ignition timing

[mcorrell]

I just learned a valuable lesson this weekend concerning ignition timing. Using a well known website's information I set the timing on my '29 Coupe. As the car was new to me and had sat many years since it last ran I didn't have a good feel for its correct sound or power. I was also having many issues with overheating even during idle which I attributed to the 2 row, 10 fins per inch radiator.
Before dropping a lot of coin on a new radiator I decided to make a simple, cheap (free), ignition pointer and mark TDC so that I could varify full advance and retard timing with an adjustable timing light. I was shocked. Full retard was about 35-40 degrees ATDC. Full advance was exactly TDC. The instructions that I followed to the letter had me setting the points to begine to break where the trailing edge of the rotor contact was even with the #1 pin in the distributor body when the spark rod was at full retard. When the rod is moved to full advance the leading egde of the contact is even with the #1 pin. I believe this is a misprint in the instructions and that you'd want the leading edge of the rotor contact to be even with the #1 pin with the spark rod at full retard. Here's a link to the instructions I followed:
http://www.abarnyard.com/workshop/timing.htm
By trial and error, I finally got the timing adjusted so that full advance is at 30 degrees BTDC and full retard is about 5 degrees ATDC, as it should be. Wow, what a difference! The car now has much more power and will actually travel faster than the steering will allow within my comfort zone. I can take the $$$ I was going to spend on a new 3 core radiator and rebuild the steering box and have money left over for other things.
I wonder how many people have done this same thing? Please note that I am not trying to make anyone look bad but wanted to raise awareness to this issue. Without the timing marker I would have never have known.