wiper motor upgrade
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Russell 66
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- Joined: Mon Oct 18, 2010 12:35 pm
- Location: Jacksonville, Florida
wiper motor upgrade
We are going to upgrade from 6 to 12 volt soon and I wonder if any of you have upgraded your wipers along with your voltage. I read the '67 had a two-speed wiper and thought we'd have that installed with the upgrade. If we do this, will we have to change the dash wiper control knob to some other kind? Don't want to do that. I've been told we would still end up with one speed but it would be faster. Anyone know for sure?
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Blue Baron
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- Location: Tampa, Florida
The two-speed '67 wiper assembly is a straight-across swap, including the dash switch. The '66-style dash knob will fit the '67 switch. As for the two speeds, my wife and I like to call them slow and slower!
The 12-volt conversion is a big job to do right (including starter, flywheel and clutch swap), and if the 6-volt still works well, I'd think about keeping it.
The 12-volt conversion is a big job to do right (including starter, flywheel and clutch swap), and if the 6-volt still works well, I'd think about keeping it.
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Russell 66
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- Joined: Mon Oct 18, 2010 12:35 pm
- Location: Jacksonville, Florida
Gee. We thought once you upgraded to modern day voltage, you'd achieve something closer to modern day speed on the wipers. I don't use the wipers now because the driver's side pops off if I do! Either the wiper arm or the thingy it attaches to is stripped so we'll have that fixed as well. Currently, Rainex and a telescoping duster with a chamois tied to the end operated manually from the open window work . . . okay. 
The car works fine in every other respect with the 6 volt system. It's my daily driver for two weeks each month when I''m in one of our bi-city home locations. My husband wants the car to be as reliable as possible for me when I'm here and he is not. He'd like the lights to be brighter as well so I'm seen better by others at night. In any case, we are lucky to have a VW specialty mechanic here in Jacksonville who opened his doors in '66 so he'd do the actual work. The car has been reliable so far so maybe we will put the upgrade off. We were also thinking of putting in an Optima battery. If the optima is really that much better, maybe a 6 volt Optima would be a better first move.
Thanks for the info and any other insight you might have to the difference between 6 and 12 volt.
The car works fine in every other respect with the 6 volt system. It's my daily driver for two weeks each month when I''m in one of our bi-city home locations. My husband wants the car to be as reliable as possible for me when I'm here and he is not. He'd like the lights to be brighter as well so I'm seen better by others at night. In any case, we are lucky to have a VW specialty mechanic here in Jacksonville who opened his doors in '66 so he'd do the actual work. The car has been reliable so far so maybe we will put the upgrade off. We were also thinking of putting in an Optima battery. If the optima is really that much better, maybe a 6 volt Optima would be a better first move.
Thanks for the info and any other insight you might have to the difference between 6 and 12 volt.
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Blue Baron
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- Location: Tampa, Florida
The Optima is much better, but nothing short of 12 volts will make the headlights bright.
A friend of mine has a friend who came up with a special converter that fit in the headlight bucket and converted his 6-volt headlights to super bright 12-volt halogen bulbs, just like a new car. It was amazing to see, but unfortunately it was just a prototype and they decided not to make any more because they thought there would be no market for it. I'm sure they're wrong about that.
A friend of mine has a friend who came up with a special converter that fit in the headlight bucket and converted his 6-volt headlights to super bright 12-volt halogen bulbs, just like a new car. It was amazing to see, but unfortunately it was just a prototype and they decided not to make any more because they thought there would be no market for it. I'm sure they're wrong about that.
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Russell 66
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- Joined: Mon Oct 18, 2010 12:35 pm
- Location: Jacksonville, Florida
You don't have to replace the starter. I converted mine to 12V - all except the starter - and it works perfect, last 20 years or so ...Blue Baron wrote:The 12-volt conversion is a big job to do right (including starter, flywheel and clutch swap), and if the 6-volt still works well, I'd think about keeping it.
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Blue Baron
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- Joined: Sun Jan 18, 2009 8:34 pm
- Location: Tampa, Florida
Have you had the engine out to inspect the flywheel ring gear for damage? The 6-volt starter tends to chew up the ring gear under 12-volts, and will also burn out the starter bushing in the bellhousing. There's also a phenomena in which the 6-volt starter keeps cranking even after you let off the key.
On the 1300 engine, the 12-volt flywheel is a direct swap. The bellhousing will need clearancing for the larger flywheel, but it can be done with a handheld grinder. You can also get a starter bushing to adapt the 12-volt starter to the 6-volt transmission. That's the extent of the modifications.
On the 1300 engine, the 12-volt flywheel is a direct swap. The bellhousing will need clearancing for the larger flywheel, but it can be done with a handheld grinder. You can also get a starter bushing to adapt the 12-volt starter to the 6-volt transmission. That's the extent of the modifications.