Wiper Motor Nightmare - HELLLP!!! - '55 3100 2nd Series

[DransportGarage]

I am in dire need of some help. Unbelievably, it appears that a PO has cut out the mounting for my wiper motor and replaced it with an unknown mount (and he/she did a really nice job too!):



If someone has a picture of a '55 3100 2nd series wiper mounting area I could sure use a look at it. If someone recognizes this "new and improved" mounting scheme I could use that piece of info too.

Also shown here is the bracket I have and the motor I have. Are these '55 parts?




Also, if someone has a donor truck and wants to sell me this motor mounting area, I'm probably going to be in the market after I figure out what's really going on.
Thanks,

[OrrieG]

Here is the motor in my 59. It came out of a 58/59 GMC. Motor looks the same as the one you show. Here is also a photo of the stock bracket, it is factory welded in. Maybe in 55-57 it was bolted??

[DransportGarage]

Originally Posted by OrrieG

Here is the motor in my 59. It came out of a 58/59 GMC. Motor looks the same as the one you show. Here is also a photo of the stock bracket, it is factory welded in. Maybe in 55-57 it was bolted??

Well Orrie, I owe you an adult beverage. You've given me a great start toward solving my problem. I now know that the bracket in my picture doesn't go with my truck, and that I have a motor that is close to correct, if not exact. (I bought the motor from a friend of mine, and I think it was from a '56.)

I compounded my problem by cutting out most of what you call the "factory support". I did that to make room for my center channel speakers. When I did that I thought the brace was just there for dash support, so I cut most of it out. I thought the captive nuts in it were to support the radio (which I am mounting in the headliner area). I didn't think about the wiper motor because the other two brackets were there, as shown in my picture. I mean, how many brackets do you need to mount a stinkin' motor? (Apparently one more than I have...)

When I cut the support out I did leave one captive nut, so I can see where the motor needs to be located, left to right. Unfortunately, if I install the motor in its original position the arms will hit my speakers. I'll have to drop the motor down a little over inch, but that shouldn't be the end of the world. At worst I'll have to lengthen the arms a little bit.

Thanks again, Orrie! If anyone else has any input, I'm interested.

[Divine 59]

dropping the window motor 1 inch will require you to re-engineer the wiper linkage. This may cause some performance issues with the operation of your wipers. I would vote to move the speaker as opposed to modifying the wiper set up.

Hey, you asked for input. :-P

[ptc]

"Customize" it.... just so the next owners have something to talk about!

[DransportGarage]

Originally Posted by Divine 59

dropping the window motor 1 inch will require you to re-engineer the wiper linkage. This may cause some performance issues with the operation of your wipers. I would vote to move the speaker as opposed to modifying the wiper set up.

Hey, you asked for input. :-P

Thanks Divine, but the longer I do this stuff the luckier I get. I made a 1-1/4" riser and a strap today, put it together, plugged it in and turned it on. Everything is factory-perfect and it clears the speakers by an 1/8". I'm just lucky that this thing ain't no swiss watch. Orrie will never know how perfect his pictures were -- or maybe he already does! I'll try to post some pics of the riser and bracket in the next few days.

[DransportGarage]

Originally Posted by ptc

"Customize" it.... just so the next owners have something to talk about!

Amen, ptc...amen!

[DransportGarage]

Here are the details on the fix. Here's the riser, mounted to the wiper motor (or should I call it the "lowerer"?). Note that it has a through hole and a pin.



The riser bolts into the one factory threaded hole that remains, and the pin goes into the locating hole to keep the assembly from spinning.



I tried to take pictures similar to Orrie G's, so here they are:



When running, the passenger arm is closest to hitting, and misses the speaker by an 1/8". Now, back to the body work...

[OrrieG]

Nice fix. Before I found a stock motor in the 80's I made a bracket to use a 62 truck wiper motor and modified the arms (length) to make it work. No pics of that.

[DransportGarage]

Originally Posted by OrrieG

Nice fix. Before I found a stock motor in the 80's I made a bracket to use a 62 truck wiper motor and modified the arms (length) to make it work. No pics of that.

I guess that makes you the guru of wiper motors, Orrie!

BTW, apologies to all due to this being a redundant post. This topic is also covered in my build thread. I had put it there first, then realized it wouldn't get the responses it gets here. Why would anyone want to see my other mistakes?