junk yard run today

Wife and I went to the local LKQ to look for stuff for the wagon and her pickup. They had two '96 Chevy sedans, no wagons, a guy was pulling the fuel lines from one of the sedans and said there was also a Roadmaster sedan but we didn't see it...
We needed another wiper board, grabbed both. The replacement one I got a while back failed, turn wipers on and they would only turn off by turning the car off.
Power antenna mast was broken on one car, pulled the other one since it was in the down position. The antenna on the wagon is broken in the up position, motor still turns, sounds like the internal nylon cable broke.
Found some needed nuts and bolts that are missing from the wagon, for the coolant reservoir and the fan shroud. Grabbed a bunch of random mini fuses from several vehicles.

I wanted to pull the Optispark from one of them to have as a spare but I couldn't get the balancer off either one...

We also grabbed a set of wiper arms from a '05 LeSaber.

They only had a few 88-98 style trucks, like her SS. I was looking for a factory radio wiring harness, who ever installed the radio in the truck years ago just cut off the factory harness and connected the aftermarket harness directly. I found one that I think will work. Planning on installing a more modern aftermarket head unit then the 20+ year old one in there now. It still works great but is a tape deck with no aux or 3.5mm jack. We were also looking for a couple interior trim pieces but the trucks there were '95+ and had a different style interior.

Overall a good morning scrounging!

Saw a few odd old cars in the yard, 1972 Pontiac Lemans that was pretty rough, 1967 Ford Galaxy that was in decent condition aside from the missing drivetrain, an almost pristine 1983 Ford Escort that looked like it had been in a garage for years...

rcktpwrd wrote:

an almost pristine 1983 Ford Escort that looked like it had been in a garage for years...

That reminds me of walking through the yards during cash for clunkers. The cars I saw brought tears to my eyes. Many of them looked brand new.

Do not throw your old antenna away. The masts are hard to get, and if yours gets broken, you will have a spare.

yes I plan on keeping the old antenna and possibly trying out the repair I have seen posted...

rcktpwrd wrote:

yes I plan on keeping the old antenna and possibly trying out the repair I have seen posted...

Antenna repair idea  will work if you use thick enough steel wire push cable I have thought about it too, I think would grease that cable good, or use SS cable. Either way it should work. I had a 1962 buick electra 225 power antenna and repaired the nylon cable, it used plastic way back then too. Had its own up and down slider switch  independent of the AM radio. When all the way down, it left about 1 foot of mast up, thats how they did it back then, did not disappear into the fender, and antenna was 50% longer.

You do not need extremely thick cable. I used 3/32 cable. Never grease or oil the antenna mast or cable. It only gathers dirt, and makes the motor work harder.

Got to be thick enough to push and not collapse on itself. And grab the spinning wheel. I would go with same size as the original cable.

And you can use this Dry Teflon Lubricant, why not.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003UTX0R8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The original cable is 3/32, that is why I used that size. You must take the "pinches" out of the ends to insert it.

You can use lube if you want to, but the FSM says not to use any lube on the mast. If the mast moves with light pressure, the cable will not need lube.