Engine heat

Recently I have noticed that there seems to be an excessive amount of heat in the engine compartment (everything under the hood is extreamly hot to the touch i.e. alternater, hood support etc.)  The temp gage shows approx 210.  Could the problem be loose header bolts.  Havn't been able to check due to recent surgery on my hand.  Any ideas?

Loose headers won't contribute to the heat, but just having headers will. 210 sounds a bit hot to me, but there could be a temp gauge calibration factor, and the engine may not really be that hot...it may be even hotter...you could use an infrared thermometer to see how close the gauge is to actual temp.

Shark car engine compartments are small to start with, and have very small exits for getting the hot air out. All of the air that comes thru the radiator must exit out thru the side(fender) vents, and out under the car.
Anytime you drive your car, all of that stuff will be really hot for a while, even after shutting it down. The alternator puts out heat on it's own, so they are always hot, even if the engine is running cool.

Do you have the underdrive pully on the water pump too, or do you only have one on the crank? If the water pump is running slower than normal, there will be a corresponding rise in engine temps...
Unless your underhood temp is so hot it's gonna burn the paint on the hood, I'd say it's just normal Shark car heat...

Thanks Joel