I picked up a very clean, no rust at all, '83 245 A/T wagon this past weekend. Working odometer reads 99,000. The previous owner got it from his uncle 3 years ago, a fellow from Sweden who owns a Volvo dealership in NC. It has an updated wiring harness and new steering rack. I even snagged a set of green manuals in a dealership notebook! He said it had spent part of it's life in storage. Original paint is good and interior is immaculate so I believe him. This beauty is destined to replace my rusted out '87.

I got it on Craigslist very cheap ... here's why. The guy's wife was driving home from work and blew the top radiator hose. The car redlined before she got home. The guy briefly started it in his driveway for me and it sounded god-awful coming from underneath the exhaust manifold.

All I've done so far is PB Blaster the EM nuts and freed them. There is no coolant in the oil, maybe it exited the car before that could happen and, of course, at this point I can't check for oil in the coolant. Is it a forgone conclusion that the head gasket is blown (and head is warped) or should I run some tests first? It obviously got pretty hot. Would it be prudent to first check the EM for cracks or gasket failure, replace radiator hoses, start it up and do a compression test before pulling the head? I don't want to unnecessarily introduce coolant into the oil either. If it comes down to it, this will be my first head gasket job, but I've read everything I could get my hands on and feel up to it. Thoughts are appreciated, thanks!
Jim