New Best on Friday Night!

If you have not yet verified your timing marks and timing light, that would be first. Once verified, I would leave the timing mark where it is, meaning leave the timing alone. Then, you need to look at the very bottom of the plug and look at the fuel ring, and verify its there. You MUST use a quality plug reading tool. If you need one, speed talk.com has them for sale, and those are good units.

The next step is learning to read the plugs. You do that with one change at a time. For example, fatten up the system a good bit. I forget your carb, but if it's a Holley, move up 4-6 jet sizes. If you are at the track, watch MPH and then look at that fuel ring, if it goes faster with th fuel ring wider, then that is what it likes. Once you have made 5-6 good, repeatable runs (or tests down your street!!!!) go 3-4 sizes BIGGER on jets again. Watch the MPH and the fuel ring. If the fuel ring is wider, but it is making more HP, that is what YOUR COMBINATION wants. IMHO, I would doubt that a fuel ring wider than .100, as I have never seen it, BUT, you could be the exception.

After you have went to the rich side, you can go back to your starting point, and very VERY CAREFULLY lean it out, from your starting point 2 jet sizes. Again, watch the fuel ring as it should be getting thinner. Watch MPH the same as before. You should be able to watch the fuel ring with 1-2 jet size movements. Once you get to that point, you can work on timing, all though timing and fuel go together.

At that point, when you have all your notes and such (you should be keeping notes) you can get an A/F gauge and when the plugs and the meter agree, you can tune from that. And the A/F meter is easier to use for tuning at a cruise.

When I start getting close, I pull the plugs, put them in the lathe, and machine the the shell off so I can easily measure the fuel ring and look at the texture of the porcelain...things like that.

It's not easy to do, but mastering plug reading and tuning makes the hobby much more fun. You can do it. It just takes time.

You are close on timing, at least to start testing. I can't see the fuel ring to comment on jetting. But I hope I have given you enough to start testing.

BTW and FWIW I almost always start my testing by going RICH first. You can't get hurt doing that. If it's my engine and my starting tune up, and I can see the fuel ring confidently enough, I may start out leaner. Just be dam sure before you go lean.

Keep us posted.