hi i live in kuwait and in the summer (now) we regularly get temps above 50 C. can anyone give me any tips on how to keep my camaro running reasonably cool? And what is the normal operating temp for a 305 tbi?

 

I am in TX,and it gets pretty hot over here in the summertime.Before I worked on the cooling system,my old tbi 305 ran around 220-230* constantly,without the a/c running.I couldn't run the a/c or it would overheat.Then one weekend I flushed the whole cooling system, added a 180* thermostat,wired the radiator fan to run whenever the ign was on,and cleaned out all the debris(leaves,bugs,dirt,etc) in front of the a/c condensor and between it and the radiator.After that, my 305tbi NEVER ran above 180*,unless I had the a/c on,which then it would only jump to about 200*,even on those 100*+ summer days.

My new motor runs hotter.I am going to fabricate a fan shroud out of fiberglass for the front radiator fan.I did this for my neighbors Iroc,and it now runs about 20* cooler.
Other things you can do:
Add an oil cooler
Add an aux fan in front of the radiator
Check to make sure you air deflector under the front of car is
intact and in good shape.
Remove rubber stripping from back of hood to help hot air escape
Insulate sides of radiator so that air from fan is being drawn only through the radiator and not from around sides,etc.

 

RSpeed:

What you described is exactly what I am experiencing with my car. Two questions for you:

1) Did your temperature drop some when you got moving fast? Mine does, curious if same problem.

2) How do you flush the cooling system? Can it be done at home?

Thanks.

- Mike

 

I don't know about kuwait but in the US you can get a flush kit from most auto parts stores. The reason you're temp drops at highway speeds is because of you're lower air deflector is doing its job.

Another tip: If you have AC make sure the weather strip is in tact between the radiator and the condensor.