Looking for a Windshield Wiper Arm

[Tedredamphi]

Does anyone have a good used original Amphicar wiper arm that they would be willing to sell or trade for ????? I've seen other postings looking for wiper arms but didn't know how they turned out. Thought I'd take a try.
Thanks,
Ted Matthews

 

[CapnJohn]

Does anyone have a good used original Amphicar wiper arm that they would be willing to sell or trade for ????? I've seen other postings looking for wiper arms but didn't know how they turned out. Thought I'd take a try.Thanks,Ted Matthews

Good luck! Those are high on the "unobtanium" list. I have been looking for a while, I finally found a set in Celina so all my cars have 2.

 

[Amphicarbudd]

hi ted-when i get to ca ill look in my pile-when i was dismantling i recall doing a triumph convertable about 57 or 58 and the arms looked similar and i saved them-finding them is a horse of a different color-im still sooking for my handles i had rechromed. ill look within the next couple of weeks as ill be heading south. thanks for information re brakes. i bought the vw mc new online and for some reason-probably because of nos statrus it would not work without leaking, which brought me to go and try to dual cylinder at this time-ill letyou know if i can locate arm, and also if my dual effort works out----thanks again brad anderson island

 

[DavidC]

They aren't Triumph. They were shared with one of the bubble cars and a DKW. DKW were one of the 4 companies that became Audi and were the source of the logo - The D in there means dampft, the German word for steam - but has in the past been mis-translated to water and some people have written that DKW made the Amphi, anyway, back to the point ...

Both the DKW and the bubble (can't remember which) are rarer than Amphi so not many wiper arms about. I think the shortage is because people would cut them to fit different blades. I'll have a look at what I've got, I'm pretty sure they were different LHD to RHD, Amphicar took the trouble to change all the wiper linkages - amazing amount of work for just 98 cars !!!

David C

----- Original Message -----
From: Amphicarbudd
To: david@manbus.com
Sent: Thursday, October 30, 2008 7:21 AM
Subject: RE: [General Amphicar Discussion-t-20223] Re: Looking for a Windshield Wiper Arm


hi ted-when i get to ca ill look in my pile-when i was dismantling i recall doing a triumph convertable about 57 or 58 and the arms looked similar and i saved them-finding them is a horse of a different color-im still sooking for my handles i had rechromed. ill look within the next couple of weeks as ill be heading south. thanks for information re brakes. i bought the vw mc new online and for some reason-probably because of nos statrus it would not work without leaking, which brought me to go and try to dual cylinder at this time-ill letyou know if i can locate arm, and also if my dual effort works out----thanks again brad anderson island

 

[PeterP]

Does no one make reproductions of the wiper arms?

 

[Bilgemaster]

I seem to recall something about readily-available MG or some other
British sportscar wiper arms being a decent make-do replacement...That
is, though not an exact match, still looks like it could have been. I
think Billy Syx of East Coat Amphicar (www.amphicar.net/eca) mentioning
this tip to me. It may even be more fully described in the Amphicar.net
Parts Tips page. I can't recall. If not, call Billy (phone number's on
his website). He'll likely remember.

Bilgey

On Thu, 30 Oct 2008 10:19 am, PeterP wrote:

> Does no one make reproductions of the wiper arms?
>
>

 

[Ron Green]

Here is a write up I did for the club newsletter a while back:

Reproduction Wiper Arm & Blade Replacement​

​

Finally a reproduction wiper arm and blade combination that is readily available, looks presentable and actually works. As we all know locating NOS or good used wipers is becoming impossible to find yet affordable. I have been experimenting and using for over 3 years reproduction replacements that have been trouble free. For a little under $100 and a little polishing you can have two (2) new set ups.

Call Rob from Ficken Wiper Service (NY) at 631-587-3332 (www.wiperman.com) and ask for two (2) wrist action type passenger wiper arms for a 1948 Mercury / Ford that fit a 20-11 wiper blade of which you will also need two (2). Both the arm and blade are stainless steel with the arms already factory polished to chrome like finish. The blades are dull stainless (gray/silver) and will need taken apart (easy) to be polished to match the arms. I used Eastwood’s white rouge compound and did a pass with a Dremel 414, 429 and a 423E polishing wheel respectively, though other materials and wheels should work. Each blade took approximately a little over an hour to polish and reassemble.

The only part I have not found (as of yet) that is required is the adaptor that fits onto the existing Amphi wiper linkage shaft. This allows the connection of the new style arms. The adaptor has two (2) allen set screws that lock the new arm(s) onto the shaft. These adaptors can typically be found at antique automotive swap meets however you will need to drill them out to 15/64 to fit the shaft. Recommend filing any burrs off the existing shafts and polishing with a small wire wheel which Dremel also has. I do have some of these adaptors and a box of the special set screws.

After installing the adaptor to the shaft you may need to adjust / move the new arms several times to get them in the perfect park position on the windshield. When doing these adjustments use a spray bottle of water for accurate results, do not operate wipers on the windshield dry! Imagine being able to use your wipers knowing that they actually work and blade refills are available. Happy wiping!

 

[DavidC]

Oops, yes I forgot Ron had done a load of work on this.

Another option if you are in to more serious mods is replace the lot with the mechanism from a VW bug. This uses the more modern cable mechanism instead of the rods and works much better - the wipers move at a constant speed which is something you can never quite get Amphicar wipers to do. The only problem with the VW solution is you have to cut away some of the bodywork as the wiper pivot shafts are much bigger - however one of the Germans has done it and it works really well. Parts then of course are no problem.

David C

 

[Mark Richardson]

Ron,

Where can I get some of that blue carpet? just kidding, your wipers look like the real McCoy! Nice job.

Mark R