I just got done rebuilding my 396, I have it bored 30 over. I'm runing a XE274 cam. Speed Demon 750 carb, Edelbrock Aluminum intake, MSD Ignition (Blaster 2 coil, Muilti spark box and Distributor). I have it set at 8 degrees right now, What do you guys think I should run it at?

Take it for a drive at 8 degrees, then advance it to around 14 and drive it again. See what you think.

Go as high as 16 if you like and test drive it checking for detonation. If it detonates, back off two degrees until it goes away.

Then come back online and run a search on total timing. You'll get more information than you can absorb and you'll soon be able to optimize your timing curve for your car.

Edit: I see that it's an MSD distributor, so chances are that it's already calibrated with a decent curve. I'm still guessing around 16 initial should do it. What does the MSD manual say? If you don't have the manual for your distributor, you can download it here. (http://www.msdignition.com/downld.htm)

Rev it up to 3000 or 3500 rpm, set the timing at 35* and you're done. It will probably give you around 15* initial.

Thanks guys, I'll give it a try and see what happens :D