items wanted

[Taka Mizutani]

Sounds like the owner had an unqualified shop try to do a water pump
replacement
on the car- that would explain all of the cracked covers.

Maintenance on an older car is always an issue, regardless of how many miles
you
drive- my 200q needed some maintenance items simply due to age, I didn't put
a ton
of miles on the car- alternator, radiators, windshield, instrument cluster
grounds, etc.

I don't think an older Volvo of that generation is a necessarily good buy-
electrical systems
and trim do not wear all that well on those cars. For a DIY, it wouldn't be
all that bad,
but for a teenager, I don't see how he/she could afford the time and money
to keep up
on the maintenance.

In that regard, KISS principle works very well in regard to aging cars. My
17-yr. old Miata
is pretty darn easy to work on, is very simple and I can do most of the
maintenance on
the vehicle in the garage (replaced the shocks two weeks ago, accessory
drive belts,
plugs and wires, cleaned the throttle damper, replaced the valve cover
gasket, replaced
the CAS o-ring, R&R'ed the trans and diff oils, brake pads all around, bled
the brake and
clutch hydraulics, etc.). I'm not recommending a Miata as a first car, but
it's a great car to
learn how to fix cars. In that regard, much, much better than my old type
44s.

If your son is an enthusiast, I'd recommend trying to get him into either
autox (if the club allows
it) or karting- the car control skills you learn in motorsports translate
into car control on the street
just as well. Especially up in Massachusetts where you get snow and ice all
the time, I think
car control skills will be all the more useful in daily driving.

Taka