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Fri Oct 19, 2012 6:59 pm

Maybe my wipers park too low .. If the arms were reindexed so that the blades park higher the 13's probably wouldn't be over the trim. But I prefer my wipers to park low for better vision. I think keeping 11's would be better (Trico 11-1 or Carquest 11-51).

I think we need a query of the other Ghia owners here:

1. What width wiper blades are on your car?

2. How high do they park?

3. Silver or black?

Sat Oct 20, 2012 5:24 am

Ian Godfrey wrote: When the pivots aren't worn and the arms are well located on the shaft 13" blades park close to the trim but shouldn't go over.

That makes sense. My wipers park ALL the way down. I would imagine on high speed they would smack the windshield rubber. My Ghia got a paint respray in the 80's so the arms may have been removed then reinstalled too low. Thanks!

Sun Oct 21, 2012 7:38 am

Here's another shot at the 13" wipers, although parked a little higher:

note Trico on the driver's side, Bosch on the passenger

No hitting the trim!

Are the wipers on a 68 supposed to be self-parking? I have to turn mine off at just the right time. The owners manual says of the wipers "They park automatically when switched off" .. I imagine I have some corrosion in the self park circuit of the wiper motor from the car sitting so long.

Mon Oct 22, 2012 8:47 am

cseay1 wrote: Here are some reproduction silver wiper blades in 13" for 65-67 Porsche 911/912 that appear to take the same hook arm attachment as 68-74 Ghia (although I cannot tell for certain)

http://www.sierramadrecollection.com/store/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=8854

* note: my catalog shows 67 911 as taking a Trico 13-1 so I think it would be safe to say it should work

I contacted Sierra and they said they will fit a '71 Ghia. I went ahead and ordered a set. Thanks.

Mon Oct 22, 2012 2:51 pm

NOVA Airhead wrote: cseay1 wrote: Here are some reproduction silver wiper blades in 13" for 65-67 Porsche 911/912 that appear to take the same hook arm attachment as 68-74 Ghia (although I cannot tell for certain)

http://www.sierramadrecollection.com/store/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=8854

* note: my catalog shows 67 911 as taking a Trico 13-1 so I think it would be safe to say it should work

I contacted Sierra and they said they will fit a '71 Ghia. I went ahead and ordered a set. Thanks.

Let us know how they work out .. If they are nice we need to try to get KGPR to sell them with their nice silver arms instead of only offering those black Bosch blades

Tue Oct 23, 2012 2:17 am

cseay1 wrote: Are the wipers on a 68 supposed to be self-parking? I have to turn mine off at just the right time. The owners manual says of the wipers "They park automatically when switched off" .. I imagine I have some corrosion in the self park circuit of the wiper motor from the car sitting so long.

Yes the wipers should self park, I recently rigged mine up on a bench to test them after a contact snapped off and needed soldering. The park mechanism is something to do with contacts 53 and 53a on the switch & wipers. There's an article here http://www.nls.net/mp/volks/htm/elec.htm that I was pointed at that explains it quite well.

My wipers weren't parking at first, but it was just the switch as after I turned it on & off about 10 times they started to park properly.

Tue Oct 23, 2012 5:21 am

carl4x4 wrote: cseay1 wrote: Are the wipers on a 68 supposed to be self-parking? I have to turn mine off at just the right time. The owners manual says of the wipers "They park automatically when switched off" .. I imagine I have some corrosion in the self park circuit of the wiper motor from the car sitting so long.

Yes the wipers should self park, I recently rigged mine up on a bench to test them after a contact snapped off and needed soldering. The park mechanism is something to do with contacts 53 and 53a on the switch & wipers. There's an article here http://www.nls.net/mp/volks/htm/elec.htm that I was pointed at that explains it quite well.

My wipers weren't parking at first, but it was just the switch as after I turned it on & off about 10 times they started to park properly.

Thanks for that link! There is a wealth of information there. Some folks hate electrical issues, but I actually enjoy tracing a wiring diagram and troubleshooting lol

Wed Oct 24, 2012 2:00 pm

cseay1 wrote: Here are some reproduction silver wiper blades in 13" for 65-67 Porsche 911/912 that appear to take the same hook arm attachment as 68-74 Ghia (although I cannot tell for certain)

http://www.sierramadrecollection.com/store/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=8854

* note: my catalog shows 67 911 as taking a Trico 13-1 so I think it would be safe to say it should work

I ordered these blades and they fit perfectly. Super fast shipping from the vendor. Highly recommend.

Perhaps this topic should be added to the stickies?
Moderators Note: Done...in the "How Tos"

Wed Oct 24, 2012 7:52 pm

Do they make a rain x latitude type wiper blade for ghias (they don't seem to have one)?

http://www.rainx.com/product/wiper-blades/rain-x-latitude/#.UIipCIl5mc1

Thu Oct 25, 2012 6:42 am

ivwshane wrote: Do they make a rain x latitude type wiper blade for ghias (they don't seem to have one)?

http://www.rainx.com/product/wiper-blades/rain-x-latitude/#.UIipCIl5mc1

RainX does not make the Latitude in a 13" 9x3 hook. The only blade they offer in that size is the WeatherBeater which is a conventional blade part number RX30213

Thu Oct 25, 2012 6:16 pm

cseay1 wrote: ivwshane wrote: Do they make a rain x latitude type wiper blade for ghias (they don't seem to have one)?

http://www.rainx.com/product/wiper-blades/rain-x-latitude/#.UIipCIl5mc1

RainX does not make the Latitude in a 13" 9x3 hook. The only blade they offer in that size is the WeatherBeater which is a conventional blade part number RX30213

Sorry, what I was asking was: is there another manufacture that makes a similar style wiper as the latitude that will fit the ghia?

Thu Oct 25, 2012 7:24 pm

As far as I know no one makes a 13" beam blade. You may be able to get a longer one and cut it down. I have cut down early wiper blades on chopped top street rods, but I've never really looked closely at one of the beam blades to see if that's possible.

Sun Nov 11, 2012 3:02 pm

Can anyone tell if this wiper is for a Karmann Ghia? if so which side is it for? (so I know which one to buy for the other side :-) )

Mon Nov 12, 2012 3:00 am

Carl, I only know about late wipers, say 67 on. The pic looks like a Right side 67 - 69 which has a noticable sideways bend 1 1/2" from the hook. the length should be 10 1/2" over all (end to end). the matching Left is longer, 11 1/2" overall with just the tiniest of a bend 1 1/2" back from the hook. Most arms are stamped on the 'wand' just near the rivet on the top, L or R.
the wand is 6mm wide and 2 mm thick.
There are very similar beetle arms (shorter) and T3/912 arms (longer)

there is an nos left for sale on the Samba today :)

Mon Nov 12, 2012 2:31 pm

Thanks for the info, I measured it at 10.5" so you were right. I have just emailed the seller for a quote to ship to the UK.

Cheers :)

Tue Nov 13, 2012 1:07 pm

Here's the wiper blades I have for my Ghia.
They are new old stock SWF units. I'm in the vintage Italian car business and these were used on a few Lancia models. We've also sold these to a few 911 people.

Tue Nov 13, 2012 5:21 pm

karmann marco, are these 12'' or 13'' blades? (earlier or later KG),
I assume they take the 6mm wand.
they look good :D

Wed Nov 14, 2012 10:09 am

13 inch , and they do take a 6mm arm. :)
I have lots of 11 inch as well but all either bayonet or dip tip style attachment.

Sat Jul 27, 2013 3:50 pm

I have ordered several pairs of these NOS SWF wiper blades from this seller:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=1364795
It says inactive, but I believe she has many sets left. Prompt responses to e mails, good communication about shipping and arrived quickly, as described.
Rubbers still in good pliable condition, but have glycerined them to keep flexible.
The packet says they a for 1967 ghia (I think) but they are 13" and fit the 6mm hook perfectly. Some pics to show the difference between the black (beetle) ones and the aluminium. It may be that the 73/74 models came with black wipers as standard, but personally I think these would look better!

Apologies for resolution, just cropped a bigger pic

The previous shorter blades v. V. V

Thu Apr 24, 2014 4:03 pm

does anyone know if these will fit a 64? need some but not sure if they'll fit my car