We’re happy to see the hobby moving towards driving and enjoying vintage Mustangs. Sure, there are some museum quality cars out there that need to maintain a high level of restoration, but the majority of the Mustangs built 40-plus years ago that are still in people’s garages are more-or-less weekend cruisers and occasional show cars. These Mustangs are often left in a near stock condition with just a few well-thought-out upgrades for driving safety, reliability, and comfort.
1 While access to the wiper...
1 While access to the wiper motor is relatively simple from under the dash, if you remove the gauge cluster and steering wheel, you’ll have a much easier time reaching the transmission arms and some of the fasteners. We lucked out and didn’t need a wheel puller, as the original wheel on this D-code ’64½ hardtop popped right off. The Mustang’s battery was disconnected before we went any further.
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The ’64½ D-code hardtop seen here is a perfect example. The owner uses it for weekend cruising and a couple of car shows a year. The generator has been replaced by an alternator for reliability, under the dash resides a “daily driver” style A/C system, and halogen headlights help out for night time driving. Otherwise, he has left the car amazingly original. Unfortunately, the hardtop’s wiper motor is bad and here in Florida not having functioning wipers means staying at home or finding covered protection until the rain stops.
For many vintage Mustang owners, the single-speed wiper isn’t fast enough in a down pour, and even with a two-speed wiper option, sometimes the low speed isn’t low enough, leaving owners wanting an intermittent delay like their modern Mustang counterparts.
No you can solve all of these problems with New Port Engineering’s Clean Wipe wiper drive kit for ’64½-’68 Mustangs. The Clean Wipe kit is an engineered two-speed wiper motor solution that mounts to the stock Mustang wiper motor bracket and allows connection to the stock Mustang wiper transmission arms. The two-speed kit includes a new switch for your dash and the optional intermittent delay switch gives you timed delay function, low-speed wipe, high-speed wipe, and built-in washer pump power as well.
We’re installing the Clean Wipe kit with delay (PN NE6468FPD) and using the optional shaft extension kit for OE dash mounting in this ’64½ hardtop so the owner doesn’t have to fear the weather report any longer on his Sunday afternoon drives.
2 The gauge cluster is simply...
2 The gauge cluster is simply a handful of Phillips screws, the speedometer cable, and of course the wiring connections. If you don’t have a wiring diagram to reference, then you can take digital pictures or simply draw a diagram of the wire colors and where they go. ▶
3 The wiper motor is mounted...
3 The wiper motor is mounted to a stamped steel bracket that mounts to the bottom of the cowl with four 7⁄16-inch bolts. Two of the bolts are easily reached through the dash opening, while the bottom two bolts require access from under the dash. Again, the motor can be removed without removing this bracket, but it makes the conversion much easier. We also removed the wiper arms before going any further. ▶
4 Once the motor bracket is...
4 Once the motor bracket is loose, you can pull the motor down and away from the cowl to access the transmission arms, then remove the retaining clips to free them. Disconnect the motor’s electrical wiring now as well.
5 This is a close up detail...
5 This is a close up detail of the clip(s) that retain the transmission arms. The clip slips over the end of the stud(s) and locks in place (a smaller version of the clip is used to retain the brake pedal pivot on the Mustang), so to remove it you have to pry up the locking tab on the end of the clip and then slide the clip off. OE two-speed wiper setups have a drive arm with two opposing studs, while single speed transmission arms share a common stud.
6 Depending upon your Mustang’s...
6 Depending upon your Mustang’s accessories, you might need to drop your under dash A/C evaporator or slide your console out of the way to allow the wiper motor and bracket to exit the dash. As noted in our intro text, the New Port Engineering wiper kit fits ’64�-’68 Mustangs, so each year differs in console mounting, A/C hardware, and so forth.
7 On the workbench, the motor...
7 On the workbench, the motor and bracket need to be separated. First, the wiper transmission drive arm is unbolted from the motor shaft. Often the drive arm will require a little persuasion/prying to be removed.
8 Three 7⁄16-inch bolts retain...
8 Three 7⁄16-inch bolts retain the wiper motor to the motor bracket. Once you have the motor separated from the bracket, you’ll find three washers fitted to the motor mounting studs. Pull these washers off the motor and set them aside, as you’ll be reusing them with the new Clean Wipe kit.
9 The installation hardware...
9 The installation hardware for the new wiper motor includes these small steel bushings that need to be installed into the factory rubber bushings in the Mustang’s wiper motor bracket.
10 Remove the transmission...
10 Remove the transmission drive arm from the new Clean Wipe wiper motor and use the included hardware to bolt the new motor assembly to the Mustang’s wiper motor bracket, ensuring the washers removed from the stock motor are seated around the steel bushings previously installed. Reinstall the transmission drive arm when completed.
11 Here, the New Port Engineering...
11 Here, the New Port Engineering Clean Wipe motor is assembled and ready for installation in the Mustang. As you can see in this comparison, the new wiper motor is much smaller, offering up a bit more room in the dash for defroster vent routing, wiring, and more—something to remember for cars with lots of dash options.
12 The drive arm on the Clean...
12 The drive arm on the Clean Wipe motor places both transmission arms on the same side like the OE single-speed setup, with the driver side arm being installed first. Secure the transmission arms with the included E-clip. Install the transmission arms to the drive arm while the motor is still loose from the cowl, otherwise there’s not enough room to slip the transmission arms over the drive arm.
13 Removal of the stock wiper...
13 Removal of the stock wiper switch requires an Allen wrench for the set screw retaining the knob and then you’ll have to remove the threaded retainer for the switch itself.
14 Once the switch is freed...
14 Once the switch is freed from the dash, the wiring connector is disconnected. Don’t let this connector get buried in the dash just yet, as you can use it for some of the wiring for the new wiper switch.
15 New Port Engineering offers...
15 New Port Engineering offers two different wiper switches for their Clean Wipe kits (both shown here with optional switch extensions). The switch at the top is the standard two-speed wiper switch; the larger switch at the bottom is their two-speed with intermittent delay and built-in washer pump control. The Clean Wipe kit can be optioned either way, but why wouldn’t you want intermittent delay?
16 New Port Engineering couldn’t...
16 New Port Engineering couldn’t make it any easier when it comes to the wiring. The wires are color coded with an instruction sheet. Simply connect yellow to yellow, blue to blue, etc.
17 Remember the OE switch...
17 Remember the OE switch connector we told you to not bury in the dash? This is the perfect place to connect the power lead for the new wiper system. The ignition switched power wire is orange with a white stripe and the power feed for the washer pump is black with a white stripe. Simply connect the kit’s wires via crimp-on male spade terminals as shown here.
18 The wiper motor has a ground...
18 The wiper motor has a ground wire that needs to be connected to a solid chassis ground. This dash ground is the perfect location. The wiper switch has its own ground wire that needs to be secured to a chassis ground point as well (we used the small retaining screw to the left of the dash for the fiber board wiper transmission cover).
19 The new two-speed wiper...
19 The new two-speed wiper switch has the optional extension pre-installed with retaining nuts to adjust the switch’s depth. Use your original switch to determine the proper depth and then transfer the Mustang switch’s dash spacer over the switch as shown. Install the switch with the original Ford dash bezel, retainer, and knob.
18 The original wiper motor...
18 The original wiper motor wiring is no longer used and is electrically “dead,” so you can just leave the wiring tucked away in the dash. We tie-wrapped the wires together to keep them neat.
19 After reconnecting the...
19 After reconnecting the battery and testing the system, the wiper motor was shut off/parked and the wiper arms reinstalled. This ’64� Mustang is now ready for the lightest rain or the heaviest showers with two speeds and intermittent delay functions.