I have read some of these posts with interest, and it is dawning on me that many people have got no clue about what is going on.
If the thermostat is closed, then there is no water going to the radiator, and it doesen't matter how good or bad the radiator is. The only cooling you will have comes from the heater matrix, if it is open, and from cooling around the engine as well as from heat lost in the exhaust. That is it!
If the car in this case does not reach operating temperature, you can only block the heater and/or increase the load on the engine, as the engineer says to increase the water temperature. That is it!! it does not matter what you do to the cooling system, you can block the radiator completely, take it out or sell it! it will make no difference!
This can typically be the case on a cold day where you are cruising at a constant speed.
Obviously, a stuck thermostat in an open position will make matters worse. As you then have an amount of water being cooled because of the radiator.
So chaps, face it. If your thermostat is not faulty, (that is sticking either open or closed), it does not help to replace it with a hotter unit, if the engine is over-cooled on a cold day. The temperature of the water will not even get to the triggering temperature of a hotter thermostat, if it does not trigger the original thermostat. The only thing you will achieve is to increase the temperature of the system on hotter days, when you don't need it.
The best advice is to reduce the use of the heater, and yes, blocking the radiator might help, but not for the blocking of the radiator itself, (which will not be in operation), but for reducing the flow of cold air around the engine and in that way limiting the cooling of the block itself.
Hope this makes a bit of sense to you!
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