I have a '70 chevelle with 350/TH350. I bought it last summer and have finally gotten all the necessary things fixed/replaced to start cruising it around. tonight I noticed at a stop light that my temp needle started to creep up. It looks like while sitting in stop and go for over 10 minutes the needle hit just over 200. Is this a normal temp while sitting? While driving I notice it sits around 180. Here is some of the equipment on the car

2 core radiator (not sure how old but looks stock)
Fan Shroud is new no cracks
Mechanical Fan (no fan clutch though) is a aluminum 5 blade fan.

The guage I am getting the numbers off of is a sunpro external guage. After reading some posts I think I should be looking for a fan clutch, but what about a radiator upgrade as well? Thanks guys--

While sunpro gauges are not always very reliable, it is not the gauge if the temp changes consistently with stop and go. It is an air flow issue. If it is a fan like in the link, they do not cool very well.

http://www.jegs.com/i/Flex-a-lite/400/1017/10002/-1

Try a different style fan and see what happens. Sometimes bumping the initial timing up 2 or 4 degrees will help as well. And MAKE SURE never ever never to use tap water in the cooling system. Always mix coolant with Distilled water or just by the pre-mix coolant.

Thanks,

The fan is not a flexalite...its a 4 blade fan with no clutch ...I'm sure you are right about the air flow issue...I am looking into a 5 blade and a fan clutch or just going electric and getting some HP back.

Ray: Chuck the Radiator, Mechanical Fan and sell the shroud. I was in the same boat with my 396 400HP and opted for an Alumitech Aluminum Radiator with twin electric Spal fans and Aluminum Hi-Flo Water Pump. My actual temps were 240 during traffic stops and after installing the new goodies it NEVER went over 200, even stopped in traffic for an hour here in CT. Your motor temp is more important than anything else as far as I'm concerned.
So that's it-Yes the Combo cost's a few bucks but it sure beats a new motor.

Bob in CT

Ray,you said it cruises at 180deg f ,then you said it takes at least 10 mins in stop/go traffic to hit 200 deg f ,thats not a problem at all IMHO.

But thats unless your driving in the future will set you up to more often be stuck in bad stop & go traffic for long periods time well past 10 mins,then you may need some additional cooling in that case only.

The 240 deg f temps in traffic Bob had with his setup was bad for sure that required extreem cooling with great Almitech Rad & dual fan setup.

But again,your 180 deg F cruise temp & 200 deg F temp after bing in stop /go traffic for 10mins or more are not near as bad as what Bob was dealing with.

Theres a big difference between running & 200 deg f vs 240 deg f when in traffic.

Why try to fix what isnt broken uless your loaded with $ in this economy and just want a real nice new great looking & great cooling Alumitech rad /dual fan setup which would be a different story.

Scott

As Scott said 200 is not a problem at all and won't hurt the engine. They are different but modern engines consistently run 200+. If your temps continue to rise or go higher when the summer temps come around you may want to do something. For now, 200-205, is nothing to worry about.

Thanks guys for all of the input. I got a hold of Don at alumitech and bought one of his rads with the SPAL setup. Figured this will keep me covered no matter what I decide to put into the car later engine wise. I should have it wrapped up here in the next couple of days...still installing the cs130 alt.

Let us know how much cooler it run with the new Alumitech rad.

Scott