what does this sound like to you all?

[HighVolkage]

feels like i'm missing on 2-3 cylinders and its running hotter than the hinges of you know where. i had just pulled the dist yesterday to put an o ring on the bottom but all the plugs are fine all the wires should be fine and the cap and rotor were on right. i set the timing at about 12 degrees. and what gets me the most is that i took it for a quick test drive after all this and it ran better than ever before (it was impressive, scared the crap outta me) so what gives? i'm kinda stumped here

 

[cfmustang]

Could be your damper slipped so when you think you are at 12 degrees you are at far less. That will cause to run real hot with the symptoms you describe.

A slipped damper is very common in our sixes. I would start by verifying TDC.

 

[The Plankster Prankster]

i've always timed my rigs my ear, advancing it to just a few degrees less that where it starts to ping. they say thats too far, but its a trade-off, as more advance is more power, but too much cuts into your engine life

 

[addo]

I'd look first at oil pressure, then test compression.