Whats the difference between 55-57 and 58-59 Wiper Motors?

[Maximus]

Looking at wiper parts...
the catalogs have motors for 1955-57 and 1958-59, what changed?
I originally thought maybe 58-59 came standard with an electric motor instead of a vacuum, but why would this matter in buying a new wiper motor? so i thought maybe the arms changed...
the reason I need clarification is I have a 1955 cab, but pulled the wiper arms out of a 1959 cab. I am assuming I buy the 1958-59 motor but before I drop nearly $200 I wanted some info behind this topic...

Thanks!!

[Divine 59]

Vacuum or electric. motor?

For vacuum the motors are the same all the way from 55 (2nd) to 59.
For electric the 55-57 motors use the same type of switch and cable to activate the motor. The 58-59 use a different switch that is not cable operated. It is possible to use a 55-57 electric wiper motor on a 58-59, as long as you keep the 55-57 switch or use the 55-59 cable operated switch from the vacuum motors.
Hope that clears it up.

[Rude Dude]

The wiper arms inside that attach to the motor are different on 58-59

Originally Posted by Divine 59

Vacuum or electric. motor?

For vacuum the motors are the same all the way from 55 (2nd) to 59.
For electric the 55-57 motors use the same type of switch and cable to activate the motor. The 58-59 use a different switch that is not cable operated. It is possible to use a 55-57 electric wiper motor on a 58-59, as long as you keep the 55-57 switch or use the 55-59 cable operated switch from the vacuum motors.
Hope that clears it up.

[_Ogre]

i thought they were all the same, same cowl, same switch location

i've had 58-59 trucks with both vacuum and electric
my 58 has electric that i pulled out of my 59 panel
it had the cable operator on it

when i shaved my dash, i used the throttle cable in the hole next to the headlite switch to operate them
you can see the knob is out a bit here, out is off, in is on.
they work, just never used them
rain-ex is your friend

if you buy the motor and it needs a cable operator, i have one you can have

[ChuckDriver]

I thought the arms for the electric ones were different from the vacumn ones?

[1project2many]

Going by memory, many years ago I tried to put a 59 electric motor in a 55 cab. The 59 motor had a square or squared plate that mounted to the cab and it wouldn't fit into the 55 cab so all the bolts would line up. As I remember it the 59 cab was stamped a little differently where the motor mounted.

[Russell Ashley]

Originally Posted by ChuckDriver

I thought the arms for the electric ones were different from the vacumn ones?

The arms must be the same for vacuum or electric. I bought an electric wiper motor off of EBay and used my original vacuum arms. They fit and work correctly.

[buggy5872]

58 - 59 electric wiper motors are different than 55-57. the mounting is a little different and the arms under the dash are different. The 58-59 wiper motor makes the arms go around in a circle where they mount, one on top and one on the bottom. The 55-57 motor has a mechanism that makes the arms go back and forth.

[Maximus]

darn... I dont know if my 59' had an electric or cable switch / vacuum or electric.

anyone have a photo of each wiper arm?

[Steve Laeger]

I have a 58 cab with no wiper motor or brackets, I bought a wiper motor kit from LMC and I am not sure where to mount it does anyone have pictures of a a wiper motor set up in a 58-59

[OrrieG]

Here are two photos of my factory 59 GMC motor mounted in my 59 Chevy. It used the same mounts as the factory vacuum motor. The control is cable. Before I found the stock motor I had adapted a 62 C10 motor to work, had to fab a mounting bracket and modify the arms to the wipers.

[Daze57]

if that is a factory 59 gmc wiper motor than that is the exact same one i have in my 57
even all the brackets are the same - with all the same hook ups

[Steve Laeger]

Thank you Orrieg! Your the best I love this site!

[59stepside]

Originally Posted by OrrieG

Here are two photos of my factory 59 GMC motor mounted in my 59 Chevy. It used the same mounts as the factory vacuum motor. The control is cable. Before I found the stock motor I had adapted a 62 C10 motor to work, had to fab a mounting bracket and modify the arms to the wipers.

I have wiper arms that mount vertically on the motor. I don't have original motor or brackets for reference. I bought the replacement from LMC truck but don't see anyway it is supposed to mount. I have not been able to find a pic of how the motor mounted with vertical connections to the motor... Anybody got any ideas?

[OrrieG]

The stock ones are vertical too (motor shaft aligned horizontally and sort of parallel the frame). Didn't they design a mount that uses the two upper bolts and provide the other bracket? If I remember right (it was 25 years ago) making the bracket to adapt the 66 motor to the stock bolts was not hard, piece of bent tin with some holes drilled in it. Getting the arm length was. I would assume the kit you got has the right geometry to use the stock arms??? If they are not selling a complete kit folks need to know.

[59stepside]

I bought the only kit they have listed for 58-59 trucks. It came with a little bracket and the mounting plate holes don't match up to anything. I ordered it a long time ago and to late to return for full refund. It was $150. At this point I think I'm just going to fabricate my own bracket. But with what they gave me it looks like it will be a little difficult since everything is at an angle.

Are these supposed to spin all the way around or forward and back motion?
This LMC motor spins forward and back.

[62lwbc10]

Very interesting thread, the wiper motor is the only thing that remains in my trucks interior (well, other than that damn dome light) that I still need to get working. The electric motor is there, but its not hooked up at all. I see from some pics (Orries') that there is actuall a cable that operates the motor? So its not just a regular switch? What exactly does the cable do?

Can someone also (please) provide information (maybe a diagram) as to how to wire the motor to the switch?

THanks alot!!

[OrrieG]

Motor spins in a circle, other end is a lever, just like old steam trains. The cable operates a slide switch on the motor. Wipers are acuated by closing the ground circuit, if you look in my photos I identified the power wire. On two speed ones there is an internal resistor involved that changes the motor speed.

I think in early 60's they changed to electric switch when they added the fluid squirter function, that is what the 66 had.

[59stepside]

Ok, I got some updates with my wiper motor. I decided to just include it with my build thread. It's "1959 Chevy Truck" in the project and build section.

Long story short, I guess my truck came with a version of the electric wiper motor that reproduction or conversion kits are not available unless you want to replace everything all together to the vacuum style linkage and brackets.

[trucktony]

I did some research in my shed
This is what I found
the 58-59 electric motor has a switch that works on the negative of the dash
Has very different wiper linkage and support brackets
easiest way to identify is the numbers on the linkages
58-59 electric has 381 right and 382 left stamped on them
55-57 vacuum and electric linkage has 346 left and 347 right stamped on them
(note: there was an option to electrical motor from 1957 but that is quit a different motor)
The 346 and 347 can be used for the new port conversion as well for a vacuum motor untill 1959.
As far as I know the gmc uses the 57 electrical option untill 1959
and works with a control about the same as a vacuum unit(do not know if they are the same)
Do not try to bend the 58-59 381-382 linkage to use for a vacuum unit or conversion.
It will give you a headache and you will never get them back to original without scuffing the dash or heater ducts
beter buy new ones for the conversion or try to lay your hands on some 346-347 linkages

[57taskforce]

Originally Posted by OrrieG

Motor spins in a circle, other end is a lever, just like old steam trains. The cable operates a slide switch on the motor. Wipers are acuated by closing the ground circuit, if you look in my photos I identified the power wire. On two speed ones there is an internal resistor involved that changes the motor speed.

I think in early 60's they changed to electric switch when they added the fluid squirter function, that is what the 66 had.

The wiper motor is the last really big thing I need to figure out for my interior as well. I've got the 57 electric motor that came factory in my truck (identical to the one posted in the pic). It doesn't have the switch on the motor tho, I'm assuming some one broke it at some point or another in time. All it has is the hot wire coming out the back. I was able to make the motor spin off a battery Does any one know how to wire it up without the cable switch? Also my the factory outside wiper bezels had washer fluid nozzels in them. Not sure if it was an accessory or what but just wanted to say I think the 55-59 trucks had that option before the 60's

[_Ogre]

i think all the tf trucks had the washer nozzle option built into the bezel
some have a plug some have the nozzle all have the tube attached

can't tell you about the 57 electric motor, my 59 panel had electric wipers that i moved to 58 truk
the switch is on the motor and uses the same cable controller as the vacuum wipers
my 58 electric wipers had the same controller as the vacuum in the pic posted



when i shaved the dash the cable wouldn't work as it had no hole to mount
i used the stock throttle cable controller mounted next to the headlight switch
and bent the cable to work with the switch on the motor
out is off, in is high, sort of in is low

[57taskforce]

Hmmm. Very interesting. I've honestly done about zero research on the wiper motors so this is the first I've heard of the cable switch, as mine has been missing from the wiper motor from the time I got the truck. I always figured the motor was grounded to the cab and the 12v supply came from a switched circuit. I guess I'll need to find a new to me jy motor or parts to replace what is missing from mine. Or I'll have to figure a way to wire mine to a switch. A few years back I was able to get mine to run off an old battery but I don't honestly really recall how I did it.

[dew468]

does anyone have a wiring diagram for the wiper motor in a 59 truck. it's a 2 spd motor. any help would be appreciated.

[dsraven]

The firewall area behind the motoris stamped different on my 2 cabs from 57to 58.