engine temp and headliglight Q's

[kridgley]

Hey guys and gals:
Hello, I have a 75 L82 coupe Auto and I have two questions.
First, I was traveling up the interstate today ... going about 85 mph ... what should the temp guage be reading ( i was seeing over 200 the entire trip)? Is this normal, and is there a way to keep that heat away from you feet, especially around the pedals?

Secondly, my headlights have been giving me problems going up and down ... I know for sure its not a vacuum leak and it seems to be a clearance issue. Is there an adjustment on these headlights (not beam adjustment)?

Thanks, Kevin

 

[Dave Z]

With a new 185 thermostadt, my '75 was reading about 210-220 on the highway and 200 in town :confused (weird, I know). Discovered what looked to be the original radiator cap with worn seals. Repalced the cap and that brought the highway temp down to right about 200 highway and in town 190 (still weird). Discovered the front air dam was missing. Ordered and installed a new air dam, and now I am 195 highway, 195 in town and I am happy.

As for the heat in the cockpit, there are many threads in the forum regarding what different methods have been tried. Mainly, install heat shield insualtion underneath the carpeting, seal all possible firewall openings, and if you have side pipes, seal under the sill plates. I'm sure there are plenty of people here who have tried some cool things (pardon the pun:eyerole) with great results.

As for the headlamp panel adjustment...

 

[photovette]

I ran at 180F in town, and up to 60mph. At higher speeds, the temps would be 205-210. I have new 4-core radiator, seals, fan clutch, hoses, shroud, Edelbrock water pump, air dam, and motor. Everything was new or better than new original condition. What the problem was, and I've never heard this mentioned, that the heater core had a small pin-hole leak where it returns to the water pump. This kept radiator from pressurizing fully. I changed the heater core and the coolant temps are now always under 190F.

 

[jdp6000]

Yes you can adjust the doors. Raise the headlights. Take off the fiberglass cover around the headlights. You will see a number of bolts. You can adjust up/down and left and right. Its been a while since I've done it so I'm not sure which bolts you need to undo but it will become apparent to you. ONE THING I DID LEARN IF YOU MISALIGN THE DOORS AND USE YOUR HEADLIGHT SWITCH TO BRING THEM UP OR DOWN YOU MAY CAUSE DAMAGE. The best thing to do is to disconnect the actuator rods, raise and lower the doors by hand until you get them perfectly centered then reconnect the rods. Or if disconnecting the actuator rods is to much of a pain you can disconnect one of the hoses to each of the actuators and raise/lower the doors by blowing into the hose...doesn't take much pressure.

J

 

[BeaterShark]

What temp are you running at during normal in-town driving? What gear are you running (85mph with my 3.36 puts me at about 3750 RPM) and do you have an overdrive? What was the temp outside? How much OVER 200 degrees are we talking about?

There are many many factors that affect the engine temp, but assuming you don't have any other problems, I wouldn't worry about the engine running slightly over 200 degrees at a constant 3750 RPM.