Piece Du Jour - Coolant Change 1969 AMX

Today I flushed out the remaining old coolant with clear water and observed that everything looks and sounds ok with the new water pump and power steering pump seals. I didn't see any leaks and the belts all line up perfectly with their pulleys. I was careful to keep these old belts facing their original rotating direction.

I let it run for about 20 minutes to bring it up to temperature. There are no mechanical noises in the engine but I can hear some "chugging" sounds coming from the steering pump/A.I.R. pump area. I'll check them with a mechanic's stethoscope one of these days. It is not a destructive sounding sound and it is not very loud.

My stock of coolant (one in the same as "antifreeze") is getting low so I ran over to Pep Boys to grab some. So today's twist is - that there are a whole bunch of different types and prices of antifreeze. You can buy green, or orange, or universal. You can buy premix or pure. You can buy major brand or no-name. You can buy 2 year, or 5 year, or lifetime.

Now, you are probably thinking that if a person goes through the expense of buying, insuring, storing, and maintaining a muscle car that the price of the coolant would be the last thing to worry about. But, what about the guy with more than one car? What if you are responsible for three? Or, ten - like me? Or, what if you had a choice of 25 muscle cars? In that case, the price really becomes more significant. Plus, do you want to stock and maintain an inventory of a million different types of antifreeze in your shop, or just a couple that will properly suit all your vehicles?

I will be discussing some of the antifreeze issues that I am currently researching and record them for future reference here - in the GoldmanMotors/CHOICEof25 maintenance weblog.

Today's test run of the 1969, 390 cubic inch AMX.