I don't use a dial back timing light myself, but my understanding of their purpose and operation says that your balancer TDC mark will align with zero on the engine pointer when your advance hits the value set on the timing light. These types of timing lights are nice when you do not have a degreed balancer as they "degree" it for you.
This is all dependent upon the combination of springs/weights/center-plate in your mechanical advance. In general, and to a point, you gradually increase RPM until the timing stops changing. At that point you have found the total timing (with the vacuum advance disconnected and the carb/manifold vacuum port plugged). For a performance setup it is usually desired to have the total timing all in by 3000 RPM.
To use those marks you will need the timing light set to zero. Then if it advances past the marks, without vacuum advance hooked up, then yes you have too much total timing.
We end up at the same point, but I differ a bit with Scott on approaches to timing setup. Too much total timing can damage your motor, which is why I always start my setup there. Too little initial timing just makes it run crappy (technical term
). I prefer running poorly rather than damaging. I also start from total timing because the value is consistent across the entire range of Chevy engines no matter what their setup. Initial timing by comparison varies all over the map, largely dependent upon cam timing. Especially as cam durations go above about 270 the timing advance required at idle goes up. But there are multiple ways to get that idle timing. Again more complicated at initial than total.I don't think you have shared your cam parameters? Without them it is rather random to suggest too much about what your initial timing should be.
Let me use my setup as an example. I run a 402 BB with a HR296 roller cam and a Muncie 4 speed. I have my total setup to around 36-38* which put initial around 16-18* on my no-name performance HEI. I have limited the movement on my vacuum advance from 20* down to about 12* to give me a cruise timing of 50-52* (which is another consistent Chevy timing parameter). And finally I run a vacuum advance can that starts at 3" and is all in by 9", but with my range limiter the start is moved up to 6". My vacuum advance is hooked up to manifold vacuum. This combination gives me about 30* advance at idle and 11" of vacuum.
Note that prior to adding the vacuum advance at idle I had to open up the throttle blades too far and had 3-4" lower vacuum. In a prior discussion here on TC it was found that a particular engine kept idling better and better all the way up to 40* of advance. Bigger cams really want more advance at idle :beers:
