cutlass47

I have a leak from heater hose where it connects to water pump and need to replace hose - hose is swelling near connection. My '72 Cutlass Supreme (totally stock) which I bought new has approx. 192,000 miles on it, and sat in my garage without gas tank for about four years without any coolant in radiator most of that time -probably not a smart move to drain it. It had been driven very little- 250 miles or so - in the 16 years before I decided to replace gas tank two years ago. Now I am driving it more often (300 miles since tank replacement) and am trying to gradually repair/replace various mechanicals -plan to have carburetor and alternator rebuilt, etc. Would it be advisable to have radiator boiled out by radiator shop ($160) when replacing heater and radiator hoses or would it make more sense to replace with a new one? I have no radiator leaks at this time, but there are lots of white deposits on fins inside radiator opening. I installed it new 18-20 years ago and car has sat in garage pretty much for most of those years and not had but one or two flushes in that time. In spite of very few miles on it, I may replace water pump too(replaced about same time as radiator), if I clean or replace the radiator. Thanks for any feedback.

Oldsguy

First, welcome to our site. If it was me, I would start with the least intrusive/drastic measures. Flush the system after replacing the bad hose and any others that appear soft and or damaged and go from there. I think it was a good idea to drain the coolant especially if the car was stored in a place where it may have been exposed to sub-freezing weather, you may have prevented a cracked head or block. Also, I would take a look at the brakes before spending money on carburetor. You want to be able to stop safely before you can go...