Wiper arm set needed

[aa010175]

I need a set of wiper arms and blade (16”) holder. Can I use a 1964 (15”) set? I can not find a repo set anywhere. Dave

[bigbrownpilot]

According to Fred at the Bird Nest, the company that made them stopped manufacturing them. Do NOT try getting a set off eBay, or Scott Drake, or many of the others that cater to Mustangs. They will not work. I sent threes sets back that were advertised as "Mustang/Galaxie/Thunderbird" that looked right but were not. Your best options are NOS, which are expensive and may not be in perfect condition or keep scouring the web. I found a pair that worked, but I didn't search for "Thunderbird Windshield wipers", I searched for Trico Wipers and eventually found a set that were 1" shorter but otherwise fit perfectly. Good luck!

[aa010175]

Thanks BBP for your information. I am a retired AA P. I eBayed a 64 ford galaxy and the wiper arms and they were 1” short. Just like you said. I am still looking for a real nice set. Dave

[Karl]

G'day.
I believe that they are made from stainless steel, which means if they are a bit dull and marked you could polish them back up with a polishing buff on a bench grinder.
Karl.

[bigbrownpilot]

The problem with Galaxie and Mustang arms is they aren't set up to sweep from opposite sides, so when you get them one side might fir OK (usually the drivers side) but the other side the geometry will be all wrong and it will never work. You need to find a set that works with the wiper pawls at opposite sides and where they sweep from the middle outward. The arms themselves are stainless and will polish up OK, but the "knuckle" on the end that fits onto the pawl (I don't know what else to call it) is some kind of chrome-plated metal and that's where the pitting starts. My '63 is a driver-quality resto-mod, so I went with a set that was much better but not perfect. Even if you aren't doing a concours restoration, you want your car to show well and have a chance for a "people's choice", and pitted wiper knuckles are one thing that detracts. So I went with a set that was not original but looked 75% better than the pitted ones. Here's a thought-- the '57 Fairlane has wipers on opposite sides that sweep from the middle outward. You might try searching for "57 Fairlane wiper arms. Just a thought.

Dave

[aa010175]

Dave, Thanks for the ideas. I purchased a nice set off a 1962 Galaxie. The eBay guy said it the same as the 1962 Thunderbird. It was one inch shorter in the arms. It also had 15” blades. The chrome ends was very nice and the rest is stainless steel and polished up nicely. I used the 16” blade. And as you can see in the photos it has a 2” gap. Being in San Diego I won’t use them much. Dave