• Hey Guest!
    British Car Forum has been supporting enthusiasts for over 25 years by providing a great place to share our love for British cars. You can support our efforts by upgrading your membership for less than the dues of most car clubs. There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Upgraded members don't see this banner, nor will you see the Google ads that appear on the site.)
Tips
Tips

Well, my wipers don't work!

Share this page

jdubois

jdubois

Jedi Warrior
Country flag
Offline
Got caught in the rain tonight in the Spitfire! No top, and about eight miles from home. I think this must have been the first time in a long, long time this car has seen rain. So there I am in the pouring rain, at night, with thunder and lightning all around me, playing the 'go as fast as possible so the rain doesn't come in the cabin' game, hunched over beneath the windshield so the rain didn't hit me in the face, trying to see the road through weak headlights and wipers that are doing very little... and a big grin on my face. :laugh:

The interior actually fared pretty well, with only minor water intrusion, but I still spent 45 minutes drying the whole car out when I got home.
 
I've got enough play in the wheelboxes that I can reach over the top and sweep them by hand.
 
If your problem is in the wheelboxes, pull the gears, turn them 180 degrees and reinstall. The wheelboxes only use one half of the gear.
 
I think my problem on the wipers is that the blades are so hard and brittle, they're likely the original 45 year old blades. But more to the point, without a functioning top, I'll just try to avoid the rain!
 
DougF said:
Rainex
Click to expand...

I vote with the Rain-ex idea. Seems to work quite well on our regular cars. Of course new wiper blades may ease the problem some, heh.

Tinkerman
 
Jeremy,

Do you need just the soft top or do you need the frame?

Scott
 
I've got both, actually. But the stitching is so old on the top that it's rotten and the whole top needs to be restitched. I've been thinking of just buying a new top until I can get this original one fixed, but haven't bothered since, when do I ever need a top for? (Yes, I appear to have answered my own question with this thread!)
 
Funny post Jeremy - I remember trying to time traffic lights etc to keep the car moving fast enough so the water went up and over rather the straight down in at a stop light. Once I got reconciled to the fact that it was going to get wet inside it became kind of fun....
 
Reminds me of a time many, many years ago...a trip to Watkins Glen in a borrowed MG-TD (yeah, I had some good friends!) with a very good friend (platonic relationship at the time). She and I got thoroughly soaked during a heavy rainstorm on the NYS Thruway...and really didn't care at all. Oh, to be young again! :smile:
 
driving topless in the rain is one of the great joys of owning a spitfire. IF the rain is warm enough. Yes, I mean the car is topless, not me. That is a sight nobody need see.
 
Back
Top