Engine Temp LA 360

My 11/1 367 has been running at 205 to 207 by IR gun since early 2000s when I made it so. The temp does Not vary, because the combination of the big Ford Thermostatic clutch and 7-blade all-steel fan off that same 73 Swinger, does it's thing exactly..
Just so you know, my manual-trans/3.55 geared 68 Barracuda is running an ancient factory rad out of a 1973 Dart with A/C. It is bigger than the core-support which originally housed a 6-cylinder rad. Even the patches on it have patches.
The engine currently runs a 230* cam and makes enough power to run 93mph in the Eighth. It will idle all day at 14*advance timing, and it can often be seen idling around the parking lot at 5* and 550rpm. Why? Because it can, lol.
BTW, you cannot properly tune an engine with a 50 degree temperature variation, so I'm gonna run against the grain here and say that you gotta get a handle on that temp-swing..... else you will be leaving performance on the table.
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Here's my recipe for success; it may be overkill but I can do anything I want to with the gas-pedal, at any time, as often as I want to, without a care in the world as to engine temp; it is rock-solid.
What you do is entirely up to you.

>hi-flow pump (or any 8-blade pump with the anti-cavitation plate)
>hi-flo 195 stat
>up to 50/50 water glycol
>BIG 7- blade all-steel fan
>Thermostatic clutch off an early 2000's Ford pick-up
>molded hoses
>lower hose has the anti-collapse spring in it.
>Fresh cold air into the carb
>Ancient rad as described above, Ima guessing it is a 2-core with
>a factory shroud
>somewhat restricted bypass hose, the inside heater is my bypass.
>Most of the time I run a 7* cap, because; 1) the temp is rock-solid at 205 to 207, and 2) some of my hoses are 1970 original.
>My engine regularly sees 7000 rpm so I run the water pump with a slight underdrive ratio
>I keep the belt fairly tight to keep it on, because I can, because the Hi-flow pump has a large diameter bearing in it. And I keep the alternator bearings in good shape.
>This system was "engineered" in 2000, and has worked flawlessly thru three cams including the 292/292/110 Mopar.
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During this endeavor to cure overheating I can tell you exactly what did Not work for me; and
if you have this problem at low roadspeed/low rpm;
Do NOT run a flex-fan
Do not run any flex-fan, period
Begin with the biggest damn 7-blade factory fan that you can find
If you like; set your system up with a direct-drive fan, and after you have confidence in it, then make the switch to a thermostatic clutch. Do not fall for the horsepower-sucking hype of the 7blade fan; on a clutch, your engine will hardly know it's there.
If you have "a bit of a cam" forget running a 5-vane pump, and you gotta run an anti-cav. plate.
You gotta run a shroud, no exceptions. If the big fan gets too close to it, move whatever it takes to get clearance, including jacking the trans up at the mount.
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In the early stages of "engineering", if you're having difficulty, run the Idle-timing up. Here's the thing about that; your engine will keep on picking up idle-power with ever increasing idle-timing, until somewhere around 30 degrees. You can run as much idle-timing as you want to, until the engine tells you it's too much, by not picking up any more rpm. At that point I recommend taking out 3 degrees.
HOWEVER
The more Idle-timing that you give it, the higher the Idle rpm will get, and it will start to bang the automatic pretty hard on the N/P shift into gear. And so, then, you will want to reduce the rpm with the Curb-Idle screw. When you do, this will begin to close the Transfer ports and to keep it running, you will have to open up the Mixture screws. And now you have set yourself up for a lean tip-in sag or an outright hesitation. So then, even tho the engine likes the extra idle-timing, most carbs are not set up to take very much advantage of that.
BUT
when you do, do this, you are starting the fire in the chamber ever earlier, and so it has time to complete it's burning before the crank drags the cam around to open the exhaust valve. So by the time that happens, the expanding gasses have done their work, and exit the cylinder relatively cool...... and so then, they do NOT heat up the cylinder walls and exhaust ports so much, and the engine runs cooler.
But you gotta draw the line somewhere. And I draw it, when the tip-in sag shows up. You cannot cure a tip-in sag by any method known to me, except by parking the throttle blades up higher on the transfer slots. So then, you gotta quit advancing when:
1) you get a tip-in sag at normal Idle rpm, or
2) the idle-speed becomes excessive, or
3) the trans bangs hard going into gear.
Depending on your convertor, this all comes together somewhere between 14 and say 20 degrees with an automatic. Ima guessing.
Finally; as to the rad, you might want to pay attention to what I am running; if you cure the heat production at the source, you shouldn't need anything more than a properly functioning factory rad and the big 7-blade fan.
To go 93mph at my weight and elevation, the Wallace Calculator says takes 430hp. If you are at less power, you may not need all the mods I did. So once you know what exactly works on your combo, you can downsize.
But I tellya, it sure is nice to have confidence in my system; I haven't even looked at my factory temp gauge IDK for years. For me, it's a non-issue.
As for the fresh air to the carb; yes I cut a hole in my hood. And it broke my heart. The fresh air didn't do much for engine heat, but it made tuning a breeze, as it absolutely killed all the carb-issues I was having, and now the engine will idle all day without boiling the gas in the 750DP, on the AG intake. So, while I highly recommend fresh air to your carb, I get that there are other ways to get it.
And again, my engine, runs pretty warm. So warm that I had to take the engine apart and increase both the ring gaps and the skirt clearance, to reduce internal friction, to idle cooler. If you are at a lesser Power level, you should NOT be having nearly as severe overheat issues.
In any case
Happy HotRodding