Can someone explain to me why setting timing to the ball on the flywheel produces an ignition timing of 2 degrees ATDC (After Top Dead Center) on a 235 engine? I thought you'd always want your baseline timing to be few degrees BTDC so that you maximize the pressure, force, and fuel economy during the compression stroke.
Is there something particular about the 235 engine that would make you want to have the baseline timing retarded a bit? Or maybe the engineers at the time were worried about detonation and the availability of the correct octane fuel? I know the flywheel ball is just a starting point, but I wouldn't have guessed that timing to it would produce 2 degrees ATDC. Hmm..
