[RWS]

What's required to convert non-concealed windshield wipers to concealed ones? I appreciate that the motor, linkage, and arms are all different, but is anything else required?

And from the factory, was the concealed wiper motor plated or painted black? Lots of remanufactured units are available on eBay and through various supplies. Most are painted, but some (the more expensive ones) are plated.

My car is a 1970, by the way. Any differences from later years?

[giles]

Not sure of the conversion requirements offhand, but here is a picture of an untouched original '71 concealed wiper motor. Probably was cad-plated back then. Zinc plating should work today.
Also if I am not mistaken the wiper blades are an inch longer on concealed wiper cars (?)

[bird72]

Thanks for posting this thread, hopefully someone will post who has done this conversion. My 72 has the non concealed, they bug me with the ends sticking out. I have all the guts and rods and arms and motor from a 70 hidden, and plan on surgically implanting it in the 72. I haven't taken the time to compare differences yet, I assumed everything was different. I am curious on if electrical hook up is the same, etc.....

also, what did option cost? I know little, it is one of those, Why The Hell Wouldn't You Order It deals.....

[2manyT/A'S]

Been there,done that!
To convert to concealed wipers on a 70's Firebird,requires changing out EVERYTHING except the wiring. Believe it or not,the SWITCH is even different! Blades are LONGER,too.

Best thing to do is to find a donor car & remove EVERYTHING,including the washer fluid reservoir.
Concealed wiper cars generally had the washer pump on the motor,not in the bottle,but this varied over the years.
You will ALSO need the adaptor plate that mounts the round style wiper motor to the cowl. (held with 3 screws)
As I recall,the wire connectors SHOULD fit without mods.Can't recall for sure on the washer pump. (it's been like 20 years since I did this)
In 1970, C24 concealed wipers were STANDARD on Esprits & T/A's & cost a WHOPPING $18.96! No wonder nobody ordered them. That was as much as a FULL tank of gas back then!
Factory installed wiper motors were plated/natural (as Giles states) Rebuilds are painted black.

[Norwood]

Originally Posted by 2manyT/A'S

In 1970, C24 concealed wipers were STANDARD on Esprits & T/A's & cost a WHOPPING $18.96! No wonder nobody ordered them. That was as much as a FULL tank of gas back then!
Factory installed wiper motors were plated/natural (as Giles states) Rebuilds are painted black.

That would be 3 tanks

[RWS]

The switch and the adapter plate are the two things I wondered about. I would be surprised if the reservoir is different, though, as even on standard wipers the pump is on the motor.

A simple fix for dealing with the way the wipers stick out on standard set up (short of a full conversion) is to put on the arms and blades from a concealed set. You might have to change the mount for at least the driver's side wiper, now that I think about it, as that arm actually has two parts and pivots to keep the blade parallel to the windshield.

[RWS]

If anyone else has done this conversion recently, or restored their concealed wiper system, please post a reply.

Just on that point, I'd really appreciate it if someone could post a picture of the washer bottle and/or the plate on which the wiper motor (for concealed wipers) mounts.

[Formula8]

I think this link will have all of the info you need: http://www.nastyz28.com/2gcog/wipers.pdf

[RWS]

Wow, great article. Thanks much for that.

Now all I need is the adapter plate (anyone have one?) and a picture of a 1970 washer fluid bottle.

[eaglesan13]

That is a very good article, thanks for posting it.

[RWS]

Based on that article, I have now bought just about everything I need to do the conversion, including a rebuilt pulse wiper motor from a '79 T/A.

The only thing I haven't been able to find thus far is the plate that the motor mounts to, and which in turn mounts of the firewall. It seems that at some point (probably whenever it was that concealed wipers became standard equipment on all Firebirds and Camaros) the design of the firewall changed and eliminated the need for that plate.

If anyone has a parts car that has this plate, please send me a PM with a price.

[Formula8]

I thought the same thing but from what I have seen, the plates were just buried in seam sealer from the factory. Find any F-body with a round wiper motor and it should have the plate. Just bring a chisel or torch and scraper to get it out.