OK, a while back I had a post to help with my LT1 over heating, or so I thought. Here's some history:
96' LT1 form a Camaro with a 700r4 trany hooked up to it.
It was put into my 76' corvette. Injection unit changed to a Holley Carb. The radiator was upgraded to a new copper core one. I have two spal fans that go on and stay on when car is started. The thermostat is screwed into a port that is located right below the ehhaust ports on the heads on the driver side (but in the head, not the block)

I opened up the bleeder valves and coolant is flowing as it is suppose to.

So I was told that in the original car (96 Camaro) the fans didn't kick on till 220 degrees and the thermostat was located in a different place.

So here's my question: If there is a 180 degree thermostat in the car (and I have the fans always on), and it's reverse flow so the cooler water goes through the heads first, then why is my temperture guage going to 215 degrees if the thermostat is set for 180 and it's going through the heads first.

I am confused.

Also, can some one tell me where the thermostat originally went.

 

The thermostat doesn't cool anything so just because it is a 180 degree stat doesn't mean that the engine will run at 180 forever. If that were the case you could take the stat off and the car would run at ambient air temp.

On a Corvette LT1 the stat was in a housing on the top of the water pump. I imagine it was the same for F-bodies but I'm not sure.

What radiator cap are you using?

What is the highest temp you've observed?

Will your fans help or hurt airflow at highway speeds?

 

It might help you.
Remove the radiator and give it a good cleaning. You will find a lot of debris obstructing the air flow and the radiator will perform very poorly.
A lot of people in the forum have found the most weird things inside, even a bird nest!

This cars are like vaccum cleaners so expect a lot of thrash inside.

Just remember that the cap is working correctly also.
Good luck!

 

Stat only means it opens by a specific temperature. Running the fans all the time is kind of a waste and hard on the motors. Set them to come on/off at desired temps. There are some kits from summit that are reasonable and work well. 215 is not hot for an LT1 considering its in a C3. Hotter running than the old school sbcs, yes.

 

Do you mean thermostat or temp sensor? As far as I know the t-stat has always been located atop the engine above/near the water pump.

A thermostat that is a 180* means that it opens when the coolant temp reaches 180*. Under 180 and the coolant stays in the engine until it reaches 180, then the stat opens and coolant flows from the radiator to the engine and from the engine to the radiator.

The idea of the fan is to keep air flowing through the radiator to keep the coolant cool. With the advent of electronically controlled the fans, they were programmed to come on at x temp, which would usually be reached at idle, stop and go type driving. They did away with the bolted on fan from the old sbc's because it was a power drain and thus fuel waster.

215* is not overheating, especially in the LT1, especially during the summer. My primary fan doesn't come on until 228 and the secondary until 230. What temp are you reading when you drive on the freeway? I have a 180 t-stat and on a hot day will cruise around 185-190 on the highway but in stop and go, 215 is pretty normal, going up to 230 at a long light, but the fans bring it down.

My other question is, if this is in a c3, do you have the digital read out of the temp, or are you looking at an analogue gauge? My analogue always reads hotter than the digital, but the digital is the correct reading.

To sum up, I think you're okay where you're at. Your engine is cooling normal. If you want cooler temps, since your fans are always on (which I agree is not neccessary nor beneficial) you could put a 160* t-stat, but you'll still get in the 200's in traffic.