Not to hijack this but 52Carl did ask if hydraulic lifters would make a difference with PINGing. My pointy head says(opinion) no. But then I don't know much about the 54 235. Is this the last of the babbitt rod engines? What is the compression on one of these? Still, I would think if the ignition is advanced, the engine will PING. Old school ideas on points(what I was taught for emergency fixing): A book of matches, the cover will gap the points, the strike strip will clean the contacts, and if you have the cellophane wrapper(from those evil cigarette packs) with a rubber band you can set just when the points open. Copy paper will burnish the contacts, so will the cover from the matches. And last but not least, point files work and don't leave any grit behind.
