I have taken Damn good care of this car without money.Advice

[89ARIES]

I did regular oil changes and took the car into the "family mechanic" for service. Dropped $1000 this year into a massive
tune-up which accomplished nothing. I can still go 80 up the hill so the bottom end of the engine must be fine. But I am
seriously at that point now where the car is close to 200,000 original miles. But, it now has at least 10 things wrong or
wear and tear items that are going to catch up with me sooner or later. I need to start addressing some of this stuff.
I have a good friend that is willing to let me work on the car at this house and use his tools. I want to learn to do this
stuff myself and get this car at least running smoothly again and the rest will take care of itself. I don't want to give up the car. I want to drive it to 300,000, then maybe retire it as a weekend car. Engine still seems to be strong, but a lot of other stuff is starting to bite.

[Pete in NH]

Guy,
I see you've posted quite a list of issues about your car. At 200,000 miles I'm not surprised at the length of the list. The trick is to keep up with things as they happen otherwise you wind up where you are now with alot of things that can seem overwhelming. I'm glad to hear your thinking of tackling some of these issues with some help from your friend. I'll do my best to talk you through the things that I can. Remember no question is too dumb, if you don't know the answer, so ask! I'll start working through your list of posts as time permits. I share your goal of keeping these cars on the road.