1959 Ford Station Wagon Electric Wiper Motor???

[Zapato]

The exploded parts view of the 59 looks to also use the linkage instead of the cables,it also looks like a firewall mount. I wonder if it is a different linkage than the 58. I had a long discussion with a guy with a very nice 59 ranchero, this summer at a car show. He said the 59 has very little in common with the 57-58 ranchero.  Mark

its definitely different as the 58 mounts the motor under dash, believe 59 is back out in the engine bay. the 58 panel with a 59up motor is truly the perfect way to go. ford almost got it right, but as they used to say close only counts with horseshoes and hand grenades.

[Ford Blue blood]

and atomic bombs!

[Zapato]

and atomic bombs!

those don't even have to be close...............

[foooordy]

 In years past i have used the 57 Chevy motor and the cable linkage matched right up . Also iv used a 1960 Ford elec motor from a Galaxie wagon. it is mounted under dash as is the 1958 and if my memory serves it was a bolt on as well.

[bagboy]

55and 57 chev have 2sp or 1sp motors  I have my 55chev motor on my 57 RW. I Advoid rain  tho.

[JPotter57]

You are right, Zap, I looked at a couple `59s last week, and the motor is back out under the hood.  I was thinking it was under the dash on the passenger side..Oh well....Nevertheless, the `59 rods and transmissions are different from `58, if someone wants to try to make them work, pay the postage on the `59 rods and transmissions, and they're yours.  I finally got another set of `58s...

[Frankenstein57]

I was looking at a 59 retractable Saturday at a cruise night, It was in the engine bay, and it was electric. He said it was optional in 59.  Mark

[59meteor]

I just stumbled across this old posting, but thought I would make a couple of comments. Yes, electric wipers were offered as an option for Ford cars in 1959, but you could get them on any model of Ford passenger car, not just station wagons. More common to find them on the fancier, more expensive models, like a Skyliner or Sunliner, but could be on any model.I would say  in my experiances, maybe 10% of 59 Fords came with electric wipers, the vast majority were vacuum.
That said, the 59 electric motor is not a simple exchange to a 57. On a 59, the cowl panel between the hood and windshield is non removable, and has linkage that you must access from under the dash. So unlike a 57 which has a rectangular lever that fits into the wiper bracket on the 57s firewall, on the 59,the shaft is much longer, and has a double ended "batwing"  lever with a pin on either end to attatch to the wiper linkages. Years ago I did install electric wipers from a 56 or 57 Chev car, into my old 57 Ford Sedan Delivery, and it was a total bolt in swap. The Chevy wiper motor has an identical lever that perfectly fits the 57 Fords factory firewall mounted bracket , so no need to deal with the pulley and cables, providing they are functioning properly. The wiper control cable hooked up perfectly, and only a single wire to hook up to 12 volts.

[gasman826]

I replaced the vacuum with a '57 Delco electric motor (which is suppose to be the best of the '55-57 run).  Easy install.  Two speed and works fine.  The sweep is a little too long.  At low MPHs, everything is great but at speed or with a headwind, the wiper blade sweeps over the edge of the wrap-around windshield and scratches the glass.  Works but not the happiest with it.

[Ford Blue blood]

I bolted a 60 wiper motor into the Ranchwagon I had.  Fit perfect except....had to bush the and space the mount to make it fit.  The 60 came out from under the dash.  The engine was a 361 with the Mercury 410 valve covers, no interference issues.