The downside of the barge...

Well I tore into the butterscotch barge today, pulled the front passenger door panel off and find out I'm not the first one in there, and put the powered mini vent back into its track... but when I roll it down it gets out of sync and doesn't line up. Somethings wron and I couldn't figure it out tonight, but I did clean and grease the tracks on it.
The power locks in the wagon are acting strange, the fronts lock and unlock but intermittently, backs I'm not sure how many times they worked... the tailgate lock was jammed, the power actuator is dead, at least it was in the unlocked possition, I unhooked the connecting bar so it at least locks and unlocks now... and found out why it's overheating, the original radiator is clogged, half gets super hot other side is cold, and the water boils off into the overflow tank.
The radio works but fm does not.
Can't think of anything else other than a few questions, where would I get power lock actuators to fix the locks, what's a good radiator to put in? Why is am working but not fm?

 

We'll start with the last the radio. Repeat after me: "Queer electrons blow fuses." Now, it's likely a dirty or worn switch; you can get some electronics cleaner and run it through the selector switch, moving it back and forth. Then hit the ON-OFF switch/volume control. Let it evaporate and test. If FM still doesn't light off, you'll either have to replace it or, in the desire to keep the car all original, send it to someone to diagnose and repair.
Radiator's easy: radiator shops can boil and rod it out, then recondition it. A bit expensive, but still, keeps the original parts. You can attempt to clean it, but without compressed air and the ability to clean the tubes with a rod, it's hit and miss.
Lock actuators with the correct rod are on eBay, C/L and may also be at your local Pick 'n' Nose or other junkyards. Also scour the ads here; you never know what you'll find.

 

I'm amazed you didn't say "downside? What downside? It's a wagon that needs very little work."

 

Loving old Detroit iron is never a downside. Paying too much for a lump of it that needs too much work and dollars is close to it, though. You made an awesome choice. Insure the fawk out of it.

 

Most of those things are normal for age and just sitting around. Some of my parts got rusty and need some lube now and then to work.

Try doing a radiator flush first yourself. Radiators do plug up from not being used and usually with age.

Since the radio only works part way I'd just scrap the wagon. I can come and get it if you let me know soon. I don't listen to radios, my wife talks enough to keep me awake.

 

The radio may not work on FM because there weren't a lot of FM stations on the air in '73.
WTH is a powerful mini vent?
If the radiator is original it probably has more problems than just clogged tubes, there are lots of solder joints and other things that go bad inside an old radiator. For peace of mind and what it would cost to fix I'd just get a new radiator. They look the same enough for any car show other than a major concours event. Rockauto has a couple depending on two or three row, 180-240 bucks.

 

Rockauto has a couple depending on two or three row, 180-240 bucks.

Really this is the way to go or a local auto parts store. RockAuto will probably be faster too.
Aluminum radiators have come way down in prices and over heating seems to be the biggest problems with old cars.

The radio may not work on FM because there weren't a lot of FM stations on the air in '73. Yea but now those are the only stations I do have on so if there were not many back then the FM part is like new!

 

I just went through some similar issues with my '75 Squire. The vent windows are glued to their division bars for the first inch or so at the top. Both of these on my car had come unglued with age and had to be glued back in place to keep the windows on track. The top piece that the window point fits into is plastic and was so brittle that it broke off of the left window. I had to find another complete window assembly from a parts yard, which I did, ultimately replacing the entire vent glass and division bar assembly.

The right hand window had lost a small steel catch at the bottom end, which holds the bottom of the glass from pulling out of the division bar when the window is lowered. I repaired this by swapping that piece from the broken division bar out of the other door. Do yourself a favor and get some Ford mini vent window lube. It is available on eBay. If you're not familiar with it, it's a thick silicone liquid, which is supposed to last much longer than standard lube. Works well. Black RTV worked nicely for re-gluing the window to the bar.

The radio wasn't working at all, but I swapped in another from my 78 LTD wagon. When doing this, I found out that 3 of the 4 speakers didn't work either and replaced all 4 while the front doors were apart for window repairs. Now I have to tackle the power locks. The front ones work fine, but the other 3 are not working. I have a pair of newer type universal actuators, which I might install in the rear doors.

The wipers aren't quite right either. They work on low and high speeds, but on intermittent they just stop half way through a cycle and sit there. I think this is something to do with the wiper motor contacts.

Good luck!

 

Ah finally a bit of help on the matter, yes, glue, I figured that out after getting frustrated with the service manual and running every adjustment they said... then it hits me... its not sticking to the division bar... I used loctite roof and flashing sealant... we'll see how that holds up.
As for the radio, I might bite the bullet and buy a Sam's photo fact and restore it, only FM not working, everything else clear as a bell and sounds good.
The locks are just plain worn out, I removed the one from the tailgate, its rusted solid... I would like original locks, preferably NOS, but that's saying if wishes where horses, beggars would ride...
What lock actuators did you get for your wagon?

 

There are aftermarket kits you can buy at Amazon that provide a fob-controlled set of four lock motors; they just require a bit of tabbing to fit and work properly, and IIRC, the controller can be wired up to accept switch input from the two front doors. I have the set for my Cheek, and I'll snap a pic and post it up for you.

 

My set has one master motor, but the motors can also be wired as stand-alone units with no controller/transmitter fob. This set was about $30 on Amazon.

 

I have a set of actuators from the 90's, new in the box. But I like the idea of buying a complete keyless entry kit. To go a step further, I believe that Ford sells the door keypad as an add-on also.

 

Well the mini vent is fixed woot
And I installed the radiator, but I might have screwed myself... filled it up with coolant and went for a drive, she was runnine great then... well she started to ping, so I pulled over and stopped. She started to steam, no temp light on and no gage to tell me how hot she was getting...
So I let her sit, add some coolant to the overflow or "constant fill system" and she sucks it up, add more and sucks it up, keeps going till I'm out the gallon I brought with me...
We wait till she stops steaming, which was about an hour... try to start... she wurrs no purrs, acts like a bad battery... call tow truck and get towed home... been another couple hours... pop open cap, no fluid, fill radiator and she keeps sucking it down little by little... finally she stops sucking down coolant, I try starting her again it being hours later more wurrs little half attempts maybe to start, back to wurring no purring... tried jumpers, no avail... OK I feel terrible, my dad feels terrible, did we... I... screw up?
I mean what am I lookin at here? Help me out fellas, or at least bring me a beer to drown my sorrows in...

 

I clicked the LIKE but don't like this. I have no ideas and out of beer.
Wonder where all the water went?