I like to use a little different method of "timing by ear" which will promptly be attacked as soon as I describe it. That's OK, I keep a sprig of mistletoe attached to my belt for those folks!

Static-time the engine by aligning the BB with the pointer with the engine stopped, then rotate the distributor housing clockwise until the points close, then CCW until they barely open. An ice pick type test light can be used to find the exact opening point if desired. With the ignition switch turned on and the probe touching the connector at the side of the distributor, the light will not burn with the points closed. As soon as they open, the light comes on. Lock the distributor clamp down lightly at that point so the housing can still be turned by hand. Start the engine and warm it up.

Attach a vacuum gauge to the main port below the carburetor on the manifold NOT the vacuum advance port on the carburetor. Disconnect and plug the vacuum line at the distributor. Using the idle speed adjusting screw, raise the engine speed to highway cruise RPM, 1800-2000 RPM, for instance. Turn the distributor housing clockwise until the vacuum starts to drop, then turn it CCW until it reaches a max point. When the vacuum starts to drop again from over-advancing, back off until it's back at maximum. Lock the housing adjustment down. Reconnect the vacuum advance line.

Now take a road test. Find a long hill where the vehicle can be driven 1/4 mile or so at full throttle without gaining any speed (lugging). Listen for detonation- - -it sounds like a bunch of BB's rattling around in a tin can. If the engine detonates, turn the distributor housing a tiny bit clockwise, go to the bottom of the hill, and repeat the test. Eventually you'll find the best compromise between timing advance and detonation. Bear in mind that one degree of over-advanced ignition timing robs as much horsepower as 5 degrees timing retard from the optimum setting, so err on the side of "not enough" if necessary.

Now, those of you who have bothered to read this novella to this point will probably do like my high school students used to do with a multi-point procedure- - - -do the first thing right, get the next one wrong, and ignore the rest! Have fun!
Jerry

"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln
Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt!
There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway
Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!