71 fury - Headlight washer

[DusterKid]

I just picked up a 1971 Plymouth Fury for some parts and noticed it has the headlight washer system. I've personally never knew or seen this before. The system is complete, but the car has sat for MANY years. Are the headlight washer setup's worth anything?

 

[69monaco]

There was a set for sale for a long time on CL , don,t remember the price and if it sold.
They didn,t ask a lot for it......
Do you have a picture of the fendertag(s).
Sounds like a car with a lot of options.......

 

[Fury440]

I just picked up a 1971 Plymouth Fury for some parts and noticed it has the headlight washer system. I've personally never knew or seen this before. The system is complete, but the car has sat for MANY years. Are the headlight washer setup's worth anything?

I've seen a few over the years and they all sold for fairly high dollars. If you plan on selling, don't forget to include the head light buckets, the one's with wipers are different. They have cutouts for the wipers. If I had a minty wiper setup, I'd be looking to get around a $1,000.

 

[polara71]

I've seen a few over the years and they all sold for fairly high dollars. If you plan on selling, don't forget to include the head light buckets, the one's with wipers are different. They have cutouts for the wipers. If I had a minty wiper setup, I'd be looking to get around a $1,000.

And to think a whole car on this board is worth 2500 tops

 

[Fury440]

Like buying creek gravel by the ton and panning it for gold, sometimes you win but most of the time you lose!

 

[CBODY67]

Sport Fury only, as I recall, which had hidden headlights. ONE model year only, I believe.
A neat option which had real value to keep the headlights clean, every time they were turned on and the headlight doors swung up. Just didn't catch on.

CBODY67

 

[LeBaron1973]

Would this fit a 73 Imperial and were they a good system - lights kept clean?

 

[78Brougham]

Imperial had that option for years. Rare but not worth a grand. There is a recent post on here, that someone was selling a setup with the bumper, rad support etc for $200 from a 71 Fury you'll need all that, plus the proper dash switches... don't think it's worth it imho. Without the proper dash bezel you'll be hacking your way into destroying a perfectly good dash.

They had a separate switch on the dash, and a separate pump to wash the headlights.
Very cool option when new, but how many of us are going to drive these cars in slushy snow covered roads to actually use it. Besides if it's not on the fender tag, anyone that knows about these cars will know it was cobbled on.
$200 yes...$1000 no, unless it was on the fender tag, the original **** the bed and you're gonna put it up for auction on B-J in the spring.

 

[78Brougham]

Would this fit a 73 Imperial and were they a good system - lights kept clean?

Very cool option, but without all the proper switch hardware not worth fitting. Think about it... you have hidden headlights anyway, 99 percent of the time the doors are closed and the head lights are protected anyway. Back when these cars were new, they were daily drivers, now... not so much. They used to be driven thru ice, snow etc. Now.....I would die before my 73 Imperial even saw a flake.

 

[LeBaron1973]

Fair enough, had mine had one which was missing then I'd go for it, but too much hassle for a nearly spot on car.

Much appreciated

 

[CBODY67]

Didn't recall Imperial having that option. My uncle bought a '71 Sport Fury used. It had that option on it. Other cars had "head light washers", which was just a spray nozzle on the headlights (as Mercedes) on non-hidden headlights. Chrysler put the brushes with it for greater effectiveness. Got the scum/film off with the brushes. Up north, it was probably more about snow and such, in TX it was more about road film/scum buildup on the headlight lens. Plus a thin layer of sand residue, too.

This is ONE of the options you don't want to add on later. Lots of stuff to change/modify involved. The switch could probably be relocated somewhere, but still lots of things to change or add. In the same category, in that respect, as the Dodge SuperLite.

CBODY67

 

[LeBaron1973]

Didn't recall Imperial having that option. My uncle bought a '71 Sport Fury used. It had that option on it. Other cars had "head light washers", which was just a spray nozzle on the headlights (as Mercedes) on non-hidden headlights. Chrysler put the brushes with it for greater effectiveness. Got the scum/film off with the brushes. Up north, it was probably more about snow and such, in TX it was more about road film/scum buildup on the headlight lens. Plus a thin layer of sand residue, too.

This is ONE of the options you don't want to add on later. Lots of stuff to change/modify involved. The switch could probably be relocated somewhere, but still lots of things to change or add. In the same category, in that respect, as the Dodge SuperLite.

CBODY67

Thanks for the reply, unsure about the options on my car for another day or so until I arrive in Wisconsin, am in Sydney now and fly out to Dallas tomorrow afternoon.

Had wanted a sunroof but, apart from difficulty of locating one, who could do a proper installation job when she wasn't a total restoration. Just for the record, what other options don't I want due to difficulty of installation?

 

[DusterKid]

Here's a pic of the car and fender tag

 

[69monaco]

A96..................?

 

[CBODY67]

IF you can get the total sunroof "cassette" removed, plus all of the related mounting items AND the drain tubes, don't even think of such an addition, as I see it.

Then you'd need new weatherstrips and such, get the tracks cleaned and reconditioned, plus the related control wiring and switching items.

It would probably be best to cut the surrounding roof section out than just getting the cassette. You'll need to tack in some bracing, considering they are unibody cars and the roof is a part of the structure.

Might not consider upgrading to AutoTemp. There's more differences than you might suspect, from what I've seen.

CBODY67

 

[LeBaron1973]

Thx, only sunroof car I found was a red 73 detroit motor show car at Murray Parks' yard which was sold and being paid off.

As for the auto temp I think its already there - the mechanic told my friend he may need to pull the dash but he's familiar with them and can repair them.

 

[LeBaron1973]

Only another day or so before i see and drive her. Yay!!!!

 

[CBODY67]

The other thing about sunroofs is that they cost about 2" of headroom compared to non-sunroof cars. That can make a spacious car much smaller inside, by observation.

CBODY67

 

[polara71]

At 6'4" I haven't had any issues with sunroof cars and head clearance. Yes, there is overhead height loss but nothing I personally had an issue with

 

[CBODY67]

I'm more like 5'5" and I've noticed it enough that I didn't want one. The loss of "overhead spaciousness" is probably what I don't like too much, at least with the ones in the older vehicles. A 1990s LHS, a different situation, more tolerable to me, but not necessary.

CBODY67