thanks for your suggestions ynot,

radiator sides are sealed, shroud is complete, stone guard is fitted

will look into finding a 24v aftermarket temp gauge... makes sense


re your bonnet comments,
i know other gq owners who have tried lifting the back of the bonnet, in each of their cases, their vehicle ran hotter
reason we came up up with is that air over the top of the bonnet is at high pressure when it hits the windscreen creating an air dam preventing air from escaping from under the bonnet.
as opposed to the air at the front of the bonnet,
air hits the front of the car and gets deflected up, creating low pressure at the front of the bonnet

please feel free to pick holes through the theory :-)