Good observation, Chuck! If on backwards, it will still blow in the right direction, but with considerably less force.

There's still an unanswered question. Is the fan on backwards?

Okay, so here it is.

The fan question has been answered. The fan blows out thru the fender.
The thermostat is a 70*C thermostat.
Talked to our Mini expert out here in Italy. The system is kept under 15 pounds of pressure, raising the boiling temp to almost 160*C
So, the car is operating normally. The white line is supposed to indicate about 80*C (the temp of the stock thermostat). It can get up to 150* which is about 3/4 between the white thermostat line and the red "oh crap, here we go" red line.

So....... A mini running at over standard atmospheric boiling point on these cars is just fine. My Corvette is a little more finikey, but whatever. That's Chevy for you. I became alarmed origionally on this because I could smell coolant. That was caused by the fact that I need to get a new radiator cap. The gasket has a couple of cracks in it.

Thanks for all the help so fast. Have a nice day!

There are multiple threads on this topic. They usually start with how to be sure you have gotten all the air out of the cooling system.  Do a search of them and go from there.

You could buy a mechanical guage at an auto parts store, test it in boiling water to get a sense of how accurate it is, and stick it in that 998.  It would be more accurate than the stock guage.

Overheating is when the engine gets so hot that the coolant temperature rises and the coolant pushes out of the radiator via the cap, or a weak hose that bursts.  erceived overheating is where the guage moves to some point on the scale and the car owner feels this means doom.

Had the guage offered reproduceable information before?

Your friend is wrong. Mini fans blow out thru the fender. The  plastic fan actually  says " engine side" .

At MME 2003. Over 20 cars had their fans on backwards.

Keith Calver was leaving notes on the windshields.

what Thermostat are you running?

Well, the title is obvious. 1989 Mayfair.

Zero engine mods. Recently replaced head gasket.
New radiator
New water pump
New hoses
Collant flushed and replaced with Redline Water Wetter and pure distilled water.
It's getting hot out and I can't keep the temp down.

20 minute drive at 3000 RPM doing a whopping 50 MPH and I have to keep the heater on just to keep it from shooting above the white line.... which I don't know what that means.... but when I shoot it with a heat gun, I see 103 C on the lower block and 93 C on the radiator and on the sensor. Damn near boiling. Any other ideas on how to keep the temp down?

Just a note, the plastic cover for the engine is no longer there. I was falling apart and started flaking off into the belt and fan. I don't know if that would help to have one on, but just a note.

Can anyone tell me what that arbitrary white line on the temp gauge means? It has blue and red with that stupid white line in the middle. Is there any actual value to that?

Also, maybe someone can settle an argument with me. Normal radiator fans on normal cars pull air thru the radiator from the outside and into the engine bay, while my mini is pushing air from inside the engine bay, thru the radiator and out thru the fender. My friend say that the fan should be sucking form the outside in, not pushing from the inside out.... If I remember correctly, the fan only fits the way I put it on. Maybe I'm an idiot, but I'm expecting he is extremely wrong.