Re: Single Wiper Conversion

[Jason Brunberg <stoopid@idirect.com>]

Christopher Mende wrote:
> 
> Has anyone attempted a single wiper conversion?
> 
> Pros/Cons: wiper speed, viewable area, etc.
> 
> Second: Is it possible to install a _faster_ wiper motor? I find that
> often during heavy rain the wipers just don't move fast enough on top
> speed to give me a clear view of the road. Newer cars seem to have
> considerably faster wiper speeds that those build in the '80s.

	I have converted my system to monoblade.  It wasn't too difficult, but
I ran into a number of different problems along the way which were not
too difficult to overcome because I had my cousin's power tools (and my
cousin) to help me out.

	I purchased the whole wiper assembly off some guy who demoed his 83. 
However, I only used a couple of pieces from it.  [I knew I should have
wrote all this down at the time...]  From what I can recall, I used the
stock wiper motor frame from my car, but I had to use the wiper relay
rod from the 83.  I also had to weld a 1" piece of steel onto said relay
rod to make up for some minor length differences between the two
assemblies.	

	At one point, I was thinking about chopping off the driver's side
section of the wiper frame because I was only using the center shaft. 
DO NOT do this.  If you haven't figgered it out, both sides of the frame
have to be connected for purposes of stability.  Take a look at the
setup and you'll see what I mean.  If memory serves correct, the mk1
motor frame is bolted down in two places at the base, whereas the mk2 is
set in place via one.  Therefore, both sides of the frame are needed
unless you mod that up yerself. 

	There are minor differences between the mk1 and mk2 models that you
won't notice until you start trying to make this conversion work.  One
big obstacle was the  transferring of the wiper shaft from the mk2 onto
the mk1 shaft assembly (for lack of a better term).  

	Take a look at the part that holds the wiper blade in place.  There is
a circlip that holds the actual pin in place.  You will have to remove
that little thing and take apart the whole device so that you can remove
that pin from it's base. (Yes, it can be done).  What you'll have to do
is sand  a bit off the bottom of that base.  Then, hold onto it upside
down with a vice and, using some kind of dull-ended punch, try to tap
the pin free from the base (try not to mutilate everything...we managed
it no problem).  
	This last step was necessary cuz the mk1 shaft does not penetrate (hey,
is it getting hot in here...) far enough to the exterior of the car. 
The pin will pop through, but you will not be able to use the large
outer bolts to secure it in place.

	Hmmm, from what I can remember, that is the end of the tuff stuff.  Now
what I did next was I used the stock wiper arm from the mk2 and heated
and bent it straight.  The natural bend of the stock blade does not
clean the windshield properly, nor does it rest properly.  For me, I
have chosen to set that badboy straight up instead of off to the side or
half-way through either the driver or passengers' view.  First off, it
looks clean, and follows straight back to the fuba.  Next, at any speeds
over 160km/h (100mph), your blade will not bounce all over the fu*king
place.

	Oh yeah, getting the whole kit and caboodle from out of the car is a
headache.  I ended up finishing off my blower motor (it hasn't worked
since...although it was pretty much busted to begin with).  The blower
motor can be twisted and turned within it's little hole in the chassis,
but it won't help terribly much...but it will help.  My setup has about
-.001 inches of clearance from the top of the blower motor container. 
The motion of the wiper has sanded a little bit off the top of the
container, but not enough to harm either mechanism.

	Well, I hope that helps.  I intend to have this procedure properly
documented on my homepage, but I'm a lazy pooch, so it probably won't
happen for awhile.  If you have any questions, I'll be glad to help you
out.

jason
87 16V

list of homemade mods to date:

monoblade wiper
[Josh] Clark'd front grille
reversed headlight scheme
debadged grille
debadged rearend
de-trimmed side panels

lots more to come....
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