On my mostly still stock 49 216, trial and error has determined that the BB centered on the pointer provides the best performance on that engine. I tried the vacuum method and it was too advanced, i.e. the valves pinged under load. I also played w/the octane adjustment to see if I could tweak alittle more out of it. In the long run that 49 216 starts and runs best timed to the BB.
Just another humble opinion in a sea of opinions
re. the OP's original question, I used the BB to originally setup and adjust my valves and it worked out fine in my case, but then again my engine is the original and mostly stock. Perhaps your answer is somewhere in all these posts
Dave
