I was talking to my engineer today on the things I need to do so I can obtain a blue slip for the 53. A blue slip is a notification to say that your vechile is road worthy to be registrate for the road. If you modify a vechile in Australia outside its original make over you need a engineers report to say your modifications are correctly done. I need a engineers report because I have put in a Jag front, bigger engine, Steering column etc, The engineer goes over the 53 and says everything is to his satisfactory except he wants me to put in windscreen washers in the 53. How absurd is that to see window washers pretruding from somewhere on my cowl. They didn't have window washer back in 1953....gee heck. I wasn't even born then. If I don't do it then he won't pass my 53, then I don't my blue slip, and then I don't get my 53 registrated to drive on the road. Man I am pi#$%d off. I am not a happy camper.
Cheers Paul

 

Paul

how is the gap between hood and cowl ???? could you fab up some squirters from small tubing that you could attach to the inside of the hood that would protrude thru the hood/cowl gap (ever so slightly) ... small diameter tubing snaked thru the rear hood brace down to a hidden reservior/pump... lots of 70/80 models had them that way... you could also consider adding an aftermarket set that attaches to the wiper arm itself, like the late models do.......even less noticable and only a very small hole next to the wiper shaft hole.... there's more ways to skin a cat

and yes it is ridiculous... but they make the rules and hold the certificate... at the very most they should make you put it back to original equipment... they requiring seat belts also ???



later
John

 

Just do some temporary tubing to make this 'engineer' happy then remove it after you get your blue slip.

 

XY Falcon tubing style (that came out of the cowl grilles) they might just stick outta the gap between the cowl and the cowl vent!!!!!! as for Engineers......it coulda been A LOT worse!!!!

 

Hmmm.... From all that I can tell, my 53 is stock. It does have the deluxe trim option, but other than the mirror that mostly looks like a 52, I've not found any mods from stock.
That being said, my hood had a 'squirter' on it. Looked like a little bug with two eyes. I recently removed it as I was gonna start sanding my hood. I'll check this afternoon and take some pix.
I would agree with the idea of doing something temp to get your inspection, then fix it the way you want it.

 

If your truck will be a daily driver, or used on long trips, a washer is not a bad idea. If you have to do it, do it right, nice reservoir and a good pump, be nice if you could work out the kind that has the tubing running along the arms and sprays right at the blade.

 

The 56s had an option for windshield washers. I am not sure how they were mounted outside, but under the hood was a bag and there was a button inside you pumped for them to squirt. It might even be a foot operated button. I have never actually seen one.

I know a guy with a 57 that has this option. He is going to hotrod it and is supposed to send me the components to install in mine.

Believe me..if you drive yours like I do...you will want washers of some sort on it. Mine gets coated with bugs every time I drive at night. It gets so bad sometimes...I just have to pull over somewhere and wipe the windshield off with paper towels the best I can.

You could probably even hide a modern "tank" type that has the pump built in under the cab somewhere.

I have a brake booster, dual reservoir master cylinder, and a vacuum canister hidden under my cab that way.

 

Ford did offer a windshield washer kit for 1956...it's essentially the same as the Falcon's and other Ford's used in the 1950's and early 1960's.

A foot pump mounted on the floor, a bag under the hood, all the tubing, jets, misc mounting parts came with the kits.

Both electric and manually operated kits were offered.

Studebaker trucks used a similar kit...but it's electric only...now why did I mention that?

Because, fellow members...you can still buy the Studebaker truck washer kit from STUDEPARTS.COM

How do I know about this Studebaker kit, and the fact it works on Fords? Because...before I was a Ford partsman, I was a Studebaker partsman!

I just passed on one of these Studebaker kits to a fellow member here, so I know what comes in the kit.

If you don't want the washer bag to say Studebaker on it, you can buy a repro washer bag from Dennis Carpenter.

1956: The bag is red and sez SeeClear on it.

 

Just put a big sign on the dash...."PRAY FOR RAIN". Then tell the engineer, God will take care of it...

Kidding aside, as was mentioned, it COULD have been a lot worse! I would imagine the engineers have to justify their jobs, so they would find SOMEthing wrong, no matter what. He could have found something MUCH worse, something taking disassembly to do, that would have REALLY upset you.

I agree, look around. There's bound to be something that can be used, that can either be hidden, or add to the truck. I know it can be upsetting, but could have been more upsetting, in my opinion.

R

 

Hey Aussie

I wanna tell ya about a method I used a number of years back to install washers on my 54 ******* Overland. In the cowl where the wiper transmissions are bolted there is usually a small notch cut to keep the transmissions from rotating with the wipers. ”I call them transmissions because that is what they were listed as in a parts catalog". I have never seen a 1953 wiper transmission apart so am not even sure this would work for you, but ya never know.

I wanted washers on my ******* but did not want to put holes in the hood or cowl. I noticed that on some wiper assemblies the washer squirter is in the wiper arm itself. I was wandering through one of the old pull-apart yards here and found a set of wiper arms off a thunderbird I think it was and I started thinking on how to hook up the lil hose for it that supplies the water to the squirter.

With a little head scratching and digging through my carburetor junk box I came up with an idea and two brass tubes that fit the rubber hose on the wiper arm perfectly. I pulled the transmissions out of the cowl and I filed off the little nub of metal that is put there to keep the transmission from rotating in the cowl. I then drilled a hole the exact size of the brass tube where those nubs were and soldered them in place. The tubes themselves now keep the transmission from rotating in the cowl. I bent the tubes inside to clear the linkage under the dash and made a nice bend outside to hook the rubber hoses to. I did not have to put any holes in the cowl or hood and the washer fluid went where it was needed even at 70 MPH.

I think those parts on a ford are made of pot metal so you would have to use some sort of epoxy. The ones on my ******* were made of brass so silver soldering them in place was a snap.

Add to that a washer bottle with an electric pump and ya have a squirter setup with no extra holes.

Hope this works for ya or gives you an idea how to solve your problem without extra holes…
And like a few others have said… Smile it could have been a LOT worse.

Cheers mate!

_____________________
My Grandpa told me once that you have to learn by the mistakes of others because you will NOT live long enough to make them all yourself.

 

If you don't want to install the washer units is it possible to find another engineer to OK the truck? Each engineer is different and one might not be as picky as another. Like mentioned above, many times inspectors seem to find at least one thing to complain about just to make them feel important.

My in-laws used to dairy farm. They kept a very clean operation, winning the highest quality milk every year. They would get inspected every year and the inspector always seemed to find at least one problem. The funny thing is the problem was usually something that the same inspector hadn't caught in previous years. I always told my in-laws to make sure they set up a very obvious, but easily remedied, infraction so the inspector would feel good about finding and they could take care of in a few minutes.

 

ND, you never cease to amaze me!

 

1959/61, I had a summer job at the local Studebaker/Packard/Mercedes dealer. So when I got out of high school, I went to work full time for them. 6 months later, the owner sold the property, and so, I had to start all over again at Ford.

I have Studebaker parts catalogs, too. Bill Walford has a Studebaker Avanti (as does another member here), so when Bill needs a part number, he knows who to ask. The last number I gave him was this: 1558465...that's a 4V carb kit for an Avanti with a Supercharger.

btw: I don't bleed Ford blue all the time, because I also own 2 prewar Packards and a Studebaker R2 Super Hawk...with the same engine Bill's Avanti's has...a blown 289.

That's a Studebaker 289, not a Ford engine.

Did'ja know that Studebakers used Spicer 44 rear ends and BW T86 & T85 overdrives? There are several Stude parts vendors that have NOS parts for the Spicer and the BW O/D's.

Try finding those parts at any Ford obsolete parts dealer = good luck!

 

I used some small chrome washer nozzles on the cowl of my 55 they look OK not a big job, they are needed here in the UK on ALL vehicles.

The law says the vehicle must have an effective means of washing the screen or words to that effect.. so some of the Hot Rod guys just carry a squeezy bottle in the cab and hold it out the window and spray the screen to get through the test ;o) Would that make your man happy?

 

aussie53, wiper washers on wiper arm. my peterbilt has them, so why not look at BIG trucks for a simple solution. most BIG trucks have this setup. time to think outside the box! this washer mechanism is, maybe, 3/4x1x1/4 not very obtrusive, and totally functional. just another option?