Thanks ren man. You're right, no reason you can't flip it around.
Ed, that's exactly right. Mickey Lauria (Inglese) told me to set the initial advance as far as it would go and still be able to start the car. I have a Mallory Unilite distributor with about 24 degrees of mechanical advance and with plenty of initial advance, I'm getting 38 degrees total (36 - 38 is recommended) with no pinging or difficulty starting whatsoever.
Thanks Keith, I had to do something to keep you BB guys from having all the fun....
Mike
