just as a matter of asking, have you checked to see that the plug wires are routed correctly for the firing order (1,5,3,6,2,4), and that none of the wires are laying directly on top of one another creating an inadvertent mis fire? Also, and this is just me, but .013 on the points would be a speck to tight for me regardless of the dwell. Try getting them back to .016 and see what that does. What is the delco part number for the distributor? The reason I ask is that it would not surprise me if the distributor had been changed. Stock 53 uses a different point cam then the later 55 and up so if the delco number came up to a 53 unit, you would be right as the dwell should be 38-45. However, if the distributor comes back as a 55 and up, the dwell would be in the 28-35 range and .016 on the points.
