Questions about 318 timing

Tuckerjr said

I believe it's all in by 2500. I don't want to wake the neighbors so I will wait until tomorrow and double check. If it is all in at 2500 do I need to work on the distributor so I can run a lower initial timing and still have 36 degrees by 2500, or am I thinking about it wrong?

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Set your total timming first (34-36) degs. Lock it down.
Now check your initial. Lets say it is 12.
Total timming minus initial timming. 34-12=22
This means 22 degrees of advance are built into your distributor. Lighter cars you want a quicker advance, while heavier cars you want to come in a little later.

Most small blocks work well with around 12 initial 34 total. All cars are built and run a little different. Street cars and drag cars will run different timming.
Now that I gave you some basics, you can find what timming works best for you.