Author Topic: Kaiser Dragons (1953) and Electric Wiper Motors  (Read 1342 times)

Geoff Hacker

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Kaiser Dragons (1953) and Electric Wiper Motors
« on: June 19, 2017, 09:03:28 PM »
Hi Gang...

The Dragon I recently acquired has a vacuum wiper motor as identified by the mechanic who is currently working on it.  I thought all Dragons had the upgraded electric wiper motor so this surprised me a bit when he shared this we me - especially since I plan on driving the Dragon here in Florida where rain is something we see quite a bit in the summers (now).

My car also has a rear wiper which from the schematics is vacuum powered, I believe.  Maybe when a rear wiper was installed the front wipers were changed to vacuum?

Just curious if anyone knows more about the Dragons and electric/vacuum wipers.

Thanks for any knowledge you can share.

Geoff

joefrazer

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Re: Kaiser Dragons (1953) and Electric Wiper Motors
« Reply #1 on: June 19, 2017, 09:23:12 PM »
The rear wiper kit came with a vacuum motor so there would have been no reason to swap the front motor.

One item to note, the wiper mount (pot metal base) differs between electric and vacuum applications. The vacuum bases have a small hump while the electrics do not. They do not interchange.

Geoff Hacker

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Re: Kaiser Dragons (1953) and Electric Wiper Motors
« Reply #2 on: June 19, 2017, 10:55:36 PM »
Thanks for the info - much appreciated :-)

Geoff

DTort96646

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Re: Kaiser Dragons (1953) and Electric Wiper Motors
« Reply #3 on: June 20, 2017, 04:20:36 AM »
One suggestion I have for those with vacuum wipers, is to add a vacuum storage tank. OEM tanks can be used, or make your own. The OEM tanks tend to be small though. My suggestion is to buy a large one that is used by racers and street rodders. The tanks are used for power brake vacuum storage for engines that have low idle vacuum. Tanks can be mounted under fenders out of sight and have the lines and check valves pretty much hidden. A large tank is a little bigger than a gallon jug, just to give you an idea of the size. You will have to find some one way vacuum check valves and vacuum hose. Lots of extra constant vacuum for operating wipers on those hills. I have vacuum power windows in my Frazer, and when the engine is off the window pump does not supply enough vacuum to open or close the windows quickly. After I added a vacuum storage tank, they work just as if the engine was running. No problem with the vacuum wiper either. They also will work with the engine off, until the vacuum is depleted.