1956 Buick Power Wipers/Washer conversion

[Beemon]

Engine vacuum at idle should be 15-16 in Hg. If your vacuum pump is bad, you might want to look into a rebuild soon. 

[1956century]

This may or may not be of interest to you, but I spent a lot of time searching for a suitable electric wiper motor before landing on one that would work. It will require some work, but I feel it is worth it.

 

I found that the rear 2-speed wiper motor out of a 3rd generation (2010-present) Toyota Sienna is a great candidate. 

 

The wiper relay is built into the unit, which makes the wiring very simple: high speed (brown), low speed (green), washer function (grey), power (blue), ground (white/black).

 

The shaft turns in the correct direction and the sweep is fitting. I don't recall exactly, but it was a bit over 90 degrees. Alternatively, the Toyota Prius (2010-2015) rear wiper has a sweep of exactly 90 degrees if that is required, however it turns in the opposite direction - this can very simply be reversed by opening it up and clocking the gear 180 degrees out.

 

You will need to make a custom mount and modify the shaft to suit. The motor comes with a sheet metal bracket that should be trimmed/modified.  The motor itself is very small, although it may look large in pictures online due to the factory bracket.

 

The best part? You can pick one up for $25.  Just make sure to ask them to include the plug/harness.

 

If you ever want to return your car to stock, simply unbolt it and reinstall the vacuum unit.

 

 

[56 Buick]

Thanks for that info 1956century.

 

I did speak with Newport re their electric wipers.  They said they know of no issues or conflict with cam-o-matic wipers.  They did say they can alter the angle of the sweep if required.  Although I am wondering whether it's more a case of not how much angle or sweep as opposed to perhaps the initial starting position???? 

 

Beemon, you may have a better idea of this as you had the electric unit on the car and could see first hand where the slap was occurring. 

 

I think also Newport have a separate wiper for the Super/Roadmaster and I wonder whether that is because of the wider sweep of the cam-o-matic wipers or is that due to some other physical difference in the wiper set-up between the bigger and smaller cars - can that be used on the smaller cars with the cam-o-matic wipers???

 

[Beemon]

The big body Buicks have a different bolt pattern than the small body Buicks. 

 

There is only one way to mount the motor. There is an adjustable slide that I used to change the sweep but it went from slapping the ends to slapping the middle. Changing the position of the wiper arms on the transmission had no effect. 

 

When conversing with Newport, they said they could decrease the sweep of I shipped it back to them but I had to pay shipping so I passed. Being an engineering major, and having engineering in their company name, I was disappointed this system was not engineered for my car. If you would like to try it out, I'll send it to you for the cost of shipping. Bear in mind you'll need to relocate your ballast resistor, too, since the two cannot live in the same space without interference. 

[56 Buick]

3 hours ago, Beemon said:

The big body Buicks have a different bolt pattern than the small body Buicks. 

 

There is only one way to mount the motor. There is an adjustable slide that I used to change the sweep but it went from slapping the ends to slapping the middle. Changing the position of the wiper arms on the transmission had no effect. 

 

When conversing with Newport, they said they could decrease the sweep of I shipped it back to them but I had to pay shipping so I passed. Being an engineering major, and having engineering in their company name, I was disappointed this system was not engineered for my car. If you would like to try it out, I'll send it to you for the cost of shipping. Bear in mind you'll need to relocate your ballast resistor, too, since the two cannot live in the same space without interference. 

Thanks Beemon. At this stage I have had the vacuum unit reconditioned and aim to refit that unit. I made the enquiry with Newport in case the vacuum unit failed to end up working effectively and also for the benefit of the forum.  I am hoping the vacuum unit will work okay ...