As far as the engine lasting and the car getting me places is concerned I know its not a problem, it gets warmed up.

I recently set up my electric fan so it is always on when the car is on, I was having issues with it not turning on and the car overheating. Now it sits at the line between 100 and 220 (I assume that's 160), and my guess is that's when the thermostat is opening (the last owner told me he put in a "performance" thermostat in it). Does this affect anything and should I go get a higher temp stock thermostat? I know this is well below normal operating temp.

 

Sorry dude, found that amusing . Did it come with a go-fast sticker?

You've noticed one problem with the stock temp gauge - gawd knows what it reads exactly, there's no consistent graduations on it, you have to kind of make an educated guess. Get a laser temp gun and shoot it around a bit, see what it says.

 

I thought it was really funny too. He did a lot of gimmicky performance stuff. Performance thermostat, performance valve covers, performance shift **** etc. I'm not sure if he was serious or not... The car was in good shape though.

I'm thinking of going out and getting a 180 deg or stock thermostat just so its "right" but that's just my OCD side. Is there any advantage to doing that?

 

i have 195 thermostat in mine and it runs right around that center mark.
Belt driven fan so"always on"

 

So the cnter mark is 195 cool. Apparently the "performance" thermostat must have been a stant stock replacement.

 

Grab a lazer temp gun and check the temp right on the t-stat husing while the car is warmed up.