Ron:
That "dial like" device SHOULD be filled with grease. It's not the octane selector - it's the distributor shaft grease cup. It's a regular maintenance item. You are supposed to turn that cup Clockwise about one full turn every few thousand miles (check your Shop Manual or owner's manual).
Yeah, the octane selector is the series of slashes on the bracket holding your vacuum advance to the distributor.
I STILL haven't figured this item out. You are told to set it to "zero" by just about every darned tune-up manual I've found. You tweak the distributor and carburetor to fine tune, BUT NO ONE writes about what the heck or how you mess around with the octane selector ONCE you've timed the engine.
Me, I'm running all my vehicles on this low octane/no-lead stuff and haven't been able to teach myself how the octane selector should be adjusted to account for today's gasses.
Whining over now...
