power question

[IronicOutlook]

Wife and I bought a 79 monarch with a 250 inline 6.
I have a 302 that is gonna be prepped over the winter to drop in next spring.
In the meantime however, The 6 and c4 combo runs good, has low miles, however despite having a recent tune up and a fairly open exhaust added is super slow. Im talkin 0-60 takes about a minute, so I'm thinking something is off on the timing and perhaps some carb adjustments may be in order.
What is the ideal timing setting for this engine?
anything else I need to check with out putting a ton of money I'm gonna sell next year?
I'm not expecting to make it a speed machine but you cant pass, and merging onto the highway is so slow its dangerous so I just need to be able to get out of the way.

 

[rbohm]

these engines like a lot of initial timing, i like to set them at 10-16 degree btdc. but your problem might not be engine related, remember these cars had essentially salt flats gearing, meaning you probably have something like a 2.73 or taller gear. with that gearing, you wont get out of your own way.

 

[drag-200stang]

If it has a cat.,It could be plugged. That will make it run weak.

 

[chad]

36* - 38* total timing
carberation
and
the cable from carb to C4
could be considered for improvements (exhaust would B a last thing).

What sz tire & rear gear do U have?

 

[JackFish]

I like to bump up the accelerator pump stroke on my carb.
Some carbs have a rod with a u-bend in it, and you squeeze the u-bend in a bit to increase the amount of gas added during acceleration.

 

[CZLN6]

Howdy IronicOutlook:

And welcome to The Forum. First things first. How many miles on this engine? Have you checked the compression? Which carb is on this engine- Carter (+) or Holley? What is the actual 0 - 60 time? How does the engine run? You're got to be objective and factual in addressing what you have. That will help us to give advices.

The gear ratio on this car is on a build sticker on the inside of the door frame. It is usually a code letter. It is likely a 2.73:1 to 1, which is not good for acceleration. Increasing the initial advance as previously stated, will help a bunch. Both with acceleration and economy.

In addition, Lighten the load and air up the tire pressure at least to the Max rating on the side walls.

The stock, factory advertised compression ratio on this engine is 8:1- that plus the gear ratio are contributors to poor performance.

Again, Welcome and keep it coming.

Adios, David