[T3] Still would like info on the wiper arms and blades for a 73type 3 .

[Jim Adney]

On 6 Feb 2019 at 17:49, William Jahn wrote:

>  The arms were silver on the 72 which I used on my 73 because they
> were missing. They have black nuts canTMt tell if they are plastic
> covered . What I mean is the nuts arenTMt covered by a black plug as you
> see on some models . The nuts stand above the arm yet are black . ItTMs
> been so long I canTMt recall if I bought new blades . I think I did they
> are Bosch and black . I imagine I have the proper arms . All I know is
> they were silver and I painted them black 

Up thru '71, all our cars had a silver theme: silver wiper arms, 
blade frames, instrument faces, horn ring.  

'73 cars had a black theme for all of the above.

The changeovers above, and more, all occurred in mid '72, but they 
didn't all occur at the same time. The '72 I had, was very early, 
August of '71, and had the all-silver theme and the early style (2 
rail) front seats.  

It sounds like you also painted the arm fixing cap nuts, since those 
were never originally black. The black arms came with plain hex nuts, 
covered with a black plastic cap, so the nuts don't show at all when 
you look at the late, black arms.

I measured what I have on my '73 and the arms both measure ~13-3/4", 
center to end. The blades measure 15". My parts book never got 
updated that late for the wiper arms, so I can't tell if both sides 
used the same arm. For a lot of years, the L & R arms are different.

Earlier cars, with the arms that pivot from the right side, used 14" 
blades. (At least that's when I THINK the changeover occurred. It 
could have been in '70, with the introduction of the late body 
style.)  

I sold Dave Pallo some 15" blades for his '72 a couple years ago and 
he complained that they were too long; they hit the rubber at the top 
of the glass. I don't understand what went wrong there, but I sent 
him some 14" blades and I believe he's happy with those. I have very 
nice complete (aftermarket black FRP-fiber reinforced plastic) blades 
and replacement inserts in stock. If you're looking for the original 
VW rubber inserts, I have a few in odd sizes that you might be able 
to trim to length.   

In my opinion, the OG metal blade frames were cheap, easily broken, 
and were annoying when they rusted. The modern FRP frames are a 
welcome improvement, althought I admit that I wish they also came in 
silver for our early cars.

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Jim Adney, jadney at vwtype3.org
Madison, Wisconsin, USA
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