All Small Six Which cylinder head?

[Otto]

but if it were me, I'd advance the timing by loosening the distributor hold down and gently tapping the distributor with the 1/2" open end wrench to move the vacuum can 1/4" in the advance direction. Lock down and try it. Keep doing this till pinging is heard, then go back 1/4" and you then know timing is perfect for those highway conditions.

I can certainly try this the next time I take it for a spin. It's easier to reach the distributor bolt from under the van than from the engine box, so I'll try to make a wrench.

When driving the van, I'm only applying light throttle right in the meat of the torque curve- It scoots along very well. If it wasn't burning more gas than a Buick station wagon towing a boat, I'd think it was running perfectly!

 

[Otto]

Fabricated a phenolic spacer and installed it on the engine under the carb. The aluminum adapter runs very cool when the engine is running, but when you shut it off it transmits a lot of heat up to the carb. Plus, the heat inside the small engine box is considerable. During an initial start up, the spacer seems to be blocking heat after turning off the engine- the aluminum is hot, but the spacer is not. A test drive will be the true test.