Original Windshield Wipers?

Discussion in 'Chassis restoration' started by rkammer, Sep 10, 2020.

  1. rkammer

    rkammer Gold Level Contributor

    These are the Trico windshield wiper blades on my '70 GS455 and the ones on my '71 are identical but seem a little lighter. So, are these original blades for 1970? If so, are the wiper refills that slip into the blades still available at the local parts stores? Or, online?

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  2. mrolds69

    mrolds69 "The Cure"

    Last edited: Sep 10, 2020
  3. 1973gs

    1973gs Well-Known Member

    I got original style refills at Oreilys. I believe that someone on here listed the part number 3 or 4 years ago and said that Oreilys had them. I gave the counter man the part number and he was surprised that they had them in stock.
     
    71GSX and rkammer like this.
  4. Duane

    Duane Member

    To be completely accurate, as in original, the 70-72 rubber wiper refills should have either 2 or 3 ridges running along the length of the rubber.

    Somewhere I have a note showing the breakdown of the various years. Some had raised "dots" instead of ridges.

    Years ago I had setup next door to a guy that had boxes and boxes of NOS belts, oil filters, and wiper refills at Carlisle. I had plenty of time to open up different "date coded" boxes to see when the changes took place. I learned a lot at that show.

    Thankfully we never got this "exacting" with our judging.
     
    BUQUICK likes this.
  5. Part # for the correct Trico Refills that are metal and rubber are: Trico Part # 43-160. I just put a set on my car with my factory stainless steel wiper blades.
     
  6. 1973gs

    1973gs Well-Known Member

    I wasn't going for a factory correct nos set for my car, but using modern blades on my 73 with depressed wipers, they wouldn't clear the hood and would get stuck either under the hood or on top of it, depending on if the hood was open or closed when you shut them off.
     
  7. rkammer

    rkammer Gold Level Contributor

    To add to your comments, I have a '71 and a '70 both with known (I believe) original wiper blades. I took them off both cars and weighed them last week. The ones from the '70 were noticeably heavier than the '71s and the stamping "Tryco" was better defined. The '70s look like real stainless steel while the '71s appear to be aluminum. The '70s weighed about an ounce more as well. So, did Buick start with aluminum wiper blades after 1970? Or, is the aluminum one an after market?
     

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