i did consider the fan as a possibility but it has come on in the past. and the second time when i took the car out after it had been sitting for about an hour it was not hot at all. meaning the oil temp and water temp werent up to temperature and the guage still shot up. plus my radiator fan has worked in the past and last night was a relatively cool night.

how much is a sensor? and a thermostat? remember this engine sat for six years before i put it in my car. it only had around 6k miles on it but was crashed in 1995 and i put it in my car 3 months ago. so im thinking this could be a contributing factor.

also what about my water pump. chris is probably right when he said its almost definitely not my water pump but i wonder if that could be the problem. again the water pump is 6 years old and sat for a long time however ive driven the car for 4 months and havent had anything quite like this happen.

thanks again for your help.