Sorry, Ragtop, you are getting
very bad advice.
[1] You
DO NOT adjust carb first.
[2] You
DO NOT set the WOT timing, & then let initial timing fall where it falls. [ Post #8 ]
[3] When you have been doing this for 40+ yrs you learn a lot, & also from other people.
[1] What
you do first is find optimum idle timing, post #7. Idle mixture/speed setting just needs to be in the ball park to find most efficient timing. It should be obvious from the procedure in post #7, that since you are not touching the carb, only ign timing, that this procedure finds
the most efficient idle timing for that combo, as shown by the rpm increase [ more hp ]. Once idle timing has been determined, the dist centri curve can be done if used.
[2] Once you have idle timing sorted,
THEN you do carb adjusting such as T slot position.
[3] This link will explain MVA benefits & whole lot more about combustion; scroll down to post #6. If it does not load, type in manually.
www.hotrodders.com/forum/vacuum-advance-hooked-up-directly-manifold-bad-47495.html