Freshening up an older car

[fjbauer@dsavm.e-mail.com]

Frank J. Bauer                                                                  
dassault systemes of America     email:fjbauer@dsavm.e-mail.com                 
Subject: Freshening up an older car                                             
steve sez:                                                                      
> One quick suggestion.  In addition to checking the state of the radiator      
> and heater hoses, I strongly recommend checking the heater control valve.     
> These things are made of plastic and get brittle over time, and can break     
> unexpectedly.  The valve on the older cars had 3 connections, making it a     
> bit difficult to fashion a work around if it fails while you're out and       
> about ... but not impossible ;-)                                              

i replaced mine with an all metal one i got at pep boys, which thankfully       
was less than a mile away when my HCV sh*t the bed.  it was about $20 and       
i replaced it in the PB parking lot, engine still hot, with the smallest        
screwdriver made by craftsman.  that's all i had with me at the time ;(         
ironically, the day before i was looking at the engine wondering what would     
go next and decided the HCV was it, so i made a mental note to replace it       
as soon as i had the time...                                                    

frank