Many thanks to the guys at Acme Auto Parts in Enfield, CT, who actually had wiper arms for the '60 in stock.  This not only saved me from having to wait a week for a delivery from an online parts company and paying a shipping fee, but also allowed the truck to be equipped with wipers in time to drive to work during Hurricane Irene.

How to Replace The Driver's Side Wiper Pivot on a 1960 F100

When I bought my truck, it had no wipers. I soon found that the wiper pivots were both broken - someone once upon a time had removed the wiper arms carelessly enough to pull the splines from the pivots.  Reproduction pivots with splines attached are widely available for about $40 each from various catalogs, but I was able to find a NOS pivot, still in the Ford parts room envelope, for $18 on eBay.  I couldn't seem to find any installation instructions, though - not even in the Ford service manual - so for those of you who are new to this stuff like I am, here's how to replace the pivot on the driver's side.  (When I get another pivot, I'll show how to do the one on the passenger side.)

First, remove the retaining nut and bezel from the pivot on the outside of the truck.  The pivot, no longer held in by the retaining nut, will drop into the cab behind the instrument panel, which needs to be removed to give you access to the pivot.

There are eleven screws holding the instrument panel and instrument cluster in place. The seven screws marked with blue arrows hold in the entire assembly. The four screws marked with yellow arrows hold the cluster to the panel.  Remove all eleven screws and carefully pull the panel away from the dash. The glass behind the panel will also be loose, so be careful not to let it drop and break.  Set the panel aside, but you can leave the cluster in the dash.  Just move it over to the right to give yourself enough room to work on the pivot.

The pivot arm is shown in the photo above, marked by a yellow arrow.  It's attached to the actuator arm with a spring clip. You won't be able to remove it with your fingers, and I found needle-nosed pliers to be too clumsy inside the dash, so I used a pair of locking forceps to grab onto the clip and carefully pull it free.

Keep the clip, you'll need it when you install the new pivot.  Also, when you take the old pivot out there will be a thin steel washer between the arm on the pivot and the actuator. Keep that washer for the new one, too; it will save you having to run out and find a new one.

Take the old pivot out and look at the hole in the cowling where the new pivot will go.  See that keyway at the bottom of the hole? Remember it.

The new pivot has a raised rectangular key that lines up with the keyway in that hole. That holds the pivot steady while the shaft inside rotates and makes the wiper work.

Attach the new pivot to the actuator arm. Remember to put the thin steel washer between the pivot arm and the actuator.  Press the retainer clip onto the pin to hold everything together, then put the spline end of the pivot out the hole in the cowling, lining up the key with the keyway for proper fit.

Replace the bezel and retaining nut to hold the pivot in place through the cowling.  Turn on your wipers to make sure the pivot is working correctly (the spline will move back and forth.)

To finish up, replace the instrument cluster and panel, and you're ready to replace the wiper arm and blade.

Done.

Elks Club Car Show - Aug 13 2011

The Elks Club in Enfield held their annual car show / fundraiser yesterday. The weather was perfect - sunny and dry, and not too hot (rare for August!) Local business had been generous in their sponsorships, donating tons of gift cards for raffle prizes.  Trophies would be awarded, and there was even a "driver's raffle." Thirty cars had preregistered for the event, and more were expected to arrive as "drive-ins."  No one was expecting a huge show, but since it was such a nice day and rain was expected Sunday (the day two other, much larger, shows were to run) anticipation was high that there would be an active show.

Thirteen cars showed up.  A handful of spectators came by. The show, which was intended to run until 3 that afternoon, sort of unraveled and broke up a little after 1.

With so many sponsored prizes and so few people there, winning the raffles was easy. Maryanne and I won several gift cards for local restaurants and a pair of movie passes. But I would have traded the prizes for more cars in attendance.

Behind me

Awesome: Got a driver's side mirror from MAC yesterday. Installation took minutes, and that includes knocking the Bondo out of the original mounting slot in the door.

Not Awesome: The passenger side mirror is still on backorder.

Vent windows

It's 90 degrees today, and the '60 doesn't have air conditioning. But it does have vent windows.  Vents are the most bitchin' pieces of glass you can have in a truck, except maybe for a split rear window. Crack one of them open just a little, and the airstream sucks cigarette smoke out.  Shove them open all the way, and you've got a delicious breeze in the cab even at low speeds.  I still can't figure out why they quit putting vent windows in cars.

The American Truck Historical Society Truck Show, Brooklyn CT

The family and I took the day off and went down to the Brooklyn CT Fairgrounds on Route 169 today for the annual American Truck Historical Society Truck Show and Flea Market.  Most of the trucks being shown are big rigs, but there were quite a few nice old pickups there as well (mostly Fords.) 

There were a few really nice 1960's F-series pickups, like this 1960 F250. 

It was a great day - sunny and warm and perfect for wandering around looking at nice old trucks and chatting with the owners.  There was a flea market/swap meet as well, around the edges of the show area, but unfortunately not too many vendors showed up and the ones that were there didn't have very much stuff for 60's vintage trucks. 

By next year, I should have the paint and exterior done on my truck, and I'll enter it to show it off.

I took about 40 pictures at the show of various trucks. I haven't labeled or edited many of them yet, but if you'd like to check them out, here's the link to the Flickr set: http://bit.ly/ATHS6-11

Humping Furniture

There were two car shows this weekend - one on Saturday in Somers, the other Sunday in East Windsor.  I had planned to enter the Somers show - not in search of an award, but to meet and chat with other old gearheads.  Half the fun of a car show is talking with the car owners, comparing notes and making friends.  And I was hoping to get to the East Windsor show as a spectator to walk around and admire the hot rods and the carefully restored stockers.

It turned out that I didn't get to either of them.  I got some kind of bug Friday night which kept me off my feet all day Saturday. And Sunday the '60 and I hauled furniture all day, helping my stepdaughter move to a new apartment.

I haven't owned anything but quarter-ton 4-cylinder pickups for the past 15 years, and they have always been pretty well-matched to my light hauling needs.  But I have to say, it was pretty awesome having a full-sized truck to hump the furniture this weekend. The bed of the '60 is a full eight feet long and a little over 6 feet wide - I can lay a 4 x 8 sheet of plywood down between the wheel wells with room to spare on all sides - and we loaded the hell out of her.