I am looking at I believe it to be a 84 Z28 roller and on the rear hatch is a winshield wiper. Was this a factory option? I have never seen another one so I am alittle confused. The car was an auto car, is straight, RDB rear end and the best part everything is there except motor and trans. Seems right for $350.00 ...... just wondering about the wiper? Sorry if I'm rambling

 

Yes. I have one on my 85 IROC. RPO C25 (Rear Window Wiper with washer). The freakish things were available 82-86.

JamesC

 

yup. they aren't very common, but they were a factory option. I have a hatch off an 84 Berlinetta that has the wiper. It also requires a specific interior trim piece with a large bulge for the motor and I also believe there is a specific hatch strut for them due to the added weight.

 

Though 46,132 of them were produced from 82-86, they aren't seen that often. BTW, I used standard hatch struts without a problem.

JamesC

 

Thanks guys...... thought I was losing my mind when I ran across this! I think that for the price it will be worth purchasing then. Again..... I appreciate the help.

 

wow, that's a lot. I guess most people that still have 3rd gens that came with the wiper have swapped them out. I remember when buying new hatch struts they had several options listed based on the presense or absense of the rear wiper blade and spoiler. Whether there was much difference in the strength of the gas struts from one option set to another, I don't know.

 

Said the same thing when I 1st saw a wiper on the back of a thirdgen. lol

 

I definitely got my confused look on when I was looking at it!!! The only thing there is the ***, no arm was attached. So this really had wondering if somebody did this to be stupid or what?

 

They did, GM

JamesC

 

I guess it would be fun to sit in traffic and hit the switch and have the guy behind you get his confused look on..... definitely not something you see everyday!

 

I think ultimately they figured that the wiper was basically useless. I hardly get anything on my rear window while driving...

IIRC the window washer is on top of the car in the center... There is a little black nub sitting up there ready to spray...

John

 

Yep. Here's the business:

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/atta...per-rwiper.jpg

JamesC

 

Lets not forget that alot of them leaked when it rained. My 83 TA has one and the bracket for the wiper motor has rusted in two. Should just get rid of the thing.

 

All you guys in southern climates probably can't see a use for them, but up north they do come in handy in the wintertime. At low speeds around town, snow tends to stick to the steeply raked surface of the window while you are driving. Hitting the wiper occasionally keeps the window clear of snow so you can see better. Using it with the defogger also helps you clear frost off the window faster.

I had a rear wiper/washer on a Porsche 944 (similar shape window) and I liked it.

Of course, since F-bodies are not really winter cars anyway, I can see why GM might have discontinued the option.

 

I'm not trying to spread false information, but I have heard numerous times that the rear wiper was an option on Canadian cars. I haven't researched it so I don't know for sure....that's just what I have heard here and there. There is a 82-84 Z28 rotting in a yard down the road from my house that has the rear wiper on it. One of these days I'll stop by and make them an offer for it.

 

i have yet to see any of these. sounds interesting

 

Ive seen them here and there.Mostly on junkyard cars.The switch IIRC is located under the headlight switch on the lower part of thae bezel.Years ago I looked at an 87 Iroc,L98 car.This car was loaded with all options,leather interior,roof console,distance mirror....etc and it had the rear wiper too.If you say they were only used till 86 I wonder why this car had one?Possibly an early 87 build date?

 

my 84 z28 got one its actually pretty handy when its raining and traffic is slow

 

Some cars had a mandatory rear wiper. 1982 Firebird S/E comes to mind. You won't find an 82 S/E without a rear wiper. Possibly 1982 Camaro Berlinetta too, but I'm not sure on that one.

Like someone else said, they were fairly common in the first half of the third generation, 1982 and up. I wish they had made it up to 1992..

 

I think the weight of the option is what caused them to drop it after 1986... Weight was a huge deal with these cars to meet the EPA 22.5 Mpg average required.

John

 

Here it is on my 83 owners manual.


Here is the on/off/washer button.

 

A-ha! So there WAS something that went in that big open space under the headlight switch at some point! Knew it!

 

^ yah, the stock fog light switch! haha

 

hey lopedawg any chance youve got a pic of what the washer pump looks like? mines was broken and a previous owner had gotten rid of it so im lookin for the right one to replace it

 

Bought mine from GM.

JamesC

 

Yeah, well...bet they didn't have fog lights in '82

 

Check the following link for both the OE fog light switch AND the wiper switch:

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/atta...dal-pedals.jpg

JamesC

 

That answers my question

I just would like to add one more tidbit of info on this subject. The '86 cars had the washer squirter offset to one side due to the presence of the third brake light.

 

Interesting. The White Book claims there were only 1500+ in 86. Got a pic?

JamesC

 

A friend of mine in High Scruel had an '83 Z28 that was white, and it had the rear windshield wiper. I remember that it would rattle around a lot, and at high speeds would actually lift up and flip upside down!!! I don't know if he had the factory arm and blade holder on it or not. I just know that he would put it right, and if he got really fast with the car (approaching 3 digits) the wiper would always lift up and flip over. His could have had a weak or broken spring, though. By the way, I'm from Tennessee, and the car was originally purchased near here, so that option wasn't just a Canada or northern climates option.

I think that 'most' buyers found the rear window wiper to not be very useful, and also mildly annoying at times, so they phased it out.

It was a cool car... 1983 Z28, white with silver trim and ground effects, automatic, T-Tops, grey interior, and the cross-fire 305 V8 in it. He totally trashed that car by the time he got rid of it. Sad.

 

What is this white book you speak of wise one????? I need more details!

 

Mike Antonick's genuine Camaro White Book: 1967-1997 (shows options, charts, states, colors, facts, photos, history, prices, codes). The book's ISBN: 0-933534-40-X. IIRC, I purchased mine at Borders.

JamesC

 

So in short form, a must have for the Camaro enthusiast?? I will have to find one!

 

Nope, I noticed it on a car at the junkyard. It was a red t-top Z28 with a black custom-cloth interior. I think I bought the door panels from it.

 

There is an updated white book that includes all models up to the 2002 cars, limited edition Camaro pace cars and the GMMG modified cars (Intimidator, Berger, Tom Henry, ZL1's etc.)

 

1984 Camaros
RPO C25 -- Rear Window Wiper, with washer
Cars with option: 12,268
Option Cost: $120.00

 

Sorry brother but the car is in storage. I can't wait for spring to come.

 

I have one, I don't really notice it that much, but it comes in handy at 60mph+ in the rain on the freeway. It does leak however. If anyone has a rear wiper switch in good condition I could use that.