On my endless Vicky project I need to have a windshield wiper to meet PA. inspection law. I was wondering if anyone had any cool solutions to a setup that works on a polished glass edge, no frame windshield. My body has fixed side posts but no typical frame. I'm thinning and tapering the posts substantially to have a really light look up top with a glued in glass. Thanks in advance guys!
Hand crank wipers are available from a bunch of suppliers but not sure about a mounting bracket since you don't have a windshield frame.
Ron Francis Wiring www.ronfrancis.com, 800-292-1940 has several wiper adaptors that will work in your application. I am using a similar set up on my Deuce roadster and only use it for N.S.R.A. and State inspections. I use a cigarette lighter socket, hidden under my dash and simply plug it it to make the wiper work.
Assuming a state inspection will require an electric wiper motor. All of the clip on wiper adapters for roadsters attach to the top of a windshield frame. Outside of the box.....with yours being frame-less and wanting to attach something temporary to the glass you might want to look at glass clamps that are used in glass patio and shower panels.
That's a great idea! Personally, I just go wiperless. My roadster only gets driven in good weather and I am in California. Surprisingly, when I went through inspection, wipers weren't required.....even in my strict state!
I know nothing about PA DOT rules other than what commercial shit that damn state used to bust my drivers for when passing through, so take this with a grain of salt. Does PA require a wiper on all cars, period - full stop, or does it only require it on cars that would have been originally equipped with it?
Use a Chevy cowl mounted wiper transmission. Late 30s and early 40s had them. That’ll be permanent, so not just something used to pass inspection.
The Mighty Wiper is about the smallest I've seen https://raingearwipers.com/mighty-wiper/. Make a clamp to the glass like previously mentioned, drill a hole and mount the wiper to it, and find a clean way to temporarily wire it. And done.
Hey, Koz; You might look at the T-bucket style wiper setups. Hate to say it, but Speedway sells(used to?) the clip-on version, which could be left on as long as you like. Some of the older hotrod(read: streetrod) suppliers carry these - or did. Think 70's->90's. Some were decent quality, but you could make one w/o too much trouble. Marcus...
This interests me a lot! We just made a butt ugly setup to get HacksawBills' roadster through the inspection process and then they failed him claiming the flatty needed the valves adjusted(?). I didn't even know that was a requirement. PA. does require a powered unit, no hand wipers and it doesn't need to be in place all the time. It must be in the car and available for use, I.E. under the seat. The Chevy thing may work well although I'm quite happy with Rainex. As always, good stuff here......
The hardest part, it seems to me, will be to keep the windshield glass from cracking as the two windshield posts try to flex opposite directions when hitting a bump, cornering, etc. as there is no top brace. Just one more thing to think about. I like the look of the project.
Expanding on the Chevy idea David Gersic presented I'm thinking I may be able to graft the indented sections on mid sixties cars and pickups into my cowl. This could actually be cool looking. Time for a trip to the U-Pull-It armed with a hacksaw and big wood chisel, my favorite sheet metal removal tool.
In response to pprathers reply. I most certainly understand the concern. I bridge my bodies extensively with folded sheet metal. I seldom use any rect. tubing and never angle iron or tubing. I'll post up some details when I get some pics but they go nowhere. Like a lot of what I do I'm a creature of habit and I've done this many times before and never broke one yet. This body is as stiff as the wifes Mercedes and the doors will close as nicely when finished. It's one of the few things I can do competently. A valid concern and a risk I've calculated out years ago. The "look" is well worth the extra effort in my experience. I built this car for a client at least 20 years ago and has an insane amount of miles on it with the same glass in it. I've since cleaned the style up a good bit I really think the look is neat as all hell. It's all in the lines. This one has a lift off roof like mine with no top bar, just the polished glass. I hid the wiper mechanism in the top rail. You are no longer allowed to do that in Pa. as it comes off with the top. There are at least a dozen cars like this I've knocked out over the years. The wife doing her best to look mechanical. In fact, she could scare more than a few guys as to how much she knows about traditional hot rods.
My roadster is like that. For original registration inspection (nearly 25 years ago!) the roof was off so I rigged up one of those motors they sell in boat shops - and some rod shops - with a clamp I made a-la like Blowby showed. I used some stainless, inner tube rubber and bolts. The inspection people just had to see it move. Never been on the car since. (Although, with the roof on the wiper mounted in the header was has plenty of use. One time was driving through 7 hours of non-stop heavy rain. I could see where I was going but the floor was soaked.)
There's a goofy law here which says that wipers are only required when a windscreen is installed- so there are "screen-less" roadsters going through to get their tag. I can't see why they still require wipers on a roadster with a screen and no intention or means of ever installing a roof- the wipers keep the water off the screen, but it magically won't go into your eyes or on your glasses! If you are looking for a small, compact 12V wiper assembly, have a look at headlight wipers from some of the Eurotrash (BMW, etc). You can make a clamp and mount them over the top edge of the screen. Ugly, but they work. Then they can be removed and "stored".
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