My friend Bruce, on the PY forum came through (again). He sent me an original 1973 dipstick that he claimed was pretty rusty. It arrived in an almost three foot long section of PVC pipe. Now that's how you ship a dipstick!
After several days of soaking in my favorite liquid (evaporust, not beer) it came out nicer than the original broken dipstick. I also ended up adding a slight bend downward at the tip (toward the finger loop) and this makes it clear the internal restrictions at the tube joints much easier. The real key is to feed it slowly down the tube and not try to jam it down like you were stabbing a zombie with sword.
Old one on top, replacement on bottom:
Replacement on top, broken one on bottom:
Installed:
