snj
Samba Member
Joined: October 18, 2006
Posts: 489
Location: Seattle, WA
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 Posted: Mon Oct 29, 2012 11:11 pm Post subject: Early wiper arm clamping improvement |
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Do you want to drive your early (1961-1697) T3 in Seattle during the upcoming wet months? Me too.
Are you tired of buying used original style wiper arms only to find that the threads are stripped or the bases are cracked? So am I.
Are your wiper shafts chewed up, making it unlikely that even an NOS pair of arms would be much of an improvement? Mine too.
Don't feel like waiting around for a second NOS wiper shaft to turn up for sale? Neither do I.
Can't bear to file/grind a flat spot in your original shafts? Sounds a bit too destructive to me too.
Are you convinced that the original design of the wiper arms leaves much to be desired when it comes to holding strength and spring tension? I'm right there with you!
Do you wish you could find a set of the replacement style wiper arms discussed in this thread? Join the club.
Are you frustrated after failing to find a pair of the aforementioned arms? Am I ever!
Well boy have I got a cheapskate solution for you! Bug wiper shafts, through 1967 (no idea about Bugs later than that), are the same diameter as T3s of the same era. The superior clamping style style replacement wiper arms are pretty easy to find for Bugs, but they're much too short for T3 use. I had a couple junk T3 arms and a couple spare Bug clamping arms, so I decided to play Frankenstein and make a monster T3 arm with the base from a Bug.
Here's a clamping style Bug arm on the left, and a T3 arm on the right:
Take apart the Bug arm, drilling out the rivet and spreading the clamped section a bit with a chisel or equivalent:
Grind off part of the T3 wiper arm base until you can remove the long piece:
The T3 arm is a bit wider and thicker than the Bug one, so you'll need to grind a bit off (not too much, though -- a bit of an interference fit helps here). Once you've done so, drill a couple holes (hopefully better centered than mine) and jam the T3 arm into the Bug base:
Tap down the tabs, finish off with a rivet or screw or whatever you like, and you're good to go. I spent a couple hours making two of these arms, and I think they turned out pretty well. They lost a little bit of overall length, but it's less than 1/4", and you could always your drill holes differently to keep the same arm length with the side effect of a little bit more spring tension. I'd still love a set of actual T3 clamping early wiper arms, but until some find their way into my possession, these should do just fine.
Here's a shot of a stock and Frankenwiper for comparison:
Anyway, I hope this provides a bit of inspiration for those who are frustrated with their wipers and want a minimally intrusive fix. Good luck out there in the rain!
Last edited by snj on Fri Nov 02, 2012 11:11 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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