Wiper stalk repair for 1978 308

Unobtaniumsupply.com

 

It will come back "better than new" with the new materials.

Not sure if he has an exchange program or if you will have to wait for yours to be revamped...

 

He does.

 

It is indeed Verell, he is indeed a member here (that is an example of what is called “understatement”), he’s not a high-volume fast-turnaround operation (how many 308 stalk rebuilds are needed in a typical year?) and his work is indeed amazing.

When my turn signal stalk failed at the base, I tore the whole assembly down, found that the wiper and headlight stalks were cracked and not far from failure, sent all three individual stalks off to unobtainium for rebuild. They came back better than new.

Putting the thing back together with the spring loaded detent balls was a seriously educational and character-building experience. There’s a lot to be said for giving the whole cluster rebuild job to Verell, but if like me you have a strong DIY instinct you can let unobtainium rebuild the stalks and do the reassembly yourself.

 

I made a little tool that makes it pretty easy to get the stalks put back together without having the detent balls flying everywhere. It's a thin piece of aluminum with a indent made from a center punch. The spring and ball go into the stalk and held in place by the indent while you slide the stalk onto the shaft. Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

That’s very close to mine (although I started with a piece of thin steel sheet, the sleeve around a set of cheap-ass FLAPS feeler gauges).

 

Very clever Kerry. I hold the stalk vertical and glue the ball to the spring with a little super glue but success rate is about 20 to 1
Make sure you do it on a spread out bed sheet as you will need to find that little ball many times!

 

Hello David,
I'll respond to your eMAIL lalter today.
My apologies for being slow in responding. Unobtainium is simply buried with work!! Seems like everyone is sheltering in place & working on their Ferraris!!! Also, my assistant has been unable to come to work since the covid emergency was declared. As a result I have several weeks work backlog!!!

Please bear with me. In order to work making parts & restoring switches I'm currently checking eMAIL only 2-3 times/week

 

My thanks to all the kind words about Unobtainium's work. Greatly appreciated.

 

I just dip the end of the spring into some dielectric grease before inserting it into the back of the pivot end. My tool is a bit more rigid than the one pictured & cups the ball so It holds it more firmly & the ball typically goes in with only 1 to 3 tries.

Fer sure, lots of patience is required, A lot of balls end up in the workshop's nether regions never to be seen again!!! I buy them in bags of 100!