I have concluded along with Geoege Asche that 10 degrees initial advance at 500 rpms might be a little much. The centrifugal advance is 16 to 20 degrees at 2,050 and 18 to 22 degrees at 2,850 and 14 to 18 degrees on the vacuum at 2,850. since I was turning 3200 rpm I will take the high side of 22 degrees advance from centrifugal and 18 degrees from the vacuum plus the 10 degrees initial and the results are 50 degrees before TDC. If I take the low side of the 2,850 numbers which would be 18+14+10=42 degrees before TDC. Either of the two numbers is between 5 degrees and 10 degrees too much advance. In answer to Dons question yes I am going to keep the flathead. As of this moment the crank out of my original engine is being turned and will replace the one now in the engine. I have a T-5 from a S10 already and have started modifing the bell housing but might go with Paul Curtis's adapter setup. The cost will probably be about the same if I get the pilot shaft puck machined and buy a clutch disc and also have the hole in the bell housing opened up. The fellow who has the bridge port machine and lathe and was going to help me has taken his wife and gone to Alaska for the summer and has not returned. I have not pulled the #1 main bearing cap to see if it is also damaged. I rolled the old top main bearing shells out and rolled the new top shells in. The bearing can only go in one way for the stop to fit in the grove so I do not think that is the problem. On first fire up the #1 rod knocked so I shut the engine off and thought maybe the oil had just not reached the rod yet. On restart the engine did not knock and ran at 50 mph with 50 psi oil pressure. The bearing must have spun on initial start up and fused to the crank and turned in the rod. May have something in the oil passage in the crank or block, will find out on teardown.
