Wiper Wheelbox Axles

[Neil Clark]

I need to drop these down below the scuttle level to allow me to get at the holes.  In the accident the bonnet must have been pushed back against the wipers and this slightly buckled the openings where the wiper axles peep through.  The removal of the two speed motor looks really complex in the manual and the wheel boxes and axles work fine.  If I get access from inside and move the demister hose aside will I be able to drop the drivers wheel box axle below the scuttle level?  The passenger side has already dropped down once the fittings were removed.

[NonMember]

Unfortunately the driver's side is rather constrained by the tube poking through the bulkhead to the motor. If you remove the motor, you can manipulate it a bit, but the heater matrix and demister vents are in the way of moving it far.

Incidentally, do you really have a two-speed motor? An early Spitfire should be the square, single-speed bolted to a sloping bracket.

[Pete Lewis]

if you unbolt the motor and undo the pipe nut you can pull the flexi rack out of the tube 

you could then undo the  tube clamp on the o/s wheel box and that may give it move movement to drop out the way 

pete

[Colin Lindsay]

I'm not sure about the early Spit but nearly all of the other cars just have the motor held on by three bolts through vibration-proof rubber mountings. Make a note of the electrical connections, and label them if they're anyway faded; then disconnect (obviously battery disconnected first!) and with the wipers removed, undo the three mounting bolts - on the early spit you can remove the mounting plate, it's only four captive bolts (and don't forget the earth connection when refitting) and the motor is just hanging on the end of the tubing. Undo the large nut at the end of the wiper motor which holds it to the bundy tubing, then pull the entire motor and cable all the way out.

That's the motor out. To remove the wiper wheelboxes or at least get them out of your way, unscrew the large nut on the outside of the body, and they'll drop down. This should allow access to the sides of the holes without having to remove the wheelboxes any further, which as Rob says is complicated by the dashboard and heater tubes inside.

John Thomason's excellent 'Guide to Originality' says the motor is a single speed, similar (are there minor differences eg gearing?) to the Herald.

[Neil Clark]

I thought it ought to be single speed but then I found the manual photos and Moss drawings difficult to compare.  I need to look at it again in the morning.  I can't run it but I'll see if the switch is two position and I might just take a photo and post it here.

[NonMember]

This is the correct motor for a round-tail Spitfire:

Three wires connected to the motor, one of which is an earth, connecting to the mounting plate fixing. The other two are fused-ignition-live (green) and switch.

[Pete Lewis]

those  early motors were also available as two speed  but had the extra 4th wire 

had one in the cupboard for years . now long gone ,was to fit my new Imp in 68 the stalk switch in the dash posed the problem 

Pete

 

[Neil Clark]

I think it's a single speed after all.  Thanks.

[Pete Lewis]

that motor looks a bit alien     I  dont see it as a  lucas unit 

Pete

[Colin Lindsay]

It's a Lucas ok but doesn't have the adjustable park - no terminal on the round cover, which doesn't appear to rotate (although I could be wrong, just looking at the photo I can't make out the join) but there's usually a terminal on top. The case has been painted silver at some stage.

[NonMember]

Yes, as Colin says, the gear cover is odd and there's no sign of the self-parking contact but the rest of the motor looks perfectly normal.

[Neil Clark]

That's why I was confused.  I think I can treat it as a single speed. All I have to do is slide the drive cable out of the rack to release the wheelboxes, I don't need to dismantle the motor itself.