I started working on a way to secure the leading edge of my new lower windshield cowl but I didn't get very far. I quickly realized that whatever mods I needed for the wiper system would probably have a major impact on how I secured the cowl in place. So instead, I focussed on relocating the wipers.
I researched the internet hoping to avoid reinventing the wheel. The most promising solution came from my friend Graham. His solution uses the stock Fiero wiper motor, custom linkages, and places the wiper pivots at the base of each A-pillar. It's a great looking design, but I was a bit concerned about access to the linkages if the need ever arose.
Then I began searching for stock cars with highly rounded windshield bases, thinking that whatever wiper system they used, might be "retro-fittable" to my car. Modern Corvettes were first to come to mind, but I found the driver's side linkages and mounts were too deeply imbedded in cowl for them to be practical on the Fiero.
Then I spotted a Saturn Sky (Pontiac Solstice) with a beautifully rounded windshield base. I borrowed the wiper assembly from a friend's car, and since the plastic cowl had to come off anyway, I borrowed that too. I was amazed at the fit. Here's the cowl panel just plopped in place:
The curvature of the cowl panel was very nearly identical to the extended Fiero windshield. The Sky cowl is a bit more rounded but then I couldn't get it to sit as closely as possible because of some plastic mouldings on the underside. (My friend wouldn't let me shave them off!):
The best part was the externally accessible, one-piece wiper motor and linkage assembly:
With the plastic cowl more or less in the right spot, I marked the approximate locations of where the wiper pivots would need to be, removed the cowl, and found the wiper assembly would likely fit with a few easy mods:
Luckily I didn't have to cut up my project car's frame just to see if it would fit. I have a rusted out '85 chassis for just this sort of prototyping. After hacking away at the '85's cowl, I convinced myself it could be done:
I transferred the cut pattern from the '85 onto my '88 frame and chopped out the sheet metal with a cut off wheel. Next, I installed a threaded insert into the cowl metal to fasten the driver's side of the wiper assembly. I wanted the whole wiper assembly to be mounted at the same relative angle to my new windshield as it was in relation to the Sky's windshield, so after a few easy calculations, I sliced the cowl on either side of the nutsert, bent the tab downward, and welded a sheet metal wedge to the tab to maintain its angle (red lines):
Then to strengthen the cowl and to close off the area, I crafted a template for the vertical wall:
Then I cut it out of 18 gauge steel and began welding it into place:
The last thing I did for this area was fabricate a floor to seal off the hole:
Here's the top view of the driver's side wiper assembly mocked up on the newly fabricated mount. (The front of the car is toward the top of the photo):
Next I tackled the wiper assembly's centre mount.
Given how it needed to be located about an inch above and nearly in-line with the brake booster, I originally thought I'd weld a bracket directly to the booster's outer shell. That would've meant taking it apart, and ruining it as a core if it ever needed to be replaced, so I figured out an alternate plan:
After cutting it out of 1/8" thick steel and bending it to the correct angle, I installed the new bracket onto the two studs that hold the master cylinder to the booster, like so:
The last piece of the puzzle was to devise a bracket for the passenger side mount. It was easiest of all:
Here's a photo showing all three mounts ready to accept the Sky's wiper assembly:
All it takes is three easily accessible 1/4" bolts to install this complete mechanism:
Here's how it looks from the top side:
And here it is with my new metal cowl mocked up, and the Sky's plastic cowl more or less in place. (My friend is starting to get antsy about me keeping his cowl for so long, so I guess I'll need to buy one of my own.)
The nice thing about the plastic cowl is that it rises up at the base of the windshield and should fill in the void at the trailing edge of the hood. It also gives me a target for developing the air inlet for the HVAC system... notice the large screen on the passenger side: