First thanks for all the replys and suggestions! Awesome!
Now to address them,
.I am working to fix it correctly and not temporarily, I know that in an emergency adding water wetter and removing the thermostat can alleviate an overheating problem for the short term but they are no long term fix. Radiators, thermostats and cooling are designed to do a job and I want to restore them to full functionality.
When I drove the car home about 20 miles the temp needle was at the high end of the gauge, not pegged but right at or above the highest acceptable marking. I did not get any collapsed hoses or spewing coolant from the closed radiator cap or overflow.
I drove the car no more than a mile up a slight hill and the needle went high. I turned around and headed back home in fear while the needle dropped down back to a more acceptable level. I drove back up the hill and the gauge went up high but I drove around another mile or so and the needle stayed at the upper level of normal moving down cooler a bit.
I recently replaced the warped exhaust manifold with a new one and I also repaired the broken studs on the ends of the manifold. One stud needed a helicoil as it was having coolant come out as steam. I removed the two studs and sealed them with thread sealant and so far no leaking of coolant.
I have suspicions regarding the gauges because of their age of course. With a full tank the fuel gauge reads closer to ¾ of a tank, while the ammeter tends to pulse at speed and when the engine is revved up. The ammeter should not be connected to the Voltage regulator for the dash instrument cluster but the fuel gauge should since it needs a steady reference.
I will be purchasing a set of meters for the temp and oil pressure so that I can check whether or not the stock meter is accurate and will post results here.
Last question, once I get the freeze plugs back in after cleaning the rust I can get out, what should I use to purge the remaining rust before getting the radiator cleaned out?
Thanks!
John