The w/s wiper motor for my Impala is seized. I have a shop manual but decided it's beyond my HAMB-handed skills to take it apart and put it back together, as well as having nothing to repair whatever's jacked up inside it, so I ordered one made by Newport wiper from another vendor. They called today after a week and half to say they're not going to be available for 6-8 weeks. I called Ecklers today, they have 'em, in stock, it'll be here Thursday. So, if anybody else is contemplating getting one, they got 'em.
yeah its been kind of a eye opener since we bought back our 61 Impala how few of places there is to buy parts for these cars with how popular they seem to be. I was just looking at a rebuilt original wiper motor for sale on FB marketplace yesterday while looking for 348/409 stuff.
I'd looked at a couple rebuilt originals as well, but the prices are more than double what these aftermarket ones are. I know they're not original, but my car has a 454 in it so it's not going to affect the "collector value" to have a non original wiper motor. Certainly having wipers better not, so I guess I'm winning. I did consider just getting a new 2 speed motor from Auto-Zone or O'Rielley's, but then I'd have to dink around all day making the adaptor plate, so this seemed like a viable option.
I spoke to Bob and Linda of Newport when they were at Louisville. I had sent my wiper bellcrank for my 61 Buick to their son to get one built. Unfortunately, he was buried in backorders and was getting ready to go out of the country for a few weeks on vacation. They told me at that time it would be at least 2 or 3 months before they could ship my motor, so I got them to send me my bellcarnk back. Reluctantly, I bit the bullet and bought s rebuilt one from a guy in CA off eBay. It was nice but it was expensive. The only good thing was , I didn't have to rewire my wipers. I learned my lesson to ask about lead time when dealing with them in the future. They are a great Mom and Pop company but Mom and Pop are trying to turn most of it over to the kids. I've bought several from them in the past and never had to wait. I also buy their wiper blades when they have lengths that fit whatever I'm working on.
I would call Newport and ask who their stocking dealers are and check to see if one of them has one in stock. That is what I have learned to do for early Ford stuff.
My 62 has the factory 2-speed wipers with a built-in washer pump. The wipers work on both speeds but the pump doesn't work. Good luck ever finding one of those.
The Jalopy Journal
