The winter was rough. A way above average snow year and we got slammed.
Fast forward and we are on to Kelly and Ed 2.0. Haven’t done anything with the Colonel except take it out and drive on weekends and occasionally to work.
I had to redo the head gaskets on my Subaru in May. Mechanic wanted $2100. Nah. I can do that.
Fast forward. 16 year old son wants a car to fix and flip so he can learn some car repair skills. Found a good 04 Subaru with external head gasket leaks. (Common problem). $1000 good shape. 172k miles. Good studded snow tires on rims and good all season tires on factory rims! I swear there are half as many sensors and wire connectors than my 06 Impreza “@&$:!
We should have a good $2500 to $3000 profit after parts. He’s doing most of the wrench work!
My oldest graduated at 16. Went to small Bible college in Montana. Class mates laughed at the Subaru I let him take.
They weren’t laughing so much when they were paying for gas and dinners etc. Because he had the only car to get up and down the hill when it snowed.
Also at the time. I had company vehicle. Didn’t have to buy another vehicle.
250,000 on my 06 Impreza. Still runs as strong as when I got it with 88,000 miles. Just normal maintenance etc. I did the head gaskets last May. That was the most labor intensive thing I had to do.
When you deal with this snow. The all wheel drive can’t be beat!
There are perks to owning a classic car or anything pre 1972. They are relatively easy to work on, you do not need a computer science degree, are smog exempt and they appreciate in value over time rather than depreciate.
I didn’t want to do it but I did. No. I have not done any work over the winter. I’m
Engine cleaner and very easy with the pressure washer.
I’m sure there is oil seepage through the timing gasket cover. For the amount I drive it isn’t a big concern. The amount of years and years of gunk built up was insane. Sorry no before pics.
So the coolant hoses look newish so work had been by P.O.
I have a new 3 core radiator from Wccc.
I am going to clamp off the lower radiator hose near the block. Then drain out some coolant.
If it’s nice and green I’m just going to replace radiator without flushing.
That would work, but I was sorry I put my new 3 core radiator on before flushing the system. Sediment from the engine was deposited in the radiator. Worth the time to flush the system IMHO. Make sure the hoses aren’t cracked under the clamps and still soft and flexible when you have them off the radiator. Otherwise, better replace hoses too.
