Windscreen Wipers

P

prospect8816

Member
Hi, Can anyone tell me the correct size of windscreen wipers I require to fit my 1974 P6B 3500 v8!

All the Haynes workshop manual tells me, is how they work, but not what size (length) they are. The ones in situ are so far gone, that it's hard to know just what size I ought to purchase!
Also I require help in buying a new battery. I have seen the link re battery's, but when I contacted the online site of "Euro Car Parts", I was informed that they didn't stock the battery for my vehicle!! Make of that what you will! The same response from "Moura Batteries"!

I didn't realise just how hard it is to buy a battery for a classic car........!

Any assistance is most welcome.

Regards
Paul
 
14 inch wipers are the correct size I believe, but you might get away with 15 inch. I've just put new blades into my wiper arms. I couldn't get refills so I bought 14 inch replacements and prised out the blades to fit into the stainless wipers I have. Easy job and much better fitting new rubber than buying NOS stainless wipers with old rubber.

As for V8 batteries, I have one of these in mine:

Bosch S5

Fits perfectly into the box and has plenty of ooomph for starting on cold days

Dave
 
I managed to find a set of NOS Trico 14" inserts on eBay (someone in Glasgow was selling various sizes). They're excellent - easy to fit and doing a far better job than all the other bodges I'd tried.
 
I bought a set of these because I have them on the Audi and they are just perfect for screen cleaning. They don't look the part, but I just got them for the winter.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Rover-Group-P ... 20de4604c6

They don't fit :evil:

So I will be looking for a 14" (350mm) pair somewhere and just changing the rubbers over into my stainless heads.

Richard
 
I tried for years to retain the original stainless Trico blades with refilling. Sometimes they worked, sometimes they didn't, leaving unwiped spots in the winscreen, lifting badly at speed etc. I also bought a set of replacement non original 15 inch stainless blades. They looked OK, worked OKish, and had to reposition the arms on the splines a little to prevent them coliding. Their fit on the arms were never great though, and the driver's side one flew to freedom one rainy morning on the motorway. Thinking i just had enough, i drove straight to the next station and bought a set of black valeo blades. They don't look as nice as the stainless ones, but they do what they are supposed to.
 
Re the replacement batteries (V8), do any of these allow the original oblong metal frame (through which the lid retaining hooks pass) to be retained?
 
The batteries that are available here in Australia that I have used in my Rover have all allowed the metal frame to be used, without problems. Dimensionally, they don't appear to have changed much, if at all, certainly that is the case here.

Ron.
 
Never had a problem buying a new battery. Always just taken the old one into the battery merchant, who finds one the same size/rating, and Bob's your uncle.

Interesting comments on the wipers. I've always fitted replacement rubber into the stainless arms, but I notice that the latest lot aren't quite doing the job. The left hand blade leaves a 3-inch diameter unwiped spot in front of the passenger's eyes.
 
Battery size for a V8 boot tray is 075. We ran a technical article on batteries and general electrical health in Driving Force magazine last year. The RP6club's best recommendation at the time was this - fits all V8's and all 4-cylinders with boot-mounted battery trays.
The ratings are right and you can't get a longer guarantee for less. Some people say the terminals are the wrong way around, but they're just putting it in the tray 180 degrees out! What confuses is that the terminals sit closer to the inner wing with this battery, whereas the original style (normally) has the terminals closer to the boot well area, but both battery cables are flexible and the lid still covers them. It really makes no difference at all.

In terms of wiper blades (also a recent tech article in Driving Force - PM if you are a RP6C club member and we'll send you a digital copy of the original articles), you can get up to 16" blades on a P6 windscreen. This gives an excellent broad wipe area, most noticeable at the top of the screen. The only disadvantage is that there is about 3/4" of overlap between the wipers, so to be sure they don't tuck under in the wind and rip each other off, you need to remove the arms from the splines and put them back on so that there is a gap when parked (i.e. the drivers side needs to be set about an inch higher than the passenger's when parked). The best way to achieve this is to set the passenger side so it's almost touching the top of the scuttle pan when parked, and then set the driver's side so the blade sits about an inch further up the screen. In the majority of cases, you'll probably find that tucks the wipers nicely out of view when parked, and is probably better than their current position.

Have a close look at this picture of mine (16" black blades). You can just see the small amount of overlap, so I've set the driver's side blade higher on the splines when parked. If you look at the top left of the windscreen, you can also see the dust line of where the sweep comes to - in operation they leave about 2" from the top of the screen unwiped. This is a massive improvement on standard where, if you're tall, you end up shuffling down in the seat to see under the sweep line!

securedownload by michaeljallen19, on Flickr

Michael
 
I might just suck it up and put some decent quality black arms on. The stainless originals are nicer to look at, but they're not doing the job. I'll keep them in the parts drawer for show days.
 
A big thank you to you all. As usual, you haven't disappointed me. However, I am still unclear as to what size wiper-blades I need, as you've told me 15"/16" or 17"? So which one?? Most confusing!

As for batteries, the one in situ is a type 089 12volt & 60amp. On Ebay their is an "Ultraplus" Type 089 12volt with 4 years guarantee for £69.99 c/o Alpha-Battery Man. Or the Bosch S5 mentioned c/o Euro Car Parts is a whopping £90.10!! And last but not least, is one called "Moura" which is mca-027-12v-62ah-480a (EN) with a 2 year guarantee for £60.00. This is what I've found so far.

What do you all have to say, and which (if any) would you recommend!

Best Regards

Paul
 
075 is the correct battery size (242mm x 175mm x 175mm) and fits the boot battery tray exactly. The one in the eBay listing I posted gives a decent rating that is suitable to intentions. If you decide to go elsewhere, make sure you get an 075, as it's the correct size for the best fit.

Cheers
Michael
 
Hadn't gotten around to think about windscreen wipers as the TC isn't on the road yet. So I pulled out blades from the spares box and found two sets. Both are Anco with the wind scoops to hold them down at speed .One set is 13 inch, and the other 15 inch. I guess I will look for replacement 15 inch rubber, and go with that. Seems a good compromise between 14 and 16.
 
Found a new a pair of blades on ebay for £4.98 inc



Fit a treat and are now clearing the screen nicely :D

Engine won't start now, so something to do tomorrow :?
 

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