Okay! If you cruise the forums, you'll see me in several; to recap: electrical, heat problems, and this one; feel free to offer all your expertise as I am inundated with magazines and catalogs up the .... Recently completed repalcement of hoises, radiator, and as of today, water pump; coolant and recovery containers too! Thermostat 2x down to 185 degree. my original hoses had or at least one of them (I think the lower?) spring-coil inside; replacements - purchased locally at Autozone don't. Where can I get repalcements with coil insider radiator hose (lower and /or upper) because Im still running 200 - 210 on cool - 50s nites. seems like should run cooler; or better store it away for summer here in south Texas. Eckler's doesn't really specify if their replacement rad hose(s) have the coil.

The bottom radiator hose only has the spring coil,Ecklers and others have them.
Their are so many areas to check, here's a short list.
(1)Check your seals around the shroud and between the radiator and shroud. www.zip-corvette.com
(2)make sure your air damn is in good condition

In Queensland we get upto 120 deg in summer and my baby sits on 185-190 deg at 80mph.
Hope this has helped

|UPDATED|1/4/2004 3:15:17 AM (AZT)|/UPDATED|

Have you been able to verify what the sender and gauge are telling you? The instruments and senders weren't exactly NASA grade when they were new ... and that was a long time ago!

As already said, your guages may not accurate. Check with an accurate thermometer dipped in the radiator and make sure the temp is runing that high. I have another car I thought was oveheating and it turned out to be a bad guage.

Other things to look for...the seals around the radiator as already mentioned. Check the timing...that can cause an engine to run hot. Has the motor been modified for more power? Extra horsepower creates added heat. Does the car have headers? That makes for additional underhood heat. Has the cooling system been properly flushed? Maybe there's a restriction in the block. The new radiator may not be as efficient as the original.

Putting in a lower temp thermostat won't keep the motor from running too hot...it will just delay it a bit and maybe keep the engine from warming up quickly enough.

Since you say you've replaced the radiator, I would think maybe the seals around it either aren't there or weren't re-installed properly. I would start there. They are very important to make sure air goes through the radiator instead of around it.