Wiper arm replacement

[Dan_Austin]

My '76 has the arms that use pins mounted on the blade. This is proving to be a huge pain when it comes time to find decent replacement blades.

 

I'd like to swap in a set of arms that either have the pins on the arms, the J-hook or even bayonet style. There are a few old topics here looking for the same information, but all ended without any specifics.

 

The best information so far, which may not be very accurate, is a Rain-X blade catalog that suggests that until '74 the arms were J-hook and '75 to '83 they used the blade side pin.

 

Any advice would be appreciated.

[Dan_Austin]

I hit a pick-n-pull today to find some replacement arms.

There was a single 1976 280Z, and it's arms were long gone.

 

I started with basic measurements, 1.5" long mount to the

fulcrum, with about 14.5" overall length. There is not a whole

lot of choice in this length. Early 80s passanger cars were already

stating to come with racked windshields, and 18" long wiper arms

were the norm.

 

One nice surprise was that while there was only 1 280Z, there were

serveral 1980 Datsun pickups. Those used 15" long bayonet arms,

with close to a 1.5" long mount arm. The spline was close if not

identical, and the mount whole was the same as the 280.

 

So there is an option, perhaps not a whole lote more common that

the 280 arms, but a lot easier to get blades for. The Rain-X

catalog called for 18" long blades, which when paired with the 1/2"

longer arms ride up on the windsheild trim by about 1/4". I have

seen other catalogs spec for a 17" blade and thosw would be

perfect.