911SC running Hot

I have a 78 SC 3.0 and it seems run hot erratically , On an 80' night it was well over the midway point in the temp guage other times same temp its below it. It has the coil in the front and when I touch it it is very hot so I know oil is flowing okay . Also what should the normal temp be ?
Any help would be greatly aprreciated.
Jeff in Vegas

I have a 79SC that was like that as well and I never did figure out what was wrong with it. My mechanic scratched his head as well and could find no good reason. I solved it by putting an 87 Carrera cooler with a fan on the car and it has helped immensely. The fan is operated by a switch on the dash so that I can turn it on only when needed, otherwise, in the cool weather, the oil temp never gets above 180, which is really too cool to run consistently. You say that the gauge gets up to the mid-point which is totally normal for these cars. Mid-point is about 220 and that is fine. When the weather warms up though, look out. You will see temps in the 250 to 260 range, and as far as I am concerned, that is just too hot. The fan should really help on the hot days. On my car the fan is good for a 30 degree drop in temp when it is running. Bruce Anderson has a good discussion of the temperature in his book and is recommended reading. Do you have the new style oil temp gauge with no numbers? If so, look out at the very edge farthest from the needle for the calibration marks. The one at the midpoint should be about 220. I upgraded (downgraded?) my car to the old style gauge with actual numbers on it and have been much happier. The kit is available here on the Pelican Parts site and other places as well and I highly recommend it, if for nothing else that just peace of mind that comes when you know what the real temp is. The kit comes with a gauge insert for the existing nacelle and and "old style" sender that is calibrated to the gauge. I put in in myself in less than 1/2 hour and it works great.

[This message has been edited by MarkB (edited 04-14-99).]

[This message has been edited by MarkB (edited 04-14-99).]

Sorry for the double post. I am new to the BBS and just figured out how to edit my original one.

[This message has been edited by MarkB (edited 04-14-99).]

I've seen several older 911's with completely clogged engine mounted oil coolers (right front of engine). These engines have a couple of very common oil leaks on top of the engine (oil pressure light sending unit, thermostat housing etc). These oil leaks combined with any grime that the cooling fan pulls in seems to settle into the oil cooler and over time clog it up. I'm unsure what overall effect this has on temp rise, but common sense would tell me it has to be a factor. I'm not sure whether these coolers can be cleaned from the bottom or not, I ended up pulling the right and front sheet metal from my engine to gain access from the top, then with a can of engine cleaner went to town.