Fried - thats what i was thinking - too warm.
I'll look into a new cap - good sugestion.
Trucker - I've done much research on the subject and thought the same as you. But I found out that it's not what your thermo is rated for that you should be at. It just allows the coolant to start flowing at 180 (or whatever your rated at).
LongBox - Yeah, no shroud. I also read that a shroud could/should drop the temp a bit too.
I'd still like to hear where others might warm up to. Perhaps someone out there with 350 or better still a 327.
Oh yeah, I removed my overflow tank too, to clean up the engine compartment. Perhaps there's just not enought coolant in the system to keep the temp down.
I guess this brings up another question - how much cooland shoule be in a SBC and do I need a overflow or a reserve tank?
