Answers...
Well, this is a quite a lecture, Tony.
Well... I just wanted to TRY and cover all bases and explain WHY I suggest you do these things... and in the sequence as well. I try to do the OBVIOUS first, then the EASIEST, then the LEAST EXPENSIVE.
Firstly - how do you intertwined your comments within my text?
Instead of just clicking on "REPLY", click on "QUOTE" instead. That will populate your reply with the other person's post. I try and clean things up a bit, then SPACE out the lines so I can type my responses in between. I also, as you can see, try to make the response OBVIOUS by using Italics, or Bold, or in this case both.
to business, the license plate is less than 1/2" below the bumper. Does that matter?
YES, probably not as much as when my tow-bar adapter took up about the same amount of room left to right, but hanged below the bumper just 2 inches. Traveling at speeds under 60 mph had no effect. Traveling faster than that and it just got hotter and hotter. Dropping below 60 and it cooled down, removing the plate altogether CURED the problem. Even the 1/2 inch hanging below MUST contribute something negatively to the air flow. Test it for yourself... Run the car for a good 15 minutes at speed with the plate on and again over the same course with it off. Others here have tried it with our much smaller plates in NA and can attest to what I am saying.
After considering all said I think I'll go for the radiator cleanup first.
I think that is the best place for YOU to start... as it is actually one of the easiest and the obvious. As I said many times before, dropping the radiator is two 13mm nuts, two clamps, and one wire connector... for a NON-A/C car. I have NOT worked on an A/C car and do not know how the condenser is mounted. Hopefully NOT to the radiator.
But with the radiator out, the coolant is drained... meaning all the hoses (if old) can be easily accessed and replaced, same with the Thermostat, and same with flushing the block and coolant lines. I really suggest you replace that T-Stat as it has been "over-extended" several times and may be over 30 years old! It should not be that expensive as the ones I get here are like 7 bucks and are "Hecho in Israel"!
I shall report the results here.
Good... that's why WE do this... and please be specific with numbers... After all, you do have several Engineering Degrees if I remember correctly.
Thanks everybody and have a cool weekend.
Our forecast is for 102+ for the next 5 days. I believe Bob Brown will be very comfortable in the 70's!