Banshee, I'm about 30 miles north of Detroit in Shelby Township. Engine code is matching numbers YT, is original to car, as is TH400 trans. 72,000 original miles, I'm the third owner. The second owner died and I don't have his receipts. Engine has been a slug since I got the car last April, though once in a while it will turn the tires a bit. It has apparently never had more than maintenance done to it, and sat for at least 3 years in storage with half a tank of fuel, which is long gone now.

I don't have a distributor machine, so setting curve is not a precise science for me. It usually involves a lot of test runs. I have a vacuum gauge, and the idle is smooth at 3 turns CCW from lightly seated, providing 15" of vacuum. At this setting it will idle as low as 450 RPM in drive with the air on (my version of load idle) but is set for 650 rpm.

Pinging is only evident under full throttle or big hill at initial timing over 15 degrees. As spec is 9 degrees I was hoping for 10-12 degrees to start. Original distributor setup was factory weights and springs, but I pulled distributor to deal with oil leak (missing gasket) and found vacuum diaphragm to be very stiff and weights and springs to be a little rusty and balky, so I installed the most conservative Accel parts. If you'd recommend swapping the springs I can easily do that. Do you use the Accel weights or the stock weights? I saved all parts and can reinstall them if necessary.

Had the rocker covers off to replace crispy, leaky gaskets over the weekend. No evident slop, no crud, no loose pieces. Getting in there is a b&%*$ with the A/C equipment.

I am willing to tear down the carb and go through everything. I'll get a can of carb clean and check for base gasket leaks as there appears to be a little discoloration around the base plate. You mention plugging the vacuum gauge into the large carb port. Which one is that on the Quadrajet?

When advancing timing vacuum will reach 17+ inches. However, car won't start and kickback occurs. So the timing is backed off to 11 degrees now, starts easily and doesn't knock at all.

I also just replaced all the vacuum lines in the engine compartment and the check valve on the brake booster as it was leaking a little.

The car is a 92 point show car and doesn't have a gauge set. Can't tell you what the oil pressure or any of the temps are, though I have a digital infrared high range thermometer that I could use to read cylinder temperatures.

We do not have a gas station in the area selling racing fuels. Way out in Auburn Hills there is a BP with Torco 110, but I'd use up a whole tank getting there and back .

I appreciate your sage advice. I spent most of my life with Mopar muscle cars (my dad was a Chrysler engineer) but now am dealing with these weird Quadrajets that seem to do everything on vacuum. There is definitely a learning curve here.