440 Engine tuning suggestions

It was hard to climb over the others stuffed in this car at the circus to post. The most informative post from the FABO "war and peace" writer is one of the shortest. Irony is thick in that one. :rolleyes:

To answer the OP about some questions
Initial timing, Based on other stuff I've worked on, somewhere in the 16-20 range is a decent start point.
Feed the mechanical in up to about 4K and have it around 34 total, no vac adv with this verification.
Should idle at 800 or so and drop to 700 in gear.

If it drops more than that, put a light on it to verify it still has whatever the original idle timing was set. If it drop from 18 to 16 in gear, fix the distributor with a heavier advance spring. You can't have timing drop when in gear, creates a tail chasing issue, lower timing lower rpm, less torque converter acts tighter. Slippery slope.

Now, I hope I can get outside and my big red shoes don't get caught on the door sill/jams tripping me up. LOL Stay humble up north there.