+1 to all of the good advice re timing etc.
As said, it's not unusual for the temp to rise after running along slowly in town after a fast run. Always a bit of heat soak to work off and it usually settles back. Up to about 25mph the cooling relies on the fan. Above that the flow of air through the grille takes over and by about 45, that's doing most of the work.
If you don't have an expansion bottle, it's vital to have a good rad cap or you'll probably lose water every time the temp hits the red. The rubber ring on the cap may look perfect but the cap may be too short to give a good seal. 7-10lbs is all you need. Converting to the later rad + bottle helps a lot and is easy to keep an eye on. The rad should then always be full unlike the non bottle type that will gradually empty every time you lose a bit through the overflow. That just leaves more and more hot air which neither pumps or cools very well.
I'm not against electric fans. If the cooling system is good and all is working well, fitting one and removing the engine one makes for quieter running with a quicker warm up. A little more power and better fuel consumption too. The last two only fractional, but every little helps. When everything is working well, the fan should hardly ever come on, just like "modern" cars.
Fix the cooling problems before fitting a fan, then you can relax and enjoy the drive.