stock dual point motorcraft distributor timing?? owners manual reads 6 degrees BTD with vacuum lines plugged off. I.D. tag reads 10 degree BTD which one is correct for a bone stock motor?
Original Post
Depends on the year of mfgr. The simplest way is to let the engine tell you what it needs, by advancing the static timing at 2 degree increments with the fuel you expect to use. Test-drive the car in your uisual manner until you hear rattling of pre-ignition, then back up 2 degrees and leave it alone. There's nothing sacred about a number; the engine as it is today, on today's fuel, driven in your normal manner, should dictate the static and total advance. Early '71-72 engines, on 100 octane fuel got 6 degree static timing while later engines got 10-16 degrees static but also had factory-retarded camshafts (4 degrees I think) for smog reasons.