1978 excessive heating problems

I too have a 78 with heating problems.
It can get in excess of 220. Not good. Replaced thermostat, heavy duty clutch fan, rodded radiator

At one point, I replaced the foam stripping all around the radiator. It seemed to help substantially, but the foam doesn't stay in place.

The temp inside the cabin is always too hot around my legs.

ANY OTHER IDEAS?

Your Cat / Converter may be starting to plug up. They will get extremely hot inside the car especially around the transmission area.

I had the same proble on my 78 and did the same things..switched to a 185 thermostat and used a 50/50 water antifreeze solution..still runs about 200 at high speed but stays below that at a slower speed..
melton2669

Have a 79 (L48) it kept getting hot around 220 under load...

replaced the thermostat, water pump, radiator, fan, insulated the sides of the radiator to increae air flow, finally took the engine out and rebuilt it...nothing changed..still showed 220 under load.

In the end...it was just the tempurature gauge! :banghead: Seems the temp gauge problem is common in the 1978/79 range.