Group, I finally got the bird on the road today to try out all the changes I made (with all your help!). The car ran much much cooler and I believe much smoother. During about 25 minutes of cruising around town and some idling at stoplights the temp stayed between 180 and about 200. Even after I shut it down in the garrage the temp only climbed to about 205ish and dropped immediately to 180 as soon as I started it. It seems to like running at 180-190 better than 200-220. I am curious to see how it performs on the highway. I dont know which was the single greatest inprovement between flushing the block and rad, replacing the water pump, replacing the fan, or replacing the Tstat. Belt alignment is much better but still off most likely due to the wierd homebuilt bracket on the alternator. But it is good enough for now!
Thanks all for your help and advice! I am sure I will be hitting up the forum for advice in the future (when my parts budget gets refreshed)! I have a long list of firebird projects to keep be busy.
