I did the best I could to include the side foam pieces in the pictures. I'll see if I can get another angle of it. As you know there's not much space to work with lol.

 

Howdy fellow Texan! I just went through this hell last summer. All of the above posts and tips are great, but one thing sticks out to me. Since you've replaced your fan clutch, your seals appear to be in place, factory shroud appears to be OK, and the air dams are there (damaged, but there), I don't think airflow is your problem. I'd be willing to bet your radiator tubes are scaled up something fierce which would not allow the radiator to shed the heat energy that is passing through it in the coolant. The next time your rad cap is off, take some pics of the inside of the radiator and see if you can capture details of the ends of the coolant tubes.

 

that was my guess as well. At least rule it out

 

Not that it means anything but the radiator was replaced maybe 1000 miles before I bought it and I’ve put maybe 2k since I bought it. As far as I can tell no tap/well water has been in it. There is a little gunk as you can see in one of the pics but otherwise the radiator seems to be fairly clean.

Before I start driving it again I’m looking to run some of the radiator flush through it and try to make sure that there isn’t any gunk or sludge in the system.

The pictures don’t really do it justice. It looks cleaner than what it looks like. My phone had a difficult time trying to focus on the tubes. I’ll see about getting a better shot of it.

 

It sounds like you are doing everything needed to correct the problem.
Since you have things apart, I would take the radiator to a good shop and have it checked.
Get it rodded out and checked for proper flow.
If there are any issues with it, just replace it with a new aluminum.
DeWitts, Champion and Stay Cool seem to all be favorites on the forum.

As mentioned above timing is also a major issue that adds to overheating problems.
Don’t follow the factory timing settings.
Instead get a copy of Lar’s timing and carb setting papers and set the timing correctly per Lar’s Papers.
You will see a drastic increase in power plus your car will run cooler and better overall.

When you get everything back together and fill the radiator, make sure you properly “Burp” the system to remove any trapped air.
Pockets of air typically get trapped in the upper areas in the cooling system and will cause overheating issues.

There have been many threads discussing these similar issues over the years and if you do a Google search the discussions should come up showing them on the CF.

Keep us posted.

FYI!
I just purchased a Jeep project from the original owner who just replaced the radiator.
He had a receipt which was in the stack of receipts he gave me.
I am replacing the head which was cracked and I had the radiator checked because I had it out.
The shop said it was plugged and needed to be rodded out, the tank needed replacing and it was basically junk.
I said it was new and the shop owner said that it could be.
He told me they are seeing a lot of “new” radiators that are actually poorly rebuilt radiators coming up from Mexico which last about a year then cause problems and start leaking..
If it was bought on line, get it checked!

 

This is solid advice for anyone with a 68-80 C3. 81s need to revert back to 80 or earlier specs to do this. For an 82 Crossfire, like the OP's, he'll likely do better to follow @Buccaneer's advice in post 10, at least to confirm that the base timing is correct and not the underlying issue.

Yup. That, or timing, are about all that's left.

 

Yep, since his 82 is computer controlled with the timing, I do not believe the papers will help at all. The 82 will run just fine at 6* BTDC. As a matter of fact, our tune that comes pre-loaded in all the EBL ECMs is factory GM spec timing at 6* and a fuel pressure setting of 13psi for optimal CFI performance. It works just great. GL

 

I keep forgetting that the 82’s had the computer controlled CFI and timing.
Thanks for the reminder!

 

Not really a big deal. Most on here think that all C3s are the same and come with a carb...Except the 82.

 

 

I got the new air dams in today and got them installed. Still waiting on new tubes to the water pump from the heater core.

with the new dams installed they look better, however, I’m concerned that they may be pushed back a little too much to properly redirect airflow to the radiator. When removing the passenger side it was easier to do than the driver side. The driver side near the nose was pushed inward making it difficult to get a wrench to the back. I had to use a pair of pliers to bend it out a bit to get the wrench on the bolt. It bent back on its own and makes me wonder if it’s normal or not correct. See the pics below.

 

Essentially, it's one step at a time to get things sorted out. It may turn out that the radiator is/was the issue, but you must check everything in the system to verify it's all good and move on. Replacing the side pieces is a good idea and peace of mind. One thing eliminated. Keep at it, you will find the issue. Another thing to keep in mind is the heater core. If original, it "may" be getting close to replacement time depending. I can tell you from experience, that it is a PITA job to do, but mine was starting to leak and needed to be replaced no matter what. Lastly, if your radiator is the issue, I would just purchase a new one and be done. There are many choices out there, I use DeWitts products and like them very much and they are a little cheaper than some of the others, but good quality. Do Not buy Chinese junk.

 

Red flag here is Rad was recently replaced . Most don't get the system burped correctly. Get this funnel and let car idle letting the air bleed out. With the heater on max...

 

I already have one and when I lost coolant before I made sure to use it to burp the coolant. I’ll be sure to use it again when I get everything back together here in a bit.

 

Sometimes it takes more than one try. That's the mistake many make. My 80 did. And most recent my son's 350 Z took 3 times. I have an Air Lift tool as well I used on Vipers and later C4's. On these older cars I don't mess around with old parts. If I'm changing the Rad the water pump, all the hoses if their old and T-Stat gets replaced with (2) 5/64 holes drilled in the t-stat to help. Barring a leak, obstruction from debris etc. I haven't had one yet I could get to run below 195 in summer.

 

Just a quick update, I ended up not receiving the last parts I needed to get it all together until yesterday afternoon. I spent all evening getting it buttoned back up and then spent the last hour or so flushing it out. I just need to top it off with 50/50 and burp it. Hopefully it'll get to take it for a spin tonight and keep an eye on the temperature gauge. I still need to get an IR temp gun to verify temp independently from temp sending unit.

What I've done so far:

• Replaced fan clutch
• Replaced lower hose
• Replaced water pump
• Replaced 180* Thermostat with 195 (also drilled a small hole in the thermostat to help with removing air in cooling system)
• Flushed cooling system
• Replaced air dams
• Replaced "S" tube and coolant inlet to water pump from heater (both were nice and rusted over)

 

Now I'm not familiar with '82 front ends at all, but to me it looks like your lower valance is "pushed up" and that the "air dam" isn't angled the correct way. Could you step back from the car and take a few pics from about 6 feet away so we can see what's going on there. That rubber air dam should be angled forward IMO.
I'm pretty sure this is your issue, and some attention should be put here....

 

I've honestly been thinking he same thing however, I have not been able to find many pictures of the air dam/valance to begin with. If anyone else has any I would be curious to see how the air dam looks for one that's working correctly. I do feel as though the valance is almost bent in the middle and not "scooping" the air. Could anyone else share a pic or two of your air dams? I know not everyone has an 82 but would be curious to see how it's supposed to look.

I was finally able to get the Vette back on the road after a week of it in pieces. I let it warm up for about 10 minutes while also topping off the coolant/burping. I then took it out on the highway for 10ish minute ride out to a gas station. I noticed that the temp needle was again moving closer to hot rather than coming back down. I am waiting for an IR gun to help verify that the temp is actually creeping up and not just a bad sending unit.

In the meantime, below are the pics of the air dam in it's current state and a bonus sunset pic.

 

Here are a few

 

Thanks! Definitely seems as though my air dam is bent back a little. I'm going to see about getting a heat gun to bend it back. I also feel like the tongue/hook that holds the valance up may be bent too far inwards.