[71SportRagtop]

I have a 68 Firebird with a 400, an all stock cooling system such as a belt driven fan, stock fan shroud, and standard type water pump. Over the winter, I completely flushed the coolant system and added all new coolant with a 50/50 mix of water and anti freeze. I also installed a brand new thermostat with the stock rating of 195 degrees.

I've noticed that my car likes to run warmer than most of my other cars. It always seems to hover around the 200 degree mark. Last night on the way home from a cruise night it hovered around 210. I will grant that it was a very warm day here yesterday and I understand the hotter coolant temp but I'm usually used to my cars hanging out below 200 degrees.

I was talking to a guy at the cruise night last night who described something that only 400 Firebirds came with which are coolant block off plates for the space between the rad support and the grill area. He said that they direct the flow of air more into the radiator as opposed to over the rad and into the engine compartment. I thought I'd try that and see if it works.

Any suggestions or am I nuts for being worried for temps hanging around the 200-210 degree mark most of the time??