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This page last updated on Apr. 20, 1999.
I did not write this article, it came from the November 1993, vol.9, no. 6 issue
of 4 Wheel Drive & Sport Utility magazine. A fine magazine with lots of Early
Bronco articles over the years. The original author listed in the article is Doc
Frohmader. It is titled "Better Vision for your Blind Horse." The wording is
EXACTLY how it is in the magazine, so when the 'I' and 'We' is mentioned,
remember that the original author said it.
The pictures are all in black and white in the magazine, so I had to make them
bigger than usual and fairly high quality. This makes the pictures bigger than I
like file-size-wise, so you know ahead of time.
Also, I do not know if this company is still in business selling this item or not.
I do not have this system, and know nothing of it other than what I read (this
article), so don't ask me any questions about it. I am merely providing this
article in the interest of Bronco owners.
Looks best at 800x600 or larger resolution.
"If your're the proud owner of a first-series Ford Bronco (1966 through 1977),
you've wondered why this generally intelligently designed vehicle ended up
with such a lousy windshield wiper system. The whole bulky assembly (Figure
1) hangs on the top of the windshield frame, where it threatens to cause brain
damage every time you take a bounce or hit the brakes a bit too hard. Roll
cages don't fit close to the frame because the wiper gear is in the way, and that
usually means blind spots and clumsy access for driver and passenger alike. Its
location increases the weight of the windshield frame to where it constantly
rattles and bounces around. In general, the whole unit is a pain where you sit.
Of course, we'er assuming the old unit still works--or works well enough to
make it worth turning on. After all, many of the early Broncos (at least the '66
and '67 models) had vacuum wipers. Owners will testify that if you've got a
light foot (put TWO eggs under the pedal!), if the vacuum motor is in good
shape, and if you don't go too fast, you just might survive the next heavy rain
(or off-road mud storm) without a severe case of dish-pan face. If not, you
know what flying by instruments (but without the instruments part) is like.
On the other hand--if you have electric wipers, the motor still runs, and the
linkage is not completely worn out, you may be satisfied with wipers that have
no intermittent setting. That is, until you spend an hour or two turning the
wipers on and off while cussing your way down the interstate or through heavy
traffic.
Unfortunately, many of these old units are worn out. Granted, the linkage
can be rebuilt, but this is neither cheap nor easy to do. Likewise, the wiper
transmissions can be re-bushed, but this is even more time-consuming. Even
the motors are available when they go bad--at a price.
The bottom line is this: Even if you're lucky enough to have the original unit
in working order, it's still a noisy, ugly obstruction, and a safety hazard to boot.
Fortunately, while checking out a street rod project a while back, Garry
Shadwick of GDS 4x4 and Drive Train had an inspiration. The rod had a
Specialy Power Windows aftermarket windshield wiper system in it that locked
as if it would fit into Garry's Bronco just right. After a bit of measuring and a
call to Ervin Castleberry, owner of Specialty Power Windows, the great
experiment was on.
Garry liked the idea of the cable-driven Specialty system for several reasons:
1. It would clear almost everything off the windshield frame, allowing him
to install a complete roll cage with the front bar nearly tight to the windshield
frame. This would improve vision and make getting into the Bronco a bit
easier.
2. He could anchor the windshield frame to the cage, and stop--once and for
all--all that rattling.
3. The Specialty unit includes a two-speed with intermittent and windshield
washer positions--all the comforts.
4. The new unit appeared to be well-built from high-quality parts and came
complete and ready to install.
The last point is something which is worth some discussion. As with any
aftermarket part, you need to make sure that you're getting what you're
expecting. Some manufacturers use poor-quality, obsolete, or poorly designed
parts that can leave you hanging. Others have so much confidence in their
products that they guarantee the parts only until your check clears. Others
supply only part of what is needed to install the unit; everything else is optional
and at additional cost. In short, buy from a manufacturer or supplier who will
back up its products with installation, warranty, and tech assistance, and expect
to get what you pay for. High-quality parts will not sell for bargain-basement
prices.
Garry did note one possible failing in the following installation. Whereas he
(and a great majority of Bronco owners) has no need to drop the windshield
down on the hood, if you want to be able to drop yours, you'll have to modify
the installation (more about this later). In Garry's case, his Bronco is powered
by a late-model, Holly Pro-Jection equipped, Ford 351 Windsor, and the
required hood bulge prevents the windshield frame from dropping. Again,
unless your Bronco is strictly stock, it probably has a hood bulge for carb/air
cleaner clearance, so this won't affect you, either.
Still you say, seeing is believing. Okay. Check out the following installation,
and see if you don't agree that this slick little aftermarket kit is a painless way
to give an old blind horse a new outlook on life. Oh, and while you're at it,
keep in ind that Garry and I installed everything you see (including the
obligatory test run and several delays, while I fumbled with the camera gear) in
just five hours.
Before demolition, we stepped back and gave the OEM wiper unit a last (but
certainly not fond) look. To give us plenty of operating room, we pulled the
soft top off (Figure 1).
Once all the old hardware was stripped, the potential for improvement got a
little clearer. Garry had the roll bar built close to the windshield frame and
down the door pillar to the floor to preserve full entry access and provide a
solid anchor for the windshield frame (Figure 2). With everything in place,
there was excellent vision with no blind spots.
We had hardly beun before we discovered what was to be one of only two
modifications in the entire installation procedure. The original hole through the
windshield frame are approximately 5/8-inch, while the new transmissions use
a 3/8-inch OD shaft housing. The difference could cause the transmissions to
walk out of position and leak around the gasket.
After a quick huddle, Garry came up with a simple and effective solution.
He found a pair of bushings from a Rancho shock kit (leftovers) that have an
outside dimension of 5/8-inch and an inside dimension of 3/8-inch. (Although
we were tempted to let you think we were sharper than we were, we didn't
remember until later that this is the same as 3/8 ID steel water pipe.) Garry cut
the bushings to 1 3/8 inches to fit from the back of the transmission to just
barely through the windshield frame. With this very small lip extending
outside the frame, the original gasket was much easier to center later on.
With the bushings ni place, we discovered the other need for modification.
The Specialty transmissions have machine screws holding them together. The
heads facing the frame don't offer enough flat bearing area to keep the
transmissions snug. The solution was even simpler than the first. Garry
grabbed a pair of 5/8 flat washers (1/8-inch thick) and slipped one over the
inner end of each bushing.
The result is pictured in Figure 3: The 5/8 flat washer (A) and the bushing
(B) were slipped over the transmission shaft housing (C). This unit was pushed
through the windshield frame, and the original 5/8-inch leather seal (D) was
added on the outside. A stainless steel 3/8-inch ID washer (E) went on top of
the seal, followed by the 3/8-inch rubber seal (F), stainless steel 3/8-inch
washer (G), and nut (H) supplied in the Specialty kit. The entire assembly was
trial-fitted to make sure everything worked as planned.
Because the old and new transmissions are mounted in identical positions,
the next step was to determine the length of the transmission shaft housing
between the inner mounting surface of the windshield frame and the bottom of
the knurled pivot. We found this to be two inches -- measured from the top of
the mounting surface to the end of the transmission shaft housing. The
measurement was transferred from the original to the new unit, as shown
in Figure 4. We measured from the top of the 5/8-inch spacer washer toward
the end of the shaft housing.
After disassembling the transmission and removing the shaft from the
housing, the housing was cut at the two-inch mark described above. Before the
cutting was done, the retainer nut was threaded on to make cleaning the threads
a little easier. The cut end was deburred. The completed transmission housing
with hardware in place is shown in Figure 5.
The transmissions were again installed in the windshield frame and snugged
down. After reading the Specialty directions, we determined that the cable
housing tube slots should be at the top on both sides to suit the sweep pattern of
the Bronco wipers. Read the Specialty instructions carefully. Although the
information is not rocket science, and the text graphics are quite clear, failing to
read them will probably result in a botched job -- or at least a lot of redo work.
With the transmission housings in place, the transmission shafts were slid
into place, and the supplied knurled pivots were pushed onto them and secured
with set screws. The shafts were then marked at the top of the knurled pivots
prior to cutting to length. Note how the new shaft fits cleanly (Figure 6), and
closely approximates the original installation. Once cut, the shafts were
deburred, greased well, and reinstalled. The transmission rear covers can also
be set losely in place.
Next, Garry measured from notch to notch between the transmission, and cut
one of the supplied aluminum cable housing tubes to length. Before the
installation, both ends of the tube were flared to engage securely in the
transmissions (Figure 7). The remaining piece was flared on one end and
installed in the right-side transmission in the remaining notch. The rear cover
of the right-side transmission was tightened.
At this point, the motor and the drive unit were assembled according to the
instructions. Specialty designed the motor mounting so the motor may be
rotated into any position. If you look ahead to Figure 12, you can see the
position that worked best for us.
The new wiper switch was installed in place of the old switch. Again going
from a supplied wiring diagram, the motor and switch were wired temporarily.
The junction block on the motor uses spade clips, so the wires can be easily
removed and replaced. The purpose of the temporary wiring is to make certain
that all motor settings are functioning properly, and that the motor is in parked
position prior to taking the next step.
With the motor in parked position, the drive wheel was installed according to
the instruction sheet. A series of holes located in the drive wheel represent 10degree changes in wiper sweep, starting close to the center at 90 degrees
(Figure 8). The wiper sweep angle for the Bronco is 110 degrees, so the third
hole from the center is used. In addition, the cable must slide outward to rotate
the transmission gears in the proper direction, so the hole is positioned exactly
in line with the center of the cable glide and motor shaft, and as far away from
the cable glide as posible. The drive wheel retainer nut was tightened to
maintain the wheel in this position. Take care not to rotate the motor while
tightening the retainer nut.
The remaining 36-inch section of aluminum cable housing was slid through
an opening between the dash and the door pillar (Figure 9), and pre-bent to fit
between the left-side transmission and the mounting position of the drive
assembly under the dash. We used a combination of careful measurements, and
slow, careful bends to get it fitting well. Note that the housing should not be
bent at over a three-inch radius, and that four to five inches of straight tubing
should be maintained coming out of both the transmissions and the drive unit
for smooth operation. This was one of the most tricky parts of this installation,
and required a good supply of patience -- don't slam-bang this part, or you'll
regret it.
The finished tube skirts the windshield glass, and fits close to the raised lip
carrying the door wetherstrip, but does not impair vision at all (Figure 10).
As indicated previously, we believe that this system can be altered to allow
the windshield to drop. If you were to cut the housing tube shown in Figure
10 at a point near the windshield frame hinge pivot position and slip a section
of 3/8 ID spring tubing over both ends, the housing could bend at that point.
The cable would have to be left somewhat longer overall to accomodate the
increased housing length as the windshield frame tilted forward. The only
drawback would be the need to remove the wiper arms when lowering the
windshield frame (the moving cable would put them out of working range). If
someone tries this variation, I'd like to hear about how well it works for you.
Going on, Garry loosened this last cable housing tube and pushed it down
under the dash to make final mounting to the drive unit easier. He greased the
drive cable with lots of wheel bearing grease, pushing it into the housing and
through the transmissions, while I guided the cable in the gap between the left
transmission and the housing tube. Garry pushed the housing tube into the
notch in the nylatron glide and installed the linkage arm between the third hole
in the drive wheel and the hole in the cable end block (Figure 11). He used lots
of grease here, too.
We had previously checked mounting hole positions for the drive assembly.
The holes (with mounting hardware) provided worked well on the bottom (X),
but interfered with the door pillar reinforcement at the top (Z), so two new
holes were drilled in the housing prior to assembly (Y).
We used the original upper holes and hardware to retain the drive assembly
housing cover -- which kept all the pieces in place while we mounted the drive
unit. In Figure 12, you see the assembled unit ready to be guided into final
position. With Garry under the dash and feeding the tube housing upward,
while I was up top guiding it into place, the drive unit was located, and four
holes were drilled for mounting hardware. Although the unit is relatively light,
a good mount means quiet operation without rattles, so take the time to make it
right. The wiring was reconnected in Figure 13. Note that the fuse panel
appears quite close to the motor unit, but this is an illusion caused by the
camera angle and lens; there is plenty of room.
After checking that the unit worked as we'd expected, the wiper arms were
reinstalled one by one and checked for proper positioning and parking. The
tube housings were fastened to the windshield frame using two nylon prefabricated tubing clamps secured by machine screws. The view of the finished
project before the roll cage was mounted (Figure 14) shows a big improvement
over the original hardware. Both Garry and I were impressed by how smoothly
and quietly the Specialty system works."
e-mail me at i6735189@wsunix.wsu.edu.
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