Hi everyone,
Wow, thanks for the quick replies!

I haven't seen the car yet ... but my friend told me that there was a pool of coolant under the car when he went to get it towed this afternoon. Does this change the scenario much?

If a rad hose blew would the engine seize almost instantly? I wonder if the "graunch" noise was the starter trying to turn a seized crank. Still, this is all speculation, but if you have any more ideas ... I'm all ears.

Thanks,
podangus