Do I have a 69 and up wiper motor on my 68?

[Michael M.]

I had some trouble with my wipers not working, and in the course of diagnosis I removed the wiper motor to bench test it. The silver foil part number label is on the motor but the numbers are non-existent. The motor checked out OK but this motor has only a single red wire coming out of it. In the Paragon Corvette catalog, the 68 wiper motor is shown with three wires protruding from it. Also, I have the wiper arm switch in the cowl area under the right side wiper arm. I also have a yellow wire going into the harness which has been snipped and a black wire going into the harness which has a makeshift connector crimped to it and is under one of the washer motor screws (as a ground, I guess). I suspect the prior owner converted from a 68 wiper system to a 69 wiper system, including vacuum, etc. I know a 69 wiper motor is not compatible with a 68 wiper system.

Based on the protruding wires (1 versus 3), can anyone confirm that the wiper motor is not a 68? Thanks in advance for any replies.

[Joe L.]

Re: Do I have a 69 and up wiper motor on my 68?

Michael------

I can tell you that the 1968 wiper motor had 3 wires----a brown, a red, and a blue. I'm not sure that the 3rd wire was blue in all cases, though.

[Michael M.]

Re: Do I have a 69 and up wiper motor on my 68?

Thanks Joe. Did the 69 and up wiper motors only have one wire protuding?

[Joe L.]

Re: Do I have a 69 and up wiper motor on my 68?

Michael------

1969-72 have only one pigtail and it's red.

[Michael M.]

Re: Do I have a 69 and up wiper motor on my 68?

Well, that's the one I've got. I swear, every time I get into something on this car, I uncover more skeletons. Just more to fix I guess. When I replace the wiring harness, I'll fix this too. Thanks.

[Joe L.]

Re: Do I have a 69 and up wiper motor on my 68?

Michael------

The 1968 was a one year-only wiper motor configuration. However, the basic motor assembly was pretty much the same as later. I believe the differences relate mainly to the wiring configuration, but I don't know the specifics of just what the differences are. It might even be possible to convert a later motor assembly to the 1968 configuration if one knew the specifics of the differences. There may be a few small component differences, too, relative to the wiring.

[Michael M.]

Re: Do I have a 69 and up wiper motor on my 68?

Joe, thanks for the advice. Although this is a driver, not a show car, I pride myself on fixing things the right way, without jury rigging things. They may not be 100% factory correct but if I know someone has hacked into the harness, replaced the wiper motor with the wrong one etc., I'll fix it right. It'll cost some money and time.