1978 440 timing

[o1heavy]

looking for a little help on setting the timing on a stock 1978 440
how much total advance should i set in it ?

engine has a alittle hiccup that i'am having trouble getting out of it
bringing more timing in seams to help but before i jam a bunch of timing to it i would like to have a idea
its in a 78 dually stock everything minus carb
thanks guys

 

[cudamark]

Define "hiccup"? I like to run as much advance on mine as it will take without pinging. The octane ratiing on the gasoline will dictate that. I'm running regular 87 and use 10 degrees BTDC initial and 35 total advance on my '78 motorhome with all stock engine. If your "hiccup" is a backfire up through the carb, it may be that you'll need to get a modified reluctor for your distributor. I've run across many that have had that problem. The rotor lines up a little too close to the next wire terminal in the cap and under certain load conditions, it jumps over and causes a backfire. There was an article in Mopar Action a few years ago about it and there was a place that made some replacement reluctors that realigned the rotor so that wouldn't happen.