Whoops! Overheatin' :-(

[GOAT72]

On Friday night I cruised for about a half hour. Outside temperature was 83-degrees; a hot Virginia night. After stopping at a few traffic lights the '72 400cid got hot and shut down suddenly.

It did not boil over, but it did shut off and was real hard to crank over again. Luckily, I fired it up again and drove straight home.

The GTO had never done this before, but then it was in Massachusetts until last fall -- where the nights are much cooler.

Yesterday I drove 40 miles to a show in Marshall, VA. (... 120+ cars, ONE Pontiac: mine. (Sheesh... Chevy, Ford, Chevy, Ford...with an occassional Olds and Mopar.)
Anyway, the car "teetered" on the edge of overheating again, but this time I was noticing jerks, (and I don't mean Charlie, I mean the car was actually jerking slightly).

I'm now thinking I may have a fouled plug.


This would cause the engine to run hot, correct?
Of course, I checked the fluid levels.

In running hot it consumed lots of oil too. The round trip saw a 1-qt. drop in the pan level.


Any advice from you Poncho or GM A-body dudes would be appreciated.


Thnaks!
Mac