Hi Scout,
Electric vs. vacuum wipers depends on how much rain, how hilly the terrain is, and how often you have to drive in the rain.
If are a purist, go vacuum and there is no discussion, so don't waste time reading the rest of this.
However, if you want to drive in the rain and also be able to see out, go electric.
I had quite a number of different stovebolt 6's when I lived in Pittsburgh, PA (rain + hills)and hated every them. (The wipers, not the stovebolts 'cause I was/am a Chevy Man).
Those were the early days when electric wipers were either unavailable or too expensive for me to convert. (Student + wife + 2 kids = Poverty)
So, when you went up a hill with the throttle floored (Hi gear & you didn't want to shift down to 2nd), the wipers would stop totally and you would have to let up the throttle for a second to get 1 wipe so you could sort of see again.
On the last stovebolt equipped with vacuum wipers I owned in that era, I replaced the wiper motor with a new one and changed the fuel pump to one with vacuum assist and re-plumbed the vacuum system to eliminate all leaks.
Total performance dissapointment, however, I have to admit that, THEN the wipers would crawl along instead of stopping altogether when the throttle was floored. Going up a hill, they still didn't operate fast enough to do any good, and I still had to lift the throttle up to get 1 wipe to see. They moved so slow that you couldn't tell which side of the blade was just wiped. (Also, the worst part was trying to justify the conversion expense to the afore mentioned poverty stricken wife.)
Therefore, my conclusion is;
1. (Vacuum wipers + rain + hills) = Can't see out the windshield (No Joy)
2. (Vacuum wipers + vacuum assist fuel pump + rain + hills) = Still can't see out the windshield, (Worse than No Joy 'cause you spent extra money).
3. (Electic wipers + rain) = See out the winshield (Joy)
My 2 cents
52 Ted
