[jhv48]

Isn't the weather starting to get kind of hot there in Henderson? You are in the Nevada Desert.

If so, I wouldn't worry about those water temps. As long as your fan comes on and keeps the temps stationary at or below 95, you're fine. They should drop about ten to fifteen degrees on a prolonged freeway drive as well.

Here at the coast, with a 180 degree thermostat, my water temps run 90-95 degrees in slow, stop and go traffic when the weather is 75 degrees. The automatic fan continually recycles to keep the temps in that range. As soon as I hit a straightaway with no traffic, the temps back down to about 80.

I wouldn't change a thing on your car. Puting in a 160 degree thermostat won't keep the temps from climbing in desert heat. It will only open earlier than your engine wants it to so that in the winter, you might never be able to reach proper operating temps.

If your thermostat was bad (closed) your fan would never come on, as there would be no hot water in the radiator to cool, yet your engine temp would climb till it boiled over.

I wouldn't change a thing just yet.

To help the percolation problem, buy a phenolic spacer (the biggest you can fit under your hood) and insert it under the carb. Also, open the hood when you stop if possible to let some of the heat out. Even puting a roled up towel under the edge of the hood to hold it open a few inches has been known to help. Some even leave it there while they drive during the hottest days.