another timing question

[bosworth]

I'm hoping that the collective wisdom of this forum can help clear up some of my confusion.  I installed a Stovebolt Mini HEI distributor in my 51 B3B 218, this truck has a newly rebuilt engine.   I'm generally very happy with the distributor but want to get things timed properly.  My goals are to have a good reliable driver, achieve the most performance that I can from the engine without causing damage.  The instructions for the distributor suggest an initial timing of 10 to 18 degrees. Tom Langdon said that this basically S-10 distributor doesn't have the same curves  as the original and it is best to built up the timing early for this engine. When I set it  that far advanced I felt that there was a lot of pinging going on.  It seemed best with an initial advance of about 4 degrees or so.  I ran the engine up to about 2000 rpm and found that the total advance was about 35 degrees.   

Today I went over to the shop that rebuilt my engine (did a little showing off).  One of their first questions was about my timing.  They suggested that I block off the vacuum line and set the initial timing to about 10 to 15 degrees.  They said I would get more power going through the gears (three in my case)  and having the vacuum can out of the picture would prevent the timing from going to high at the top end.  The shop I dealt with mostly does performance engines.  I blocked the line and disconnected the vacuum advance, set the initial timing to about 12 degrees.  At 2000 rpm I had a total advance of about 25 degrees. The truck seemed to run pretty well, I want to try it out climbing a grade though.

I'm wondering what you guys might suggest,  if your are using a "mini HEI"  or other dizzy how did you set it up?  I know that timing is pretty critical for good performance and improperly applied can lead to engine damage, so any suggestions are more than welcome.

Thanks;

Bill

Edited October 27, 2018 by bosworth