Wiper motor kit ?

[mike b]

Has anyone have recent upgrade experience with changing the wiper motor ? Any suggestions what to get for easy install ?

[rmk57]

A few years back I used a boat wiper motor and made my own bracket. They swing right to left , not in a circle like modern units. It was 2 speed , self parking , adjustable sweep. I also managed to use my original dash switch. Apparently the 57 Chevrolet is a direct bolt in , you can even use your original cable. Randy

[lowrider]

I went with the 57 Chevy motor. It is a direct bolt in & you use the original cable. Works great, especially if you have a big cam/low engine vacuum situation. Can be pricey finding one, but I like it better than the aftermarket kits.

[mike b]

I am looking for a 2speed electric motor,is that what the chevy is?  I looked up one and it's $ 349. -ouch!

[rmk57]

ebay usually has a half dozen or so on auction for around 75 - 150 dollars used. The aftermarket kits are around 200 bucks.

[mike b]

Thanks, I will check it out. 

[ragtop]

concours parts around 225.00 +20.00 for switch extesion to put it in dash

[gasman826]

I bought a middle-of-the-road priced electric conversion kit.  Very easy to install.  Used the OEM knob.  Worked, parked, and sounded OK.  The swipe was reduced.  If I was to do it again, I would look hard at the '57 Chevy wiper.  Now I am adding a set of Webers and they need that space.  I have mocked up a wiper kit from Specialties Power Windows.  Now the firewall is smooth.  The cables, pulleys and rain diverters are gone.  The wiper motor is under the dash.  The sweep on this motor is completely adjustable.  I won't know performance until I get in the rain.

[mike b]

Thanks,my car needs a wiper motor and has a 302 in it so room is not an issue. Thanks to everyone's input as it sure helps when someone's been there ..done that.

[Zapato]

I still think the best way to do a wiper upgrade in a 57 is to do it the way FORD almost did it in 58. In 58 FORD moved the still vacumn motor inside the car under the dash. So what is needed is the piece of inner bulkhead and everything else wiper related from a donor 58. You will also need an electric wiper motor from a 59-61 FORD.  Upgrade to electric , OEM quality parts ,sweep that matches the car and a smooth firewall. Not to mention the old popular tri5 chevy swap simple as it is does take up space in the engine bay

Do a search in this forum its been discussed at length before.

Electric wipers were an option in 59 when I was searching for parts didn't run across any 59s so equipped. FORD was definitely behind the rest of the market in this area.

Zap-

[jrw429]

I bought the electric wiper motor kit from MAC's, along with an intermittent switch and a shaft extension that allows it all to work with the factory bezel and knob. Whole thing was $375 plus $50 shipping. Got it, put it in, and I didn't like that the sweep of the wiper blade was reduced and wouldn't cover the windshield. I tried to get info from MAC's about adjusting the sweep but they were no help. I then tried to get in touch with Vintique. They actually make the motor. I had a great discussion with them. They originally had a wider sweep, but had problems where the wiper would get to the curved end of the windshield, the blade would be hanging out in the air a bit, and at highway speeds the motor didn't have enough torque to pull the blade back up and onto the windshield, so it would get stuck. So they reduced the sweep to avoid that problem. He said they just did a redesign to get back the wider sweep. I could send my motor back to him and for only the price of one-way shipping he'd upgrade it to new internals and wider sweep. I haven't had a chance to install it since getting back, but I'm quite happy with their response so far.