Stopping the knock: Lower compression and ported heads...
No. I didn't say to delay the timing curve. I said LIMIT IT. Usually high compression big blocks like only 30-32* total. You simply chose not to listen for whatever reason.
Probably because some advice contradicted other advice.
30-32 degrees? Come on, man! I haven't read from many that thought 30 degrees was optimal for their big blocks no matter the compression. I knocked on 31.
Say what you want about high static CRs being tolerant of pump gas, but having 190 + cranking numbers means that it wasn't going to happen for me. My early CR numbers of 10.7 to one was closer to 11.0 to one when I went back and again measured the head gasket thickness, the piston-to-deck heights and the chamber volume. Sure, the guys that tried to help by suggesting using a "bigger" cam thought it might work and maybe it would have if I went even bigger than I did. Trouble with that is that in trying to tame the engine to tolerate dog piss gasoline, I would also make it less fun to drive in 90% of the type of driving that I do.
I have made several mistakes in my life, as have everyone else. Regarding this car and the engine, all I really want is a great street engine with plenty of low to midrange power. I don't need it to click off a 10 second 1/4 mile timeslip and I'm not interested in impressing people with the lopey cam. I'm not pleased with the feeling of a loose high stall torque converter that is required when using a big cam like this. I am aware that the bigger cam was a band aid to stop the detonation.
Sometimes I wonder what it would have been like to have a milder engine that makes less power but also gives less trouble.
I've driven the car a few times since getting it back together. The idle vacuum is lower than it was at the same rpm as before. Before it was just under 10, waivering between 8-10 in neutral. Now its around 7 to 7 1/2. I bumped the timing and saw the rpm and the vacuum numbers go up. The best vacuum came in with the initial timing set to 28 degrees. I didn't drive it because that would have put my total timing to 42 ! Silly observation, but does this mean that I might benefit from a
narrower advance curve? Something like 5-7 degrees past the initial? Sledgehammer runs locked out timing. I'm guessing that means that at all rpms, the timing stays the same. Is this even for street use? If so, how well does that work? I ask because I have almost no interest in straight line drag racing this car. I enjoy distance street driving, cornering and maybe even autocross. These types of use are not often at WOT where tuning may be easier to do.