I wouldn't be worried about that much initial. Give it as much initial timing as possible before any hard starting and such problems. Limit your total based on that. That gives you the best running possible. Small blocks love lots of initial timing. The less mechanical timing, the better. You seem to have done this.
I wouldn't exactly listen to moparofficial. He says your intake valve closing angle is killing your dynamic. Without actually knowing what your dynamic is. Based on the limited cam specs you gave, I'm making a guess that your IVC is somewhere from 58-60. Putting your DCR (dynamic compression ratio) a hair under 8:1 (7.98 if your LSA is 108, 7.85 if its 110). 8.5:1 is the limit for 91 pump premium on iron heads. So while yes, you could squeeze another .5 DCR out of it, in my opinion it's not worth it. That's maybe 5 horse? And when you are right on the edge like that, your tuneup better be SPOT on. And if you get a bad batch of gas from some sleezy gas station owner? Kaboom. It's a lot better to run a half point of DCR less, not worry about the whole 5 horse you lose, and not have to constantly worry about detonation. Especially on a street driven car. Especially in Cali, I hear you guys get **** gas out there.
If you got the cam card, let me know the IVC and we can calculate your DCR and see what we come up with. As for your timing? Sounds fine to me.
