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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - Wiper arm spindle clearance.

Clearance to the wiper arm is very tight, and you can see it has flaked the paint on one. (Photos of left and tighter, right side)
AFAIK these are the correct early arms with the smaller end fitting. But what seems odd is the length of exposed wheelbox spindle sticking out beyond the ferrule nut on both. Any other frogeyes to compare this too? Is there a different frogeye wheelbox?




GuyW

guy

the wiper arm looks ok but the spindle seems longer.
see image from my car
The spindles are the same as the MGA and Healey 100/4 and 100/6

Bob Beaumont

The nuts on yours are a bit further down the thread; more thread exposed, but less spindle.
These wheelboxes came with the car ( in boxes), but many other parts have been wrong so they could be from just about any BMC car of the era!
GuyW

Guy,
Ok this is not a Frog but I don’t think they are much different.
I assume the arm is fully engaged on the spigot ? Can you find away of getting more depth - file a taper to the leading edge of the spindle ? If more depth is available at the top of the arm but not quite ‘full bore’
Reduce the top of the spindle a bit ? Can only be a bit as ISTR it’s riveted on.

May gain just enough to avoid hitting ?

R.

richard b

Helpfully the wheel box does have the part number stamped on it the original number was 72674. The interchange numbers ie the same part! are 72660,72704,72744,72850. Can you see the number peering up behind the dash??
Bob Beaumont

Bob, numbers are 72744 A (I think that is an A at the end)

With the wiper arm off, there is a clear neck between the end of the pot metal bit that the nut screws onto, and the serrated part that the arm fits to This seems more than is necessary. The total length as in photo is 0.627" the depth of the wiper arm socket matches the depth of the serrated part pretty well exactly.

GuyW

Is the bezel kit correct for the car, might they have changed for different windscreens.

I think you've been through wiper arms before but are they correct original type to model.

Different model and bonnet I know but when I forget and set the bonnet to a reasonable looking gap on mine the bonnet edge is scratched the same.
Nigel Atkins

Bezel is correct. There are two angles available. This one is correct to go with the different angle of the frogeye screen.
Similarly, the wiper arm is correct for the frogeye, and a more compact fitting than the later car ones.
The bonnet gap is 1/4" , which if anything from answers others have given, is wider than most.

Putting a spacer washer under the scuttle to lower it won't work as there is only just enough of the outer spindle piece protruding to get the fixing nut on. As it is, when tightened down it is neatly just below the last exposed thread.

But a washer on the inner spindle inside the wheelbox would help. I think there is enough tolerance in the mesh with the cable rack that this could work, it could take a spacer. But I think the serrated end piece would need to be removed to dismantle it all to get a spacer washer in there. And it doesn't look like it is intended to come off
GuyW

Guy

Getting the serrated end of is a mission! Its only thin and buckles readily. I had done it but the results were not good. I could not get the end to lock securely enough on the spindle and in the end it went in the bin.
I wonder if new spindles may solve it. Do yours have a lot of end play.
Bob Beaumont

About 1/4" , up and down along the line if the spindle. I don't know if that is a lot or a little!
Somewhere I have some spare ones, but will have chosen the best when I put this together. But it would be something to experiment on. The end of the spindle has 3 small punch marks, so that is how it is held.
GuyW

Guy,

I just measured mine the same as your photo and got .598" though I do have more thread showing with the nut tightened down. The dimension from the top to the nut to the end is .820" which looks like more than what you have. I know that my set up is original to the car since it's been in the family since 1967. This information will probably confuse things even more.
Martin

Is yours a Bugeye, Martin?
GuyW

Yes, 1959.
Martin

Guy

Your vertical movement seems more than mine which is approx 1/8". I have some reasonable ones if your stuck.
Bob Beaumont

This thread was discussed between 27/05/2021 and 28/05/2021

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