So I took the rebuilt 2056 out for a spin today after finishing up some lose ends, shift bushings, shifter rod, carb filters, and a few other small items. I didn't put the decklid cover on as it looked like it was going to rain and I really wanted to test drive it.

The CHT temps were around 300 for pretty much the whole time except cruising on some back roads showed 325 in 4th around 50 mph. On the highway, with some big hills, it crept up to 350 for a few seconds. I was sure to be in 4th to keep the rpms in the 4k.

Were these higher temps due to the decklid being off or should I start looking into a different problem. The oil pressure was between 50 - 60 during these times as well. The stock temp gauge did not go up much, maybe a quarter. It is 75 degrees here today.

Update - Looks like the decklid has no affect on the cooling. While I thought my temps were high, based on other responses as well as Raby's info 300 - 350 is a good range. I would like to hook up a better temp gauge than stock to see what the number is coming in at or possibly check it with the 123ignition.

I doubt the lid is causing this. First thing is to verify your gage. I use a can of old motor oil heated to 250-300. It's very difficult to heat water more than 220 degrees. Check the temp of the oil with a candy thermometer. DO NOT let a drop of water get in the hot oil or you'll be wearing it. I've found huge variances with VDO gages. Once your sure the gage is accurate look else where. Have the rings seated well yet? How are the oil temps. Are they up there, too?

I don't think the deck lid is going to make that much difference - in fact some people have tried to run cooler without it (without too much success, IIRC). Those temps are probably a tad warmer than what I see (D-Jet, 2056), but my thought is you're not in bad shape. Timing / mixture should make a bigger impact than the deck lid.

Oil temp is impacted quite a bit by RPM's and ambient temp - and it's probably going to take 15 to 25 minutes to get oil to operating temp at 75 degrees ambient.

I have all my tin in place.

My timing is 12 at 1000 (idle) and 28 at 3300 using the 123ignition Bluetooth setup. Carbs are sync'd. I need to hook my AFR back up to see what ranges I'm sitting at.

The oil pressure would not be bypassing the relief due to its amount while cruising would it?

So you are running 20W50

I know you guys like the thick oil without knowing why....

At 40+psi you are bypassing your oil cooler all the time.

If you want to run thick oil rule of thumb is 10psi per 1000rpm, try a thinner oil till you get that figure.

BP 10w-40 - read the blrub about the 20w-50

Ok so I am bypassing the stock relief. It may be time for Tangerines upgraded relief valve or put a smaller oil pump in, ugh. The Tangerine seems easier. Can this be done without draining the oil?

Also, how long does it take for rings to seat?

What are you running for an oil pump? Melling?

50-60 PSI cold start is OK, hot it's too much.

I think the Tangerine kit is more for low pressure.

Schadek 30

50 - 60 while cruising so that might explain the higher temps.

Idle hot is around 20

I thought the tangerine kit raised to stock 40 to 70 before it would bypass.

My 2600cc 78X102mm nickies engine I use the 26mm shadeck. it's what I use in almost all T1 and 4 engines I build.
I don't recommend bigger pumps without a pressure relief cover, which can be plugged if using the stock oil filter console. I only use steel covers.

Oil pump O- ringed?

Oil pump is not O ringed.

I am using the steel cover from my old melling.

Put a WB O2 on it. Might be running lean. Or too lean for an air cooled motor.

Well, the engine was just rebuilt. there is going to be a lot more heat from friction while everything breaks in. I like to take a bunch of short (25-30) mile rides and let it cool off in between. 350 doesn't seem too bad

As far as the deck lid goes...

I got stuck in a large traffic jam and the engine started heating up, so I pulled over and opened the engine lid to let it cool. sat for about 1/2 hour before traffic started to move again. When I pulled out I forgot to close the engine lid and didn't want to pull over again. I was surprised how much cooler it ran with the lid up. Of course you can't see out the rear view mirror.
Guess that's why the GT cars had the mesh over the whole lid.

It takes about 45 minutes to get the engine heat soaked, so you might see higher numbers at times. Still, I would be encouraged by your numbers.

Your head temps are fine. It'll always increase when going up a hill, and when going on the highway.

And one BIG thing, there's an air resistance threshold around 60-65mph that once you pass it, your head temps will be higher at cruise than when you're below that threshold. That's the increased load that air resistance puts on the motor, and it's why 5th gear should not be used below 3k rpm.
Also, if you have your targa top off, your head temps will be even higher (another 10 or so degrees) when you're above that 60-65mph threshold because the aerodynamics of the car are destroyed with the top off, and the aero load is even higher.

My old 2270 was typically around 325 cruising below 60mph, with the AFR in the high 12's. When I passed through 65mph and got to cruise at 70-75mph (which was between 3k-3.5k rpm in 5th), my stable cruise temp was usually between 335-340 on a flat grade. Go up a hill, and the temp goes up a few degrees. The grade flattens or goes downhill, and the head temp comes back down.
If I had the top off at 75mph, my head temp was more like 350 on a flat grade. Below 60mph taking the top off had no noticeable effect on head temps.
Exiting off the highway, my head temps would always come back down to my normal 325 by the time I got to the end of the off ramp.

What's most important is that your head temp is stable no matter how long you drive for, and doesn't continually creep up and up. If it creeps up and up the longer you drive, then you have a problem.
If your head temps creep up while you're in a traffic jam, then you likely have an issue, probably with your carb tune. I got stuck in a couple bad interstate traffic jams on a couple long several-hour drives, and my temps were always stable while standing still.

Also having the engine lid off shouldn't make a difference for head temps. I did a lot of drives with it off, with it on with the rain tray, and with it on without the rain tray. I never experienced any noticeable difference.

Thanks for the peace of mind. Sounds like everything is right where it should be.

I'm going to drive it more to break in everything.

I will hook up the AFR and see what I'm running at on the highway.

If you want to go all out, I had the Stratomaster Velocity TC-2. It's a 4 channel digital head temp gauge, so you can monitor all 4 cylinders.
http://www.mglavionics.com/html/velocity.html#tc2

The nice thing about it is, once you get to know the tune your car works best in, you'll get to know the temp range for each cylinder when it's in tune. So tuning and balancing carbs becomes extremely easy, because you know what head temps you need to see to be in perfect tune.

Also, you can set a warning alarm on it, so if you hit a certain temp of your choosing the alarm goes off. That way you don't have to keep glancing down at it all the time, and just enjoy the drive!
It'll also record the max temp that you hit, and save that number until you clear it. So you can clear it for each drive, and when you get back home you can see what your max was, and if it's too high then figure out why.

It's also made for the aviation industry, so you know it's accurate.