Sorry it is so long!

I had my 86 TA takin down to the shop for an engine swap. I had the old 305 TPI (LB9) takin out and a new rebuilt 350 put in. I had used my old TPI set up but put in 21lb fuel injectors. For some reason they had it running and my gauge said it was running between 250-260*. he put in a aftermarket gauge because he thought mine was bad (he was right it is off) but it is still running anywhere between 210-230. he replaced the sending unit and tore appart the manifold and check a bunch of stuff but will still continue to figure out what is going wrong. To get to my point i was told by my uncle (original owner since new) that the car ran between 210-220 and i also heard somewhere that a new engine runs hotter anyhow. Is this right? Does my car run normal? Any help would be great.

 

That's pretty hot, but by no means hot enough to damage anything. But think about it this way - if the car is running that hot without a lot of stress(just idling or cruising), wait until you start going up a hill or accelerating quickly. It'll overheat for sure. I'm 100% sure that the stock radiator for a 305 is sufficient for a mild 350, as is the dual fan setup, but I don't think you have that. I may be mistaken, but if not it may do you good to look into some better fans, or replace the water pump if it's old. My water pump is hurting a bit, so I bought a stewart one to put in later.

By the way, there is a cooling board now.

 

I would think excessive time at 250-260* would start to damage things, but I'm no expert. I get worried when mine has reached 230* before.

 

I talked to the guy again today and he has tried pretty much everything and is thinking it is just normal for my car to do this. From what i have heard new engines will run hotter and if mine was running at 220* before then 230* could just be becuase of the new engine. He has takin it out for a few drives and says he will take it out on monday for an hour drive to see if it is ok.

 

Hey mark my car isn't actually running 250-260*, i said my gauge was off and the aftermarket gauge was reading 210-230*.

 

He said it is fine until a straight strech of road (flat) and it creeps up to 220-230*. At idle i guess it is at 210*. He's not sure but says that the fans weren't kicking in until 240*.

 

Give it a few days and see if it still does it. Mine did pretty much the same thing for 3 days after the swap (about 75 or so miles), and now it won't go over 220.

 

flyway190: How hot did your engine get?

 

When I was breaking it in, I had to shut it down after about 17 minutes because it was at 260+. The next couple of times I left it to idle in the garage (to adjust timing, etc.), and it was in the 240 range. When I was driving it, it would get up to 220-230. After a couple of days it set its operating temperature at 220, and wouldn't go over. This was with about a 180-degree thermostat, 50/50 mix, and a mechanical fan.

 

same here with my breakin. Got way too hot way too fast. Itll gradually run cooler as the engine breaks in.

 

Do you have an air dam?