When applied to classic trucks, the domino theory simply translates into "one improvement dictates another." If a person drops in a high-performance engine capable of accelerating at twice the rate of the stock engine, it only stands to reason that the brakes and suspension should be upgraded to match. Place our theoretical customized classic truck into the real world, with its ever-changing weather conditions ranging from a light morning mist to an unexpected heavy downpour, and the reality is that one's vision is at the top of the list of priorities. For owners of '60-66 Chevrolet and GMC trucks, the standard electrical one-speed wipers are a vast improvement over the standard vacuum wiper motors on '59-down GM trucks, but they still leave a lot to be desired.
Here's New Port Engineering's...
Here's New Port Engineering's electric wiper drive complete with their optional wiper delay switch. Notice the two components are pre-wired and ready to install.
Take, for example, our '66 Chevy shortbed Fleetside shown here. Even equipped with the very best GM had to offer at the time-two-speed wipers with a windshield washer-the system has developed some problems. When the time came for us to decide the best way to address these issues, we opted for New Port Engineering's recently introduced two-speed electric wiper drive for '60-66 Chevrolet and GMC trucks. In addition to ordering ours with an electric windshield washer pump, we had New Port include a delay wiper switch. Not only did this provide us with all the options we desired, but thanks to New Port Engineering pre-wiring the delay switch with a built-in windshield washer switch, all we had to do was connect the red lead to a switched 10-amp fuse and ensure the black ground lead was grounded. It would be hard to hurt our old '66 with its original paint and war-wounded body, but for you guys with really nice trucks, we have included some handy tips that will help you install New Port Engineering's wiper drive without scratching your paint or causing any body damage.
They say it doesn't rain in Southern California. That said, strangely enough, right after we finished installing our new two-speed electric wipers with a windshield washer and intermittent capabilities, it rained just long enough for us to try them out and discover we needed to do a tech feature on sealing up the windshield and door glass on a '60-66 C-10-go figure.
Now here's something one doesn't...
Now here's something one doesn't see very often; New Port Engineering's electric windshield washer pump is made in the USA.
After disconnecting the battery,...
After disconnecting the battery, the next step was to remove the wiper blades by lifting upward away from the retaining pin and pulling the wiper blade off the wiper arm.
To remove the wiper arms without...
To remove the wiper arms without damaging the paint or denting the fresh-air grille, we used a layer of masking tape as a rest, and then twisted a large flat-blade screwdriver on the outer edge of the wiper arm upward.
With the sheetmetal screws...
With the sheetmetal screws at the front of the fresh-air grille removed, it was lifted upward and away from the cowl.
After soaking the wiper drive...
After soaking the wiper drive arm with penetrating oil, we rolled a newspaper up to act as a bridge to help press the wiper drive arm off the shaft by twisting and prying with a large flat-blade screwdriver.
Here's the stock C-10 wiper...
Here's the stock C-10 wiper motor in comparison to New Port Engineering's unit. The bolt pattern for mounting is identical, but the stock mounting vibration isolators are not reused.
A 1 7/8-inch bead of silicone...
A 1 7/8-inch bead of silicone was used to attach the gasket to New Port Engineering's wiper drive.
The second gasket was affixed...
The second gasket was affixed by repeating the process, making sure not to apply silicone to where the wiper drive meets inside the cowl. This was done to facilitate future removal to gain access for sound deadening and carpet installation.
Once we had determined the...
Once we had determined the gasket remained centered as the wiper drive was bolted into place, we installed the wiper drive arm with the 1/4-20 nut New Port Engineering supplied.
Next, the wiper linkage was...
Next, the wiper linkage was reinstalled using the original 1/4-28 nut, then the linkage was sprayed with a lubricant.
Since New Port Engineering...
Since New Port Engineering supplied the wiper drive and delay switch pre-wired, all that was necessary was to plug the color-matched leads together...
...and then connect the red...
...and then connect the red lead to a 10-amp switched terminal on the fuse box, followed by connecting the black ground lead on the switch and wiper motor drive together, then grounding them to the steel dashboard.
The stock wiper knob was removed...
The stock wiper knob was removed by unscrewing a set screw and then mounted to the adapter shaft supplied on New Port Engineering's delay switch. A length of tubing was cut and used as a spacer to match the height of the wiper knob to the light switch and throttle knob.