Triumph Repair: Windshield wiper mechanism, wheel boxes, triumph spitfire

Question
QUESTION: Howard-- I'm in the process of stripping everything off of the body of my '72 Triumph Spitfire to get it ready for a new paint job.  I can't get the nuts loose on the windshield wiper mechanism that holds the wiper.  Is this a regular right-handed thread or a left-handed thread?  The nut has some marks on the outside perimeter which make me wonder.  Whatever hand it is, any advice on how to get the nuts loose?  Dan

ANSWER: Hi Dan,

If you are talking about the chrome octagon nuts that hold the wiper wheel boxes to the body, they are conventional right hand thread. They sometimes can be difficult and I have destroyed some that were especially difficult. There may be a deep well octagon socket to remove them but I never found one and when the chrome was good and I wanted to save it, I put a piece of thin cardboard in my vice-grips and squeezed it hard from several directions and WD-40 it and often got them off without much damage.

Howard

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks, Howard.  After some hard pulls they finally came off.  The aluminum body of the wheel box was badly corroded in the threads, so half of the aluminum oxide came off with the thread and was in the threads of the nut.  I was able to clean out the nut thread and wirebrush the wheelbox posts, but I can only get one of the 2 nuts threaded back on its post.  Any thoughts on what to do with the stripped one?  Should I use a die on it and make a new thread and then try to find a smaller chrome nut?  Thanks for your great help!  Dan

Answer
Hi Dan,

I doubt you will easily find a die to fit that large diameter with such a fine thread. I have been able to take a very small file with a sharp edge and clean up the threads on some of those wiper wheel boxes. The nuts were usually brass and it was always the wheel box pot metal that was the problem. At times when one is too far gone you just have to replace it.

Howard