There are a number of options out there.
The first is to figure out what you have. These cars are 50 years old. Good lord knows what has been changed/modified over the years. You need a way to measure your degrees of advance versus rpm. You can invest in a timing light that measures degrees of advance, or, you can mark your flywheel. It is easy to mark the flywheel using a simple set of steel dividers and a punch. Measure the existing distance between TDC and 10° using the dividers. Now you can mark off 10° increments, half way is 5°. Next use a piston stop to check that your TDC mark is accurate. Last, get an accurate tachometer (not the one in the dash). Now, use the tach and timing light to plot out your advance curve. Minor adjustments can be made by tweaking spring tensions, filing slots and stops.
Way off? You can:
- send it to distributor specialist to set up properly
- replace it with a new distributor (still need to check it's advance curve)
- replace it with a programmable distributor (this is the route I went)
