Building a car clearly isn't easy, you need a wide skill set, infinite patience and an in depth knowledge of the rules and regulations. You also need a modicum of luck and most importantly all the parts you need for each job in hand as parts often rely on other parts if things are going to work together. In the case of windscreen wipers a basic knowledge of geometry is useful, as is the ability to correctly read a tape measure. I don't know the exact moment at which Mr and Mrs Fuckup paid their visit to my workshop but it was when I came to look at fitting wipers to my Fiat wiper motor that I realised I had messed up big time. The big problem is that the sweep on the blades is only 90 degrees, for some strange reason I had it in my head that it was 120 degrees. Without going in to too much boring detail the rules say the wipers have to park out of the line of sight of the driver and they must effectively clear the screen in front of the driver, pictures in the manual show what is acceptable. Mine aren't.
It should be noted that since the 1960's hot rod builders have used mini wiper mechanisms, they have like a remote motor and a geared rack that acts on wheel boxes that translate the linear movement of the rack into rotational movement of the wiper arms. They are small, easy to wire up and cheap. You have to be careful when buying one though as several versions exist. To meet the IVA rules you need a two speed unit with auto park. You will probably need a relay as well to make it work with more modern switch gear, I had to do that on my Fiat unit anyway. So, there I was, suddenly the penny had dropped and the realisation hit that now I will have to take my entire dash to pieces, remove the fiat unit that took me 2 days to fit and weld on brackets etc so that the mini unit works as I need it to. I had found a complete set up on ebay, very chuffed at just 15 quid but soon discovered it was a single speed unit so no effing good. The rack, tube and wheel boxes were all good though so for 15 quid it's perfect and gives me half the solution, a 2 speed motor is on order - that was just 20 quid so hopefully 35 quid gets me sorted. I will need wipers and arms but I would have needed them anyway, I found some in Malcolm's spares pile, which will allow me to have a play and see exactly what I need. Until I get the new motor and find out what side it parks I can't get the job finished. Any attempt is sure to end in failure, Sod's law would come in to affect, the Devil would once again piss in my pocket.
It is possible to get different gears for the mini unit, which is actually a Lucas 12AUW, it was used on numerous cars back in the day as it was so easy to fit and find room for. You need to know that some park to the left, others park to the right. You can change the direction the wipers go in by flipping the wheelboxes over, they are a great solution, I am kicking myself for trying to be clever and doing something different. I just hope I can fit the wheel boxes in at the angle I need without having to drill new holes and filling the ones I have, it would not be easy with everything now installed in the car, including the air ducts and vents, which would be right where I don't want them. There is an awful lot of stuff that will potentially have to come out, I really hate having to undo stuff that took days to do but I have nobody to blame but myself - unless anybody wishes to act as scapegoat? Please send your application and a self addressed envelope, don't forget to include the 20 quid administration fee.
Once all that is sorted I need to figure out how to make the Lucas motor work with the Corsa switch gear, it should be pretty easy, worse case scenario is that I have a Durite switch, which is very easy to wire up, although the required auto park needs a relay.
I got my screw covers at last so have been able to finish fitting the panels I made, I am really happy with them, delighted even. I guess I just need to crack on and see how best to tackle the job, can't do that without knowing for sure which side my motor parks, ie wipers to the left or right.
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