, and they will only park on the 
> passenger's side. 
> 
>>>If you already have the RH park wipers then you might want to go with a 
RH park system.   On the other hand, the RH park system is a bit ugly.   It 
would probably be cheaper to buy LH park arms, especially since the RH park 
arms are VERY rare and valuable--you should be able to get a noticable 
trade-in for them.   Larry Stock has tooled up to perfectly reproduce the LH park 
arms, as they are rare and expensive elsewhere.   So all other things being 
equal, I'd probably start there.
> 
> >Long story short, I have a windshield wiper system that parks on the 
> passenger's side, openings in the chassis and grills for the style that parks 
> on the driver's side, and no idea what I want to do. 
> 
>>>It would be cheaper and easier to rig up a LH park system at this point, 
especially since your car originally came that way.


> >Steve said to send him my parts, let him look it over, then make the 
> call as to what to do.  I can't just replace one grill if I want a complete 
> system, and the grills are $300 each from Steve.  Steve said the motor & 
> cable can park the wipers on either side if you do something to the gears 
> inside and that it's no big deal.
> 
>>>That's very true.   Bill Taylor has a how-to he can send you that shows 
how to open the gearbox up and flip it over to turn a RH park system into a 
LH park system.   The thing is, you have a mish-mash of parts, so how do you 
know that you don't already have a LH park motor/gearbox?

As I said, I'd just set up a LH park system, and see about trading your 
rare and expensive RH arms for the slightly less rare and less expensive LH 
arms.   If a vendor won't trade straight across, at least you should get a 
substantial price break on the purchase of LH arms with your RH arms as a 
partial trade-in.

Good luck!

Mike