Sorry just saw this! I had got stuck traveling for work. I have not had a chance to catch up with 57baja.
I did have a friend who brought over different gauges and tools to check for leaks. We did not pull the motor apart. Just tested, compression, vacuum, Anne did a leak down test.
All looked good to him. He said the vibration of the needle in the vacuum test is due to what he believes is a long cam? I believe that’s what he said.
His opinion was I needed much more Airflow. He told me to get a 2400cfm derale fan. It was just barely thin enough to fit. And I will tell you, I am pulling a TON more air through my radiator and ac condenser.
I just did this a couple days ago, so I am driving and testing.
The fan turns on at 180. I sat in traffic for 45 min this morning and it was about 75 degrees out. And bumper to bumper traffic. The temp rose about 15-20 degrees during that period.
Before with the mechanical fan it would rise dramatically in traffic, and then Drop when I was moving. Today it barely rose in traffic, but did rise when I started moving. I have 2 gauges that read them same temp. If I start to get hot again. The motor will come apart. Timing just needs to work.
Since my radiator hose and heater hoses rise above the radiator, I think I may have air in the system, and I want to try and pressure bleed it.