points and timing specs

[xfernal]

I have a '67 coupe with a 289 that was rebuilt about 30,000 miles ago by a previous owner with 302 crank and pistons. I have put the Edlebrock Performer intake, Holley 600 cfm vac. secondary carb., and Long tube headers. Other than that I haven't done anything to the motor, still stock 289 heads. I recently had it in the body shop for a fresh paint job (gold w/ black racing stripes) and new chrome. After picking up the Mustang (been in the shop for 4 months) I noticed how poor it was running. We adjusted the points and drove it for about 30 miles to a garage. Thinking that it needed a tune-up and planning to drive the Stang for a 430 mile road trip back home I decided to pay the local parts store a visit. I bought new spark plugs, Accel wires, new rotor, cap, and points for distributor, an electric fan to replace the ever-failing fan clutch, and a new cd player for the long drive. Everything went on smoothly except when it came time to adjust the timing. The distributor seemed to be locked in place. Even after completely removing the bolt and bracket it still would not come loose. We took pry bars and tried to force the distributor up without success. Finally after taking the “adjuster” (hammer) and tapping the side we managed to move it from left to right and after much prying the distributor freed itself from its corroded grasp. After adjusting the timing it was running smooth again throughout all driving ranges. Without incident I drove the car back home, all 430 miles, with only having to stop 3 times for gas (noticeable improvement of gas mileage). The next day it was cold, at least to a southerner, temp had dropped from 60 degrees to 40 degrees for a high. I cranked up the car a noticed it was running real rough. The car had always been cold natured but never this bad. The car was cutting out bad under acceleration and a vibration was coming from the distributor. Concerned, remembering that we pried the distributor loose I thought we might had warped the distributor shaft. I hopped on the Summit Racing website and next day aired me a new Accel Blueprint distributor. It arrived today. I adjusted my points to 21 thousandths. Can anyone confirm that this is correct? I then tried to set the timing. According to one book it says that a ’67 289 should have its timing set to 3 degrees retarded with the vacuum hose off. Is this correct with my modifications? With the settings above, the car seems to idle well but when in gear and under acceleration the car will hesitate and cut out. If I retard the timing the car won’t idle correctly. If I advance the timing it will idle well and in gear it will idle but kind of roughly, under acceleration it will cut out. I’ve tried adjusting the timing with the vacuum on and off. Accel says that the Ford retard vacuum test is not necessary but I can’t get it to run smoothly either way. I want to accuse the carburetor now but just wanted to get some guidance on the correct or suggested timing and points specs before I start pulling the carb off. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks

[70_Nitrous_Eate]

My only suggestion is to buy yourself a pertronix unit for that badboy. No more setting dwell, no more points maintenance, increased power...well worth the $65.