Windshield wipers and head gasket

I have 2 questions. 1 for my more recent car a [u:dbf753ef88]1989 Mazda 929[/u:dbf753ef88], around 300000k for both(if that makes sense) it has been snowing and pouring rain here for the past few weeks and when I went to turn my car on I heard a thud noise when I turned the windshield wipers on and they didn't come up, they stopped working. Do you know why? Do I need a new motor? My dad checked the fuse and said it wasn't that.
2nd questions: My old car is a 1987 Toyota Cressida. I stopped using it because there was white smoke coming out of the tail pipe and it was using all the antifreeze and the waterpump was never full(which we replaced it) then the heater would start blowing cold air, and the temperature gage kept going up would that be the head gasket that is broken? And could I repair it with just a new thermastat (dont know spelling)? Please help thanks, you can also email me asap at awesomelindsay@hotmail. Com