Speed Holes!

Warbird-style Drilled Wiper Arms

Warbird-style Drilled Wiper Arms

This is a tiny mod, but one that I’ve wanted for quite a long time. There’s no eloquent way of expressing my joy at finally having these, but I’ll do my best. The desire to just squee and post pix is very high though.

First – a BILLION thanks to Jeo who brought this set with him as a gift to me and Sharka. When he pulled this out of Blue Jay‘s trunk and handed them to me… there may have been a tear.

So awesome.

Thanks again buddy!! So appreciated.

Such speed holes.

Such speed holes.

This is a set of hand-drilled Miata wiper arms made by Chad who used to own Warbird. Chad made a handful of these – some in a brushed finish and some in various black powdercoats. The one Sharka has is done in satin black powder, which is the exact set I wanted.

If I remember right, Chad started with something like 20 sets of wiper arms. He destroyed some learning how to drill them. Others were badly powder coated and he didn’t like the results (they were kinda brown I think). And he had only 4 or 5 sets when he was done.

Out of those 4 or 5 sets, Chad wasn’t 100% happy with any. Each had a small misalignment or some other imperfection. He didn’t feel that any of them were worthy of my blog – and I got updates and pix of the whole project while he was working on it – so none ever came to me.

I was… kinda crushed. I didn’t expect perfection. It just seemed like a cool piece to have and a subtle detail to add to Sharka. But if Chad was not pleased, then I’d just wait for a future batch when he had all the kinks worked out.

Then Chad sold Warbird. And I didn’t expect to ever have a set of his wiper arms.

Tired and faded.

Tired and faded.

Yes, those are Sharka’s wiper arms. They’re old and faded and have rubbing compound dots from polishing the hood. Wiper arms are easy to ignore until they get a lot worse than the ones pictured above. A quick spray of black paint usually fixes them up for another few years.

But Jeo provided me with something WAY nicer than a set of sprayed arms!!

Hotness indeed!

Hotness indeed!

I love that! It’s such a cool little detail. And, like the original tired wiper arms, they’re easy to miss. Just something you notice when you’re really looking.

A word about the misaligned holes – you truly cannot tell unless you’re staring at them from a foot or two away. It’s easy to see the crooked holes in these photos, but it’s not like that in real life. They just look like custom wiper arms. Your eye is drawn more to the spring behind the holes than the holes themselves.

And a word about noise – I have not noticed any. Since installing these, I’ve had Sharka on the freeway a few times and not heard any whistling. I mean, he’s not the most quiet car anyway, but I’ve not heard any new noises.

It's all in the details.

It’s all in the details.

Seriously! So happy to have these.

Recently, Chad has purchased another Miata. He’s got an NB with an M45 supercharger. Chances that he’ll make up some more wiper arms are decent. If he starts selling them, I’ll update this post with links on how to get some.

I would imagine the next batch will have more kinks worked out and have the holes more perfectly placed. But I wouldn’t trade this set. It has personality, it was a thoughtful gift, and it’s the very set I wanted in Chad’s first batch.

Thanks again Jeo and Chad!!! I’m one happy Roadsterman.

« | »
  • Jeo says:

    I figured the satin black would work fantastically with the aesthetic of Sharka. It’s a subtle piece that adds to the feel of the car, it may sound like a cliche but the devil is in the details. I’m so happy that you liked your gift Adam. Cheers and hope to see you soon!

  • Zandr Milewski says:

    Yeah, I’d buy a set immediately. Maybe one for each car.

  • Jim says:

    And I thought I’d finished everything I wanted to do on Ginya . . .

    These would look great with her aviation aesthetic . . . Sign me up too!

    I’ve repainted her wiper arms at least 3 times in the past 26+ years, and always thought there was something that should be different

    [BTW try removing the wing on the driver’s side arm; did this years ago with no ill effect and looks much cleaner. A sliding jig on a drill press would solve the hole alignment problem should these go into Revlimiter production]

    Big kudos to Chad for this idea, Jeo for his thoughtfulness, and to you Adam for highlighting them; they look great on Sharka!!!

  • Paul B says:

    Love the speedhole wiper arms even though, I prefer the non-drilled arms.

    I imagine a template easily created in a graphics program would make placing holes perfectly much easier. Similar to the template for the gauge cups.

    just an idea.

  • Brad says:

    Looks nice. Not sure why you would expect any new noises though? Only unfortunate noises I’ve encountered in that area were from a busted piece of cowl trim, the rubber on the end of the passenger side acts like a reed at certain wind speeds, vibrating through the windshield.

    It really is interesting how a windshield amplifies noises as much as they do…

  • Corey says:

    Ughhh I think I need these

  • Darren says:

    Sweet idea. I’ll have to give this a shot. As for the misaligned holes, measure twice, cut once. A center punch & center drill will solve this problem

  • Leave a Reply to Corey