Thanks to all of your replies.

I have a thermostat. Brought the car to Dallas for Lavramon (tama ba spelling) their mechanic was honest enough to say that he can't do it.

Used the car yesterday (very hot day) on multiple short trips. Temp guage was normal all day. Even at 1pm at Edsa, mix of stop and go and fast runs, temp was fine. It stayed a little above 1/4. I'll continue to observe for now. Hope it stays ok.