I think that if I has less compression, the 509 would be okay. The cranking compression is between 185 and 193. Many experts feel that a pump gas engine needs less than 190 cranking comp.
As I may have mentioned, the car produces no smoke and actually runs fine up to about 3/4 throttle. Maybe the secondary jetting or power valve are contributing, but there is no way around the high cranking compression numbers. I am too close to the edge for pump gas. I'd agree that if the carb and timing were optimized, it would run better.
The distributor timing curve could be slowed down and delayed. The jetting of the carb may be out of whack.
I have mentioned that I have a wideband air/fuel guage to aid in tuning but I have yet to install it. My goals were to use it after solving the detonation problems. I planned on using as a tuning aid to get better fuel economy and power.