Got sidetracked on some other stuff (we have a spare vehicle), just got back to working on my car the other night.
The old thermostat and water pump are out! The biggest PITA by far was getting the old coolant hoses off. For the quick-connects, I sprayed with a tiny bit of Gibbs and kept working at them, and eventually they popped off. For the screw-clamped hoses, they were on there good and flathead screwdrivers weren't doing it. I finally broke down and ordered these (yay for Amazon Prime!):
Lisle 80380 Hose Remover Set - 5 Piece
Holy crap, these things are frigging MAGIC! I gave a small squirt of Gibbs at the hose end, ran one of these tools around the hose end to break the seal and let the Gibbs in, then popped the hose right off with a pull. The ends of these tools have a machined taper-in to avoid damaging the hose. In every case, I had the perfect length/orientation tool to easily break the hose seal. With the angled ends, I was able to run the tool further around the hose perimeter than I could see or reach otherwise. These made hose removal stupidly easy.
I also threw these into the order, which were great for getting to various clamps and bolts:
Neiko 00239A 2-Piece Flexible Extension Bar Set | 1/4" and 3/8" Drive
Unfortunately in my zeal, I ended up removing the bottom E12 alternator bolt instead of the top E12 water pump bolt.
It is also a torque-to-yield bolt. Did I just screw myself into ordering a $$$ set of alternator bolts too? Has anyone reused alternator bolts on these cars? Yes yes I know, to own these cars, you gotta pay to play...
but it's only one of the four and if I was sure I wouldn't snap it, I'd reuse it
Edit: Fortunately they're available individually, and they're only a few bucks each. I'll go get one tomorrow and do it the right way.