Reply to "How to do the ignition timing on a mangusta"

A couple of additions: MSD uses Ford-sourced parts inside their billet distributor bodies. Normally, those parts do not cause problems; it's the MSD brain-boxes that go south regularly.
Next, a Duraspark 2 vacuum advance adjusts: a 1/8" allen wrench inserted into the vaccuum hose bib engages a small needle valve inside. If you have 'wrong' amounts of vacuum advance from your engine, advance, no aftermarket parts are necessary to adjust a Duraspark. MSDs do not normally adjust vacuum but there are 'kits' available.
Third, do not get too hung up on the amount of any given timing numbers. Remember, your engine does not CARE what number appears on the harmonic balancer or a dial-back timing light. All it 'wants' is a spark at a near-optimum time and a host of things can change this. So if you set the distributor to "optimum" and the engine pings, feel free to back off any or all the tuneable parameters until no ping is heard nor felt. A dyno run is the ideal way to set timing but unless you get a deal, this will run over $100.
Your POCA Newsletter has a horror story (with a happy ending) on expensive aftermarket parts installed out of the box, resulting in poorer running than before. A dyno check saved the day.