302 overheating

[fish-albuq]

I have a 68 or 69 302 with an aod trans. I got it all put together a pretty much stock build with nothing real high performance. Got it started ok and all but it is overheating. I let it run for approx. 10 minutes and it creeps up to around 210 thats where i shut it off. I changed thermostats (160) and should have enough fan w/shroud. I dont have a indicator on my tinming cover so im going to find tdc and go from there on timing. My question is what should timing be? I have heard from 4 to 15... thanks for your help wade

[xlt4wd90]

Start at 10 degrees BTDC and fine tune from there. You want to dial in as much advance as possible before knocking under the heaviest load and temperature you expect to encounter, using the grade of gas you intend to use regularly.

There have been discussions about proper installation of head gaskets so they line up with the steam holes in the heads and block. If these aren't done properly, they can lead to overheating. Since your engine is back together already, it's a little late to check these. If everything else checks out, you may need to check the heads/gaskets.