heres my problem. over the winter i dropped a chevy 350 into my Firebird which formerly had a v6. The engine itself has an edelbrock 750cfm carb with an edelbrock manifold, a mild cam, and the original heads(reworked). i did not change the rad or the fan because i had herd form some people that it was not nessessary. anyway... we have been taking the car to the strip and what not and it seems to me to be running hotter than it should. while im moving on the highway it will usually stay around 190 - 200, but once it starts to sit at a red light , or in traffic it begins to heat up rather rapidly to around 220. we already have andelectric fan setup that will turn the fan on at about 190ish. i have never let it sit long enough to overheat. i want to not have to worry about it if i get stuck in traffic or somthing like that to and from work or sporting events ect. should i be worried about the temp climbing higher than 220? what can i do to make sure that under no circumstances the car will overheat? new rad if so what kind is best? lower thermostat (i am currently using a 185)? high volume fan? keep in mind i live in PA where the weather is usually around 90 and occasionally in the 100's in the summertime.

 

W/o my two fans (factory L98) and the 195 degree therm, I feel mine will certainly overheat sitting in gridlock and metered ramps, etc. Intersections and the like. I'd like to power right up to the fans and bypass all the sensors just so I actually can tell they still work. Will have to some up with something for mine, already tried grounding the relay and running A/C with no result. Possibly an aftermarket fan in your case, is more foolproof

Bill

 

Do you have the single or dual fan setup?

You could try a new radiator and add some water wetter to it.