Having never attempted a distributor conversion or an SU tuning after having the carbs rebuilt, I drank some John Courage and took the plunge. I installed an electronic ignition from http://www.hot-spark.com/ with the kit from IPD to avoid cutting into the shielded cable,and had Tom Bryant redo the carbs. The engine runs beautifully, but I can't seem to nail down the fine tuning of the timing and carb adjustment, nor do I really understand the link between the two.

When I advanced the timing to 20 degrees as a starting point and balanced the carbs, the engine idled at 1200 RPM, which seems a little high to me. If I advance the timing to 30 degrees and lower the idle RPM to 1000, the engine diesels when I shut it off. Once I set the timing and the engine is running smoothly do I leave the timing alone and just adjust the carbs or work between them? Lastly, what does the term "total advance" refer to?

Thanks, I hope I am being somewhat clear in explaining something I am not familiar with.

B