I've owned alot of vintage Big V's over the years but probably my favorite had to be my 1963 122 wagon. This goes back 25 yrs, I had restored the car and it was immaculate. Well we all know no matter what you all you've done there's something that will come back to haunt you sooner or later.
My wife and I were car camping with a much of friends one holiday weekend up in Bath, VA in the George Wsahington State Forest. Beautiful weather all weekend until we pack up to come home. Half way thru packing the sky turns black and the next thing the bottom falls out and it raining so hard you can't see 20 ft in front of you. So we just throw everything in the cars and start down the mountain. Half way down my wipers quit working, I pulled over and checked everything I could think of with no luck. So we continued down the mountain with me looking thru a patch of windshield in the upper left corner that for some reason would not smear from the water. It was white knuckle driving all the way into Hot Springs VA. where we stopped for lunch and hope to wait out the rain.
After lunch and a long wait the rain wasn't letting up if anything it was raining harder. On a holiday weekend in Bath VA you can forget finding anyone that knows about or has parts for a '63 122 Volvo. We had to be home that night because we couldn't miss work the next day. Then I had a brain storm or has my wife tells it later a brain laspe. Almost all vintage V owners carrys a tool box with them at all times. I got under the dash and disconnected the windshield motor from the wiper linkage. I then got some light weight rope from our camping gear and tied one piece of rope to the left wiper arm and another to the rightwiper arm. I routed the rope thru the vent windows and gave each end of the two ropes to my wife. If you could have seen the look on her face after I told her what I wanted her to do, if looks could kill I'd be dead right now and not writing this. By disconnecting the wiper motor and leaving the linkage to each wiper connected when she pulled on the left rope the wipers moved left and then she would pull the right rope and they would go to the right. So off we go with it raining cats and dogs, ours friends followed behind us in case something happened and we had to pull over they could stop has well. They later told us that from following behind our car my wife looked like she was beating her chest like Tarazan getting ready for his battle cry.
I got to say she was a true blue trooper because she kept that up for a good hour until the rain slowed down enough so she could take a few breaks from the back and forth wiper pulling.
Happy Trails,
Mike and (arms like a wrestler) Dana