BB ingnition timing

Hi Guys, i have no experience with the mopar big blocks, just built SB´s up til now.....have got a question.

My buddy has got a coronet station wagon with 440cui engine, Engine built by a shop here. They left him alone with some problems (heavy pinging under load), i´d like to help him out as far as possible.

So i think these engine is built with too much compression. It´s a pretty stock build, cam seems mild to me, stock cast iron heads etc...i think they put wrong pistons in it and pushed the CR to high - he´s got no clue what´s inside. He has to run race gas to keep i from pinging - no fun at all if you have a big engine and cannot use it...

So i´d like to check the timing first, maybe the dizzy is advancing too much or too early. I´m positive that we can get a better situation with a little tweaking, so what do you think about some timing numbers to start with? What numbers do these engines like?

thanks for your help!

Michael