Ive been working w/ a friend of mine on his 81 camaro. The mods are listed below. We put a 160 thermostat on it and it wont go over 150. I feel this is waaaayyy to low of an operating temp for a 350. Could we be robbing the engine of power from having the temp so low? I think we are gona stick w/ a 195 thermastat. Thanks!

81' 350 4-bolt .030 10.5:1 compression w/heads.
GM Perf. Vortec Iron Heads 64cc I/E: 1.94/1.50
Edelbrock Performer RPM Manifold (Vortec bolt pattern)
Holley Street Avenger 770cfm
MSD Pro-Billet Distributor w/8.5mm wires.
Crane 1.6 Ratio Roller Rockers
GM Cam .475 lift and 280deg. (advertised duration)

Transmission:
TH-350 - Street/Strip 2.52 first gear
Hardened Clutches and Bands
B&M Stage 2 Shift Kit
TCI Torque converter 2500 - 3000 stall

Rear End:
GM 10-bolt 8.5
Richmond 3.73 Gears

 

The thermostat is the easiest change, you could also try a 180. 150 is too low. While its running that cool though why don't you try leaning out the mixture some? My 350 with similar mods runs between 190 and 205.

 

yep, definately too low, swap out that 160* thermo... The labeled temp on there is just a guideline - since every engine is different, you can't guarantee that a thermostat will keep things at the exact temp stated on it.

 

yep, definately too low, swap out that 160* thermo... The labeled temp on there is just a guideline - since every engine is different, you can't guarantee that a thermostat will keep things at the exact temp stated on it.

 

yep, definately too low, swap out that 160* thermo... The labeled temp on there is just a guideline - since every engine is different, you can't guarantee that a thermostat will keep things at the exact temp stated on it.

 

Thanks for the replies guys. Well, we took the car out to the local street races(planning on just watching) and some pack of 4.6 crustangs pull up to us and want some. Of corse we had to teach to poor sap a lesson. However, this engine is just over 500 miles and is still not tuned to how it needs to be. After the race its now missing even worse than b4 and to top that off...coolant is flowing from the back of the block somewhere and it overheated on us(got up to about 260). Now there is a bigger problem than b4. AHHHHHHHHHH!