vacuum advance

furydan said
So I set the initial timing @ 14 btdc and the total with the vac adv on the manifold side looks to be about 30 or so btdc. Cars seems to run a lot better, but when it is hot, hard to turn over. Maybe one of those hi torque mini starters would be my next move.

Have you tried about 18 btdc initial timing and no vacuum advance at all?
I have reservations about overly advanced timing causing a misfire during start. I dont know what effects that will have on the timing chain and/or other mechanical parts.