more overheating questions

hi..kind of a 'newbie' here so bear with me...am sorting out my '78' IM...just tackled the leaking rear disc brakes so now it's on to that pesky overheating thing..I live in southwest Riverside County in CA where summer temps typically run 100 plus..my car will run at 210-230 on 70 to 90 degree days..on those oh-my-god-it's-hot days the temp gauge will go to 250...I have read all of the threads concerning overheating with the sump vs. external cooler vs. cracking the deck lid open vs. your temp is OK...I am now totally confused on a course of action but feel I need to do something as I feel the car is running hot...suggestions?

Be sure that the carbs and timing are right on this is first and no most important steps to get in on track.

Use a meat thermometer to confirm actual temps.
Seal engine bay area to avoid exhaust heat.
Be sure to have an fresh air intake for the fan intake.
Rubber buttons on the deck lid lip rather than have a rubber seal.
Stat operated oil cooler.

I am sure others will have additional ideas but be sure to go with

This is what you need....

http://www.geneberg.com/product_info.php?cPath=5_118_2734&products_id=256

FYI, oil temperatures of 220 degrees and a little over are still considered normal but in the warm end of the scale for the ambient temperatures you mention and at highway speeds. You might also like to try getting an OEM VW doghouse fan shroud, the "Hoover bit" that fits the bottom of the oil cooler (photo below) and a Porsche 356 generator pulley and installing them on your car. The smaller pulley fits your VW generator or alternator and it speeds up your fan an approximate 11% over stock VW. With respect to the fan shroud nothing beats the cooling efficiency of the OEM VW system except for maybe Jake Raby's DTM system which is considerably more expensive. You can always search junkyards (like I did) for all those parts.

thanks, guys...
I will take 'first things first' and start with checking the accuracy of my temp gauge...then on to the carbs and timing..I do get some 'popping' out of the exhaust on the downshifts so I know some adjustments need to be made..have changed the plugs & adjusted the valves but haven't reset the timing or synched up those 28 year old carbs...I'll try cracking the rear lid up on a long drive and see of all of this makes a difference first before going on to the more high dollar solutions at which time I will have plenty more questions

Frank
You got a great looking ride.

It is SWEET!!!!

again, thanks for both the info and the compliments...
I am striving to make the car less of a 'garage queen' and more of a 'driver'
Frank

One thing to be mindful of that is often overlooked is the guages themselves. Is your guage reading accurately? How do you know? A guage/sender unit mismatch will cause inaccurate readings as will a defective guage. **meat thermometer idea above works fine**

Had a buddy in college that overhauled an AMC 304 because of low oil pressure. Found a good engine, but redid everything anyway. Put it back in the car, still low oil pressure. Guage was defective.

angela

I'm with steve...... Don't trust the gauge. And take Ricardo's advice on the GB227 oil temp dipstick. (IMHO, one of Berg's best products & it's cheap)
I often drive in 100 deree Sacramento Valley heat. My oil temp dipstick convinced me, finally, that I needed an external oil cooler. I added the oil cooler & have quit pulling my hair out. It is just amazing how your Speedy enjoyment can soar when you know that you are running COOL!

From Gene Berg's website:
The only thing that can cause overheated oil is an overheated head. Even if you cool the oil, the head temperature is still running far beyond normal, as you never fixed the source of the overheating problem. I have never experienced any overheating of any engine with the correct CR, carburetion, timing, distributor, and proper octane fuel regardless of HP output even 200 HP daily driven.

For the full text: http://www.geneberg.com/article.php?ArticleID=238

From SOC - George Brown's article: Things to check for engine cooling problems: https://www.speedsterowners.com/knowledge/article.asp?id=137

I absolutely disagree with the information Mr. berg worte about the oil temps. It is entirely possible to boil your oil while having head temps well within range of normal, or even cooler than normal!

Oil temps are dependant upon RPM and ambient temperatures more than anything else.

Thanks Jake! Your experience speaks volumes.........
Long ago I learned to take a pound of salt with what ever GB says. Seems that he is thought of, by many, as the "final" word on any & every VW issue. The fact is, he's just another vendor, hawking his goods in his own eccentric way.
On the other hand, he does have some pretty good stuff to sale.