timing problem

those intial timing settings from the factory were likely based on emissions and your engine could use more initial advance than they put in the haynes manual. what I do is disconnect the vaccuum hose from the distributor, hold the engine at 4.5k rpm so the full mechanical advance is all in, then check that the timing is at 36*. if your initial is at 15-16* that sounds okay to me, mine is at 18* but i have a bigger cam. don't forget to hook your vaccuum hose back up to a constant manifold vacuum and re-set your idle speed. if it pings under full throttle, back your total timing back to about 34* and recheck. if it pings under full throttle again, back it off another 2* and retry until you get it to not ping. if it pings under partial throttle and not full throttle you could just lower your vacuum advance canister some, but i don't think you'd have pinging problems anyway with that stock cam and compression. if your engine is pinging with 36* timing you probably have carbon build up and could use some higher octane fuel. if your engine kicks back cranking it when it's fully warmed up that would be a reason to retard it a bit.