318 timing............

[pastortom1]

I'd like an opinion from someones experience.......fact base is somewhat subjective though........

1972 318, rebuilt (clean up bore).......Edelbrock Performer intake AND Carb (450 cfm)........Mopar purple cam (previous owner does not have the exact model cam numbers.....there were 3 you could use, I think....the car has a mild lope at warm idle with new Comp hydraulics and stock rockers). Full 2.5" to 3" Flowmaster duals w/no crossover.....stock electronic ignition....3:55 rear posi, 3 speed automatic.

Tell me based on what you see here, if you can........ What spark plugs would you recommend for this set-up, and what degree of timing might be a good call?

The car is not used for racing.......only for cruising.

Any suggestions?

 

[340mopar]

Mopar recommends 34 degrees total with an iron head. That's what I run my car at, I just set it for that and did not worry about the initial timing but I mainly race the car and have a very quick timing curve in my distributor (I'm using the MP tach drive distributor) but the total will be the same regardless if it's for race or street.
So with the 34 degrees in mind if you had 24 degrees of curve in your distributor you would have 10 degrees of initial timing. This is all done with the vacuum advance unplugged. If you had a 32 degrees of curve in your distibutor that would leave only 2 degrees initial and might possibly be a little sluggish off idle. I would try a starting with 8 degrees of initial with 26 degrees of curve to give you the 34 degrees of total. Also you should have your total advance in at about 2400-2500 rpm for the street.

 

[pastortom1]

So, if I set the initial timing at between 8 and 10 degrees advance , it would be a good bet to be in the motor's ballpark........correct?....and this would be with the stock Mopar distributor...........

 

[mopowers]

Get some lighter springs for the distrib. also so the advance comes in faster. You'll notice a difference and they are cheap. my old 318 liked 37 degrees

 

[dgc333]

You really should get a timing tape or a dial back timing light so you can see exactly what's going on. Or, at least get a 39 cent protractor and tape it to the top of an old rotor and tape a piece of wire to the ditributor to use as a pointer and measure the amount of advance in the distributor. Double this number to get crank degrees.

Also, if you pick up the MP spring kit use only one of the springs to replace the stiffer of the two in the distributor. This will have the timming all in in that 2500 rpm range. Both light springs has it starting to come in at idle and all in around 1500.

 

[moper]

Timing is subjective. To your driving, your engine's build, and your location. For a mild iron head, I'd run as much as possible. With a factory stock (non performance) distributor, too much initial leads to too much total. So a good place to start is 10-12° initial. If it doesnt ping, ad a couple. I run totals in the 34-40° range, depending on the other factors. A good distributor will go a long way to giving the power that engine can give.

 

[cavemanmoron]

Timing is subjective. To your driving, your engine's build, and your location. For a mild iron head, I'd run as much as possible. With a factory stock (non performance) distributor, too much initial leads to too much total. So a good place to start is 10-12° initial. If it doesnt ping, ad a couple. I run totals in the 34-40° range, depending on the other factors. A good distributor will go a long way to giving the power that engine can give.

I agree, start at 10 Btdc, and go from there.