15 replies to this topic

[cian]

Just wondering has anyone done a single wiper for the front screen I think a new scuttle is on the cards over winter and I quite fancy the idea of a single wiper I think it would look trick

[Miniminx71]

Interesting. Is the height of the windscreen screen enough to allow you to fit a wiper that would have enough length to clear the windscreen properly?

[surfblue]

Interesting. Is the height of the windscreen screen enough to allow you to fit a wiper that would have enough length to clear the windscreen properly?

I would suggest not, the regular mini wipers are small enough as it is and dont clear a great deal of the screen.

[Miniminx71]

 

Interesting. Is the height of the windscreen screen enough to allow you to fit a wiper that would have enough length to clear the windscreen properly?

I would suggest not, the regular mini wipers are small enough as it is and dont clear a great deal of the screen.

 

I'm glad someone understood what I wrote I know what I was trying to say...

[Cooperman]

It would only wipe one side of the screen. Is this legal under C & U regulations?

[cian]

I'm almost sure I've seen it done in one of the magazine's I think if I recall something about a jcb wiper motor got the wiper arm to turn the length of the screen

[cian]

I should of explained it better I'm thinking of putting a single wiper in the middle of the scuttle I'm sure there's an arm and motor that would do the job, as in my previous post I thi k I seen it done in one of the mags

[creakyjaws5533]

I can't see it being possible and working effectively look at the height of the screen and then measure that distance from the location you want to fit it and you'll get a rough idea of the wiper range
My metro has a single wiper and the screen is quite a but longer
Gives you a rough idea

Edited by creakyjaws5533, 28 May 2014 - 08:28 PM.

[Dan]

  I doubt it'll work.  The Mini's screen is very rectangular.  If you put an arm and wiper in the centre that is short enough to be able to stand upright in the middle it won't go very far each way and will leave a huge area in front of your face unswept.  The motor from a Merc that sweeps a single wiper across and lunges it out into the corners might be appropriate but I don't think the lunge will be deep enough, and it doesn't really do much wiping where it's sending the blade out towards the corners.

[Cooperman]

Can't see the point really. It will undoubtedly reduce the swept area to non good purpose.

[Gremlin]

I think he means getting one of them special mechanisms that don't wipe in a normal arc, they sort of push the wiper into the corners of the screen as it goes round, I would look in scrap yards for a mechanism, you could chop it a out to fit a mini windscreen, if your successful be sure to post it here with a guide?

[cian]

I'm guna look into it I think it would look pretty trick I think its a case of trial and error of both arms and motors 

[zerobelow]

I think the trick to figuring it out would be to mock up a wiper blade and see if you can find a pivot point and arm length that will give you the needed coverage. That will start to answer the question over is it possible. As for the legality, at least in my state, the rules state that, for any car after some date in the 1930s, there must be two wiper blades, or if just one, the wiper motor and blade must have been designed and certified by the manufacturer to provide complete coverage of the window. I know California doesn't apply to you, but the laws for these things seem often similar to yours.

[ibrooks]

It's not do-able in any sort of neat fashion.

 

You might well be able to get the arc so that the wiper goes from one side to the other but as people have said the wiper itself will need to be short enough so that it doesn't go off the screen at the top and hit the windscreen seal or the gutter. With a wiper short enough to do that it won't sweep anywhere near the edges so the part of the screen you look through from the drivers seat won't be cleared and it is a requirement under "construction and use" - just because it might not be specifically tested on the MOT doesn't mean it's not a legal requirement for use on the road.

 

Hold a piece of string in the middle of the scuttle and mark on it where the top of the screen is. Now keeping the end on the scuttle in the same place look where that mark comes to when you pull the string to the side of the screen The will give you a fairly good indication of the area that the wiper will be able to clear.

 

Regarding mechanisms that make the wiper describe an odd route - the cars that have them fitted usually hide the linkage under the rear edge of the bonnet which overlaps the bottom of the windscreen. On a Mini that linkage is all going to have to be sat on top of the scuttle - not exactly stylish.

 

Iain

[Icey]

It's an aesthetics question really. No doubt there will be a way of technically doing it but is it worth it? In my opinion, no.

I had them on my own cars (not Minis) and fitted them to others ~10 years ago (the same era when we used to head out of London to Southend every weekend) and all were crap when it rained. It was a neat trick to pull when it was new and interesting, but it's not anymore so function takes priority over form.

 

That said, as I'm now old(ish) and buy new cars to use day-to-day, the 62 plate Yaris I have has a factory single wiper with a clever mechanism making it clear a larger area of the screen than a pair of blades would do. But the screen is almost square so it works - unlikely you'd get the same result on a Mini without an even more elaborate mechanism!