Hot but Stable - Clutching at Straws

George R said
Is the radiator aluminum or copper/brass? If it's the right size for the application it won't matter too much, but an aluminum radiator will cool much more efficiently than a copper/brass of the same size.
What are the dimensions of the radiator?
Rodding out the radiator will help, but there's no way to get it back to 100% efficiency with that method.

Are you SURE the waterpump is the correct unit for the engine?

I would verify the running temp of the engine (perhaps with an IR temp gun) before I did any more troubleshooting. It may not be running hot, but the gauge might be inaccurate.

George

It's a 22" wide copper/brass 2 core so not a big one.
However,the car never ran hot prior to rebuild and it had everthing against it back then.

When you say correct water pump what do you mean?
If you're thinking reverse rotation magnum pump then no.
We only had LA's over here and anything else would need to be ordered from the US.
This pump was just a generic aftermarket unit to suit local LA's.

I do intend to fit another mechanical temp guage as a check.