I have a 70 SS396 essentially stock(may have had a mild cam put in when rebuilt before I bought it). I put a Crane electronic points elimination kit and recurve kit in and when reinstalling distributor may have been off a tooth. Also put a timing tape on the damper to help set timing.
When setting timing and driving the car the timing it is liking seems more than I've seen others mention as "ballpark" for these cars, about 20 BTDC at idle(vacuum disconnected) and over 50 degrees by about 3000 rpm.

Car uses 93 octane and I can't detect any pinging. Would putting the distributor in 1 tooth off make my damper useless for setting time or is this car just liking a lot of advance for some reason?

Thanks

NO. it only changed the timing. if turning the distributor won't bring it in time move the plug wires one position appropriately all the way around to get proper movement of the distributor for timing.

If that 50º is with vacuum advance connected you're probably good. Be sure that you're checking at a high enough rpm for all timing to be in. How much total are you getting with the vacuum disconnected?

Just so I'm clear here, I can still use my damper and the timing tape/pointer to see the correct timing?
If so, then it seems the car really likes it advanced. Factory recommendations on the car were 0 degrees, I believe! If I try to retard it too much from where it is now, it doesn't want to idle as well and stay running.
Also, the 50 degrees total is with vacuum disconnected.

The car previously had somewhat more retarded timing, but it did not seem to run as well.

Also, the 50 degrees total is with vacuum disconnected.



Different combos can use different amounts of timing but not that much. You're talking about 50º total. Most engines like 36º-38º and some can handle a little more but not that much more. Your engine loves the extra timing before total is all in but if you're actually getting that much total it should have some serious problems once total is all in under load. I'd suggest double checking to make sure your total is at 50º and if it is, recurving the distributor to limit the amount of centrifugal. As it is, it sounds like you've got 30º centrifugal and it also sounds like your engine likes lots of initial. Limit your centrifugal to 16º-18º, keep initial at 20º, and you'll have the responsiveness in normal driving but without having the engine self-destruct if you open her up.

Assuming the tape is correct for your damper and that it's installed properly (and the tab is correct also), yes, you should be able to accurately set your timing by aligning the marks on the tape with the 0º mark on the tab. Where many fail to get an accurate total reading is by not reving the engine high enough for all the advance to be in (many stock curves don't reach total until around 5k).

Thanks!