i have a 1985 305 tpi engine and it is heating up. it reaches 230 to 240 and the fan kicks on and cools down to 220 and fan shuts off, it keeps cycling like that. radiator is clean. what should i do?

 

check your timing my 86 was overheating because of a timing issue

 

You should do nothing at all. That's factory settings - these cars were designed to run hotter than what we generally think of as 'appropriate' - it was a way to get better emissios readings for the new government mandates at the time.

ECM turns on primary fan at about 220, fan switch turns on secondary fan at about 238. And, these gauges are far from accurate. Unless the coolant is physically boiling over, you are not overheating.