I'm curious as to why your '54 doesn't have timing marks. The "BB" should be visible through the hole in the bellhousing above the starter. It is possible to get the timing off so far that the mark is not visible.

As has been stated here before, the ultimate timing for your engine is to advance it as far as you can (in small increments) until you get a slight pinging on heavy load, then back it off until the pinging just disappears.

Recheck your points first though, new points will "wear in" quickly and need to be re-checked.