my '69 has a mild crate gm goodwrench 350, running the stock single row radiator from the original 307.

I always thought the car took awhile to warm up. (10 minutes if you cruise city streets).

Today I pulled the thermostat and someone cut a 1/2 inch bypass in the side. The thermostat is 195 degrees

My questions are: is this a normal warm up? I let my cars warm up before I let them loose and this 10 minutes is a long time.

Should I get a new thermostat to shorten the warm up period and what temperature?

The car runs at about 190-200 when its warm no matter how Im driving it

Thanks

Mark

I always drill one 3/16" hole into the thermostat base to eliminate any air pocket and to have circulation around the sensing element.
A 1/2" hole will no doubt bypass enough water to make for a very long and in very cold ambient temperatures, maybe no warmup. Deep six that big hole and get a new thermostat. Do yourself a favor and check the new stat on the stovetop before installing. New ones have been known to stick shut.
Whether you want to drill a small hole in the base is up to you. Even a 1/8" hole will release the air pocket.
Squido