help me adjust vacuume advance

[pjc360]

I am having a hell of a time adjusting my vacuume advance on my distributer.
My distributer is a mopar performance distributer that i just purchased brand new from don at FBO. I am running my vacuume advance off of ported vacuume, even tho don told me it needs to be on manifold vacuume.
I tried manifold vaccume and just could not get it to run right that way, so i'm leaving it on ported vacuume.
Do i just keep advancing the vacuume canister untill i i read 52 degrees all in with the vacuume advance plugged in to ported vacuume source?
Or do i need to get a vacuume guage and hook it up to the ported vacuume source and drive it and red what rpm i have highest amount of vaccume and then set adjust my vacuume advance to read 52 degrees at that rpm?
I just dont know much about vacuume advance or how to tune it and really need help here. My engine is surging and running crummy in the lower rpm's but at half throttle or beyond its running great. So i know i need to get the vacuume advance dialed in correctly.

 

[pjc360]

And i also know that my total timing including vacuume advance needs to be at 52 degrees according to mother mopar.

 

[dgc333]

Even though initial+mechanical+vacuum may add up to 52 you will almost never have all your mechanical and vacuum advance at the same time. Mechanical advance varies with rpm, vacuum advance varies with load. The vacuum only operates at part throttle light load, ie. cruise.

Hook up a vacuum gauge to your manifold and determine at cruising speeds (35-45 mph, flat road, no head wind) what the manifold vacuum is. You can then use something like a mighty vac hand vacuum pump to adjust the vacuum advance pod so that it is fully advanced at your cruising vacuum.

 

[pjc360]

What i did was called don at fbo systems and explained to him that with it set up the way he told me to set it up, wich was set initial at 16 degrees and hook vacuume advance to full manifold vacuume not ported vacuume. I told him that with it running this way it was popping out the exhaust while at an idle and i put my vacuume advance hose on ported vacuume trying to see if it would make a differnce. It did take away the popping at an idle but it was still surrging at light cruising speeds. So i turned the vaccume can adjustment screw counter clockwise untill it stopped surging.
Don told me to put it back on full manifold vacuume and he said that since i dont have a vacuume gauge to get my dial back timing light and check what the timing is at an idle with the vacuume advance hooked to full time manifold vacuume. He said that i want it to be reading 30 degrees at an idle 16 initial plus an additonal 14 degrees from the vacuume advance he said thats where it should be on my engine. So i started it up put the vacuume advance hose on full time manifold vacuume and checked the timing it was sitting at 23 degrees, so i just kept turning the adjustment screw inside the vacuume can a turn at a time untill it read 30 degees at n idle with the vacuume advance hooked up to full manifold vacuume. I got it sitting at 29 degrees at an idle with the vacuume advance hooked up to full manifold vacuume and i figured it was close enough. It was still popping out the exhaust again and don told me it sounds like it wants more fuel so i turned my idle air mixture screws out a half turn each and ta da the problem was gone. It no longer pops out the exhaust at an idle i'm reading 29-30 degrees at an idle with vacuume advance hooked up to manifold vacuume. I'm assuming this is where don wants it sitting because he told me the way he set it up when he sent it to me was for it to be at 16 degrees initial and an additional 14 degrees from the vacuume advance. I'm going to call him tommarrow to verify that i have it sitting the way he said to have it. But i'm pretty sure i have it spot on now. No surging at light cruising speeds and i cant hear any popping coming from the exhaust.