Timing by Vacuum Reading?
First mistake. Not having vac adv on a big cammed engine like this. The VA unit needs to be adjustable to work with the lower-ed vac of the big cam.
Second mistake. Using a vac gauge to set idle timing & mixture. Might work ok with stock cam, but useless with large cam & gauge needle bouncing around.
Third mistake. Choice of buddies.
Fourth mistake. Buying a useless big bucks MSD dist that [a] has no vac adv & has a magnetic pick up that has less cyl-to-cyl accuracy than a stock Mopar dist.
This is the first thing you need to do, then report back with the result. Five min test:
[1] warm up engine, put into gear if auto.
[2] Engine idling, loosen dist clamp
[3] Slowly turn the dist CCW, starting from about 12* BTDC. Idle rpm will increase & get smoother [ how do I know this? ]
[4] Keep going CCW until you reach the highest idle rpm.
[5] Then toggle dist CW/CCW until you are sure of highest idle rpm.
[6] NOW check the timing. Do not be surprised if it is 30+ degrees. That is a guess on my part because you haven't provided the cam specs.
Hey, he's a good buddy. I don't think the vacc timing is a good idea, although the other things may be a mistake, he's not.
Other than that, the engine starts perfectly, I'm running 13.5-14 afr, with slightly higher and lower temporary movements, but it is staying pretty much between 13.5-14 idle, during 2,000 - 2,500 transition and above 2,500. When I am around 2,500 rpm and nail it, AFR drops below 11 and then picks up immediately to 13.5, then climbs to 14. These are good AFR readings from what I have gathered. Timing, well, I haven't dug too deeply into it. It is a Blue Print Engine's 408, I can post the cam specs, if you can tell me exact timing, but my guess is that even with the specs you won't be able to tell me what to put it at. I could be wrong about that, but IDK. If you can tell me where to at least start it at, I will post them.
Right now it is sitting right at about 17 Advanced. and Peaking at 34. I only have so many springs to work with, but the engine doesn't seem to like anything but 16 or 17 initial and 34 total. I cannot for the life of me hear it ping, so that's out. I have an EGT gauge, but it doesn't go above normal temps. If I go with more advance, 18+ she doesn't like to start when hot. 17 Starts Perfectly. I may have it timed right, but what makes me wonder is it is rough under acceleration. Around 2,500-3,000 rpm in 2nd heavy acceleration makes it run kind of rough, not like the car is going to fall apart, but it is rough. I don't know if this is normal or not. I haven't taken it to 3rd 2,500 - 3,000 yet because if it is rough in second I assume it will be worse in third.
You are the first one who has told me to get a vac advance dizzy with this engine. Why do you believe it is necessary? I am using an AFR to set the carb jets, bleeds, acc cams, pump nozzles, power valve, and idle screws on my Holley DP 750. She is running extremely well right now, only thing is this running rough 2,500 to 3,000 or so with heavy acceleration.
