Wipers or not?

[Chainsaw]

Gents,
I'm working on finalizing the options for my planned 289 build which I hope to order come August-ish. I'm waffling on adding wipers to the car, but I'd prefer to skip the wipers. The car will be licensed in Florida, but I don't plan to drive it in the rain or add a soft top to it for that matter.

So, should I add wipers to the order (as we all know how rain predictions go in the Sunshine State) or is the car required to have wipers to get licensed? I know there are temporary options that could get me past the licensing process, but if it's a good idea to have wipers on the car anyway I have no problem doing that.

Thanks
Jack

[CDXXVII]

Funny, I purchased the wipers for the looks and possible rain. I ended up needing them desperately when my windshield completely fogged up in a canyon run. Never thought that was a thing. Wipers took care of the outside but I still needed to wipe the inside with a towel. Completely blind when it happened. Heater defrosters would have helped if I had installed them.

[nuhale]

Like many things it's personal preference. I've had to use the wipers once in a pop up drizzle and they came in handy. A rain-x treatment would equally work. Personally I like the look and had them so on they went.

[EZ$]

I got the wipers with my kit, wired them up, installed the motor, and then decided to not install the wipers themselves. Just removed the fuse so I didn't have an issue by accidentally turning them on, since the cable is still wound up at the motor. I figured that if I found that situations were coming up where I might need them I can always finish the install.

[lewma]

I also installed the wipers. I think they look good, but I never plan on using them

[Fman]

I skipped them, personally I like the look of the car without them on. I'll never drive this car in bad weather, I also carry some window cleaner and a towel in the trunk if I ever need to clean windshield while on the road. Some states require them to pass inspection, I know there are clip ons you can use to pass if needed.

[GoDadGo]

Check with your DMV before you decide because many States require windshield wipers.

[mburger]

If you decide to go with wipers, I would strongly suggest not using the Factory Five wiper kit. For about $275 you can get a much nicer, higher quality kit from specialty power windows. They are half the price and twice the quality. You want the WWK-2 kit. One thing to note is that they do not come with the wiper arms or wipers. However, they sell those in several styles and they are for a standard sized Knurl.

https://www.specialtypowerwindows.com/power-windshield-wiper-kits

[Al_C]

There is no comparison between these wipers and those you'd find on a production vehicle. Do they work? Yes. Do they work well? Debatable. I installed them and have used them on several occasions. They sort of got rid of the rain. I'm still glad I installed them, though. So as GoDad said above, a lot of it depends on Florida requirements as well as your personal preference. Just my 2 cents.

[Lickity-Split]

There are no wipers on my roadster. I do have the windshield coated with Rain-X though. That stuff is great and really lets the rain blow right off, if you've never tried it.

[edwardb]

Random thoughts from my side: Find out local requirements. I'm not a huge fan of putting temporary ones on just to pass inspection. But many have done it. Harder to install on a finished car than during the build. Decide now, not later. Also consider that a future owner may want wipers for personal or legal reasons. The wipers are marginal, but when it's raining (and it will happen sooner or later) they do help. Agree Rain-X helps. With or without wipers. The wipers can be made to work adequately. For the Lucas style, I've had decent luck with the higher quality wheel boxes from **********. Someone said the latest versions from Factory Five are these higher quality parts. If so, that's a big improvement as that was the weakest part of the setup Factory Five supplied. I haven't tried the Specialty Power Windows wipers on a Roadster. But I do have them on my finished Coupe and in the process of installing them on my truck build. I'd bet they'd fit on a Roadster. Agreed they are vastly superior to the Lucas variety. Almost DD quality.

[cnutting]

As others have said, check your state requirements. I built my 289 without them, but added the ********** set recently to help with morning condensation. I do like the look with them on. Installation after the fact wasn't hard, just a little nervous drilling into a painted body.

[GTBradley]

Doesn’t it rain every day at 4 pm in Florida?


https://youtu.be/nzDYyX-kJ5U

My take on this is, why not? The wipers don’t look bad and do look original to the car. To me, any car without wipers looks like it’s missing something, but more importantly they do help you continue your trip in the event of rain because they do work. It comes down to how you’ll use the car and what you want it to look like. My little video there is after some heavy rain where I was too focused on driving to video it. It was a 900 mile weekend and rain was unavoidable, so having them was really nice.

[mburger]

...But I do have them on my finished Coupe and in the process of installing them on my truck build. I'd bet they'd fit on a Roadster. Agreed they are vastly superior to the Lucas variety. Almost DD quality.

Paul, I installed the WWK-2 kit on my Mk1. As you’ve seen, being a “universal” kit, as long as you don’t bend the rack tube beyond the 3” radius limit suggested, and stay within the max distances (extension kit available) you can install the motor housing anywhere at any angle needed.
I learned about SPW from you so thanks again!

[Avalanche325]

You are in Florida, like me. You may not PLAN driving in the rain. But I promise you that you WILL drive in the rain.

Here is one you might not have thought about. You head out on a nice cool morning. You head over a bridge and BAM! Your windshield instantly fogs over. Happens to me all the time. Oh, and keep a hand towel behind the passenger seat for when the inside fogs up.

I am in the "Why would have a street car without wipers?" camp and it "looks like something is missing" camp too.

A group of us were heading to a Deep South Cobra Club event. It is sort of a running joke that it always rains on the Thursday when everyone is headed to the event. True to form, it was good old Florida can't go over 30mph monsoon rain. There were 3 Cobras and a Hyundai travelling together. One Cobra didn't have wipers, mine decided to park straight up, and the other Cobra, his drivers side wiper arm flew off. Four cars and the only one with working wipers was the Hyundai.

We all had our soft tops on........hint hint.

[Chainsaw]

Lots to consider and as Avalanche says, while I don’t plan on driving in the rain, I will get caught out (more than once). Looks like I’m adding a wiper system of some type.
Thanks for all the input. Much appreciated.

[CraigS]

Beyond the actual driving in the rain wipers allow you a little more flexibility in using the FFR. many, many times I wanted to drive the FFR and looked at the hourly forecast. If you have wipers, you can bump up the % chance of rain that you are willing to take the FFR in by maybe 20%. I tried RainX and it helps, but the next time I went to quick clean the w/s w/ a little Windex and a towel, it turned into a milky mess. So 3 minutes became 10-15 minutes and the RainX was no longer very effective. I never re- applied it.

[rich grsc]

Beyond the actual driving in the rain wipers allow you a little more flexibility in using the FFR. many, many times I wanted to drive the FFR and looked at the hourly forecast. If you have wipers, you can bump up the % chance of rain that you are willing to take the FFR in by maybe 20%. I tried RainX and it helps, but the next time I went to quick clean the w/s w/ a little Windex and a towel, it turned into a milky mess. So 3 minutes became 10-15 minutes and the RainX was no longer very effective. I never re- applied it.
I've used Rainx for a long time, I've never had that happen. Wonder what happened, apply it too thick?

[CraigS]

Rich that could have been it for sure.

[Papa]

My experience in Colorado when getting the VIN inspection to get the car tagged and titled is that you need wipers. I was specifically asked to demonstrate them for the inspector. Now, you may get through the inspection without them depending on the particular officer doing the inspection, but that's a risk I wasn't willing to take. Colorado does not specify that they must be electric, but only that they can be operated by the driver, so the marine-type clamped to the windshield may get you through the inspection.

[BEAR-AvHistory]

Not required in NC & if they were would have mounted a temporary one. Rain-X works well. If you are caught in the rain it will form on both sides of the glass anyway.

[FFinisher]

If you decide to go with wipers, I would strongly suggest not using the Factory Five wiper kit. For about $275 you can get a much nicer, higher quality kit from specialty power windows. They are half the price and twice the quality. You want the WWK-2 kit. One thing to note is that they do not come with the wiper arms or wipers. However, they sell those in several styles and they are for a standard sized Knurl.

https://www.specialtypowerwindows.com/power-windshield-wiper-kits
The new FFR wipers work fine...... Probably two years ago they made significant improvements. The new wheel boxes work well. They also have a nice mounting bracket for the motor and the kit comes with a switch that allows them to park and work properly.

If installed correctly the FFR wipers work perfectly fine. The kit is complete with wipers, arms, wheel boxes wiring etc.

There is no comparison to a production vehicle, but they work and work well.

The early ones did not work so well. The wheel boxes were not great and the motor mount was lousy. The new stuff works well and is worth the money.

Massachusetts requires wipers to work as designed, sooooo… not required, never been an issue here.