Be careful with timing advance. Some dyno tests we ran several years ago determined that one degree over-advanced robs as much power as retarding the timing 5 degrees from the best setting. Too-early timing also promotes detonation, and severe piston and ring damage. On one full-power dyno run on a Dodge 440 tractor-pull engine, less than 5 seconds of detonation at full throttle burned a 2" hole in the top of a piston. Of course, the engine was developing over 700 HP at 6,500 RPM at the time!
Jerry
