The numbers you are getting are not really in the sphere of what you would normally see in terms of advance. Take a look here, this is an example of a Sun Distributor Specification card. It tells you what your mechanical advance is, when it comes in, how many degrees at what distributor rpm (double the degrees and rpm for what the motor sees). This is your starting point. You then add initial advance and/or change the curve with weights and springs to have the advance come in fully earlier or later (generally earlier)
http://paramountd.com/Images/Parts%20Large/SpecCardBox1-4L.jpgOnce you know what its supposed to be, you then can use a timing light and a tape on the balancer like Tom mentioned and see whether you are in specification. If yes, you can now start making changes knowing what those changes will actually be, and then testing to see the effect.
