When I bought my 51, I got a box of wiper parts. I was missing linkage and blades so I ordered them new. In my box, I have an old vacuum motor and a new never installed wiper motor (with crappy instructions).
I think I want to go with the electric motor and not have to deal with the vacuum wiper motor.
I have a manual choke and a manual throttle adjust cable in the dash and 12V.
Can anyone tell me if this wiper motor is going to work? It looks too big and it obstructs the choke cable and hits the cowl vent when I test fit it. I'm thinking the previous owner ordered a motor that isn't going to work. The bracket in my dash looks nothing like the bracket listed in the assembly manual (sec 1 sheet 13.00) either. My bracket does look like the one in the instruction sheet though.
Yep, a new electric wiper motor will fit, but it's real close. Your choke cable is going to rub it slightly, but not enough for any issues. I don't remember the cowl vent being an issue though.
I just finished a complete restore on a 51 3100, bought an new electric wiper motor from one of the vendors we all use (won't say who since it has stopped working). Although I installed mine before anything else went in under the dash, so I had room and could see everything. I'm dreading taking this one out.....cause the truck got finished....and it ain't empty under the dash anymore.
What you're pictures show looks like what came with mine.
I bought the 6/12-volt motor from LMC quite a while ago. Two problems as I remember.
First, I had to use one of those hot wire ceramic resistors to clam the thing down when I was running at 6-volts. I don't remember a switch or resistor on the motor itself.
Once I got it going, the arm coordination seemed whacky. I laid with my head under the dash for a long time and figured that I had to lengthen an arm a bit. The 2nd picture shows the result. See the small gap in the original arm? I never did get 2 speeds, though.
Warning: All this is from a feeble memory!
Last edited by Wally / Montana; 05/30/20199:45 PM.
34 Years. Now with a '61 261, 848 head, Rochester Monojet carb, SM420 4-speed, 4.10 rear, dual reservoir MC, Bendix up front, 235/85R16 tires, 12-volt w/alternator, electric wipers and a modern radio in the glove box.
I have one, they are made by a company called Newport. They take a bit of dialing in, I hid the switch under the dash, it looks a bit off on a mostly original dash.
I got mine from the first place you suggested. It worked fine for a little while, and then slowed down, and slowed down, and slowed down, until finally it didn't work at all. You can still hear the motor trying, but the wipers don't move. All the linkage is still correct and all, motor just gave up.
I have never run into anything but problems when trying to install replacement electric wiper motor assemblies.
It gets even more complicated if you have an original radio installed & even more complicated if you have an original heater & you have to contend with defroster vents & defroster hoses under the dash.
Nothin' beats an original NOS vacuum wiper motor when it comes to compatibility, ease of installation & reliability.
I got mine from the first place you suggested. It worked fine for a little while, and then slowed down, and slowed down, and slowed down, until finally it didn't work at all. You can still hear the motor trying, but the wipers don't move. All the linkage is still correct and all, motor just gave up.
Stupid question. Did you moisten the glass with water while running the wiper motor? Here is what I have run into with wipers on these trucks. They don't work on dry glass, and probably didn't when they came off the assembly line. Add to that the fact that the reproduction wiper arms have springs in them which are too strong for this application, adding too much friction. They likely use springs from more modern vehicles, I'm guessing. Carl
1952 5-window - return to "as built" condition | 1950 3100 with a 235 and a T-5 transmission
How about it quit working, going down the road, while it was raining. Yea........
I went with Anco brand arms and blades.....much, much better quality that what the vendors sell. (Originally I bought a couple of arms and blades from one of the vendors...very cheap and flimsy...so they went to the scrap box).
I can pop the arms out, off the windshield so there is no contact with the glass, and they still don't wipe. I can hear the motor trying, but it is slow and labored. Supposed to rain this weekend, so my project is to take this one out. Fun times.......................
I agree with Mother.Trucker. Nothing beats the original installed parts. I recently went thru the same decision. I had an original vacuum motor, but it didn’t work. After reading about so many electric motor wiper installations and the interference problems many have faced I decided to have my original vacuum motor rebuilt by Ficken Wiper Service. The turn around time was just over a week and installed flawlessly. The wiper motor is very strong and operates perfectly, even on dry glass.
When I did the install, I couldn’t get the wiper blades to align to each other when turned off. I tried moving one wiper arm from one spline to next with the opposite result. I found the slotted mounts (attached to the dash) for the vacuum motor, not only helped with installing the motor but also helped with the alignment of the blades. By moving the motor within the slots, it moved the blades in opposite directions allowing the alignment of the wiper blades. Now my blades are perfectly aligned to each other.
The get a ballpark alignment of the wiper arms, set the wiper motor drive arm in a vertical position (I don’t know if an electric motor allows you to move the drive arm, since its gear driven). In other words the shafts that the linkage arms sit on are in a straight up and down position. Once they are set, install the wiper arms in a straight up position. This will get you close. Turn on the wipers to see the coverage. Reset the arms to get them close then do the final alignment by moving the motor.
If I had installed an electric, I would have gone with the one from Classic Parts that you selected. I believe it’s made by Newport engineering and had good reviews. I hope this helps.
Phil Moderator, The Engine Shop, Interiors and Project Journals
1952 Chevrolet 3100, Three on the Tree, 4:11 torque tube Updated to: ‘59 235 w/hydraulic lifters, 12v w/alternator, HEI, PCV and Power front Disc Brakes Project Journals Stovebolt Gallery Forum
I received the motor today and have it installed. I need to wire up it up next. The instructions say you can modify the stock switch knob to connect to the new switch.
Has anybody done this? I'd love to see a picture and hear some thoughts how you did it.
I wired the new switch hidden under the dash for now, but I would like to use the stock location and chrome switch knob in the future. Thanks!
I received the motor today and have it installed. I need to wire up it up next. The instructions say you can modify the stock switch knob to connect to the new switch.
Has anybody done this? I'd love to see a picture and hear some thoughts how you did it.
I wired the new switch hidden under the dash for now, but I would like to use the stock location and chrome switch knob in the future. Thanks!
I have everything wired up and adjusted and the motor seems to working fine in my testing. I don't have the truck on the road yet, so I don't have a rain test while driving yet.
