[Hal Copple]

brent, maybe your poor running is more than just having ignition on 7 cylinders. the other day, on a stroked Windsor, i needed some "room" for a minor tweak, unhooked one spark plug wire, and i could not tell it by starting or idling at all. I suspect it would have been noticable down on power if i had gone out and driven it, but in the driveway, i only noted the disconnected spark plug wire later.

It is reasonable to pull that plug and see if for some reason it is bad, but modern igntions will fire some pretty failed/fouled plugs.

On some motors, our group has found that the bolt that holds the "hold-down" bracket on the distributor base hits the bottom of the bolt hole before it snugs down the distributor, allowing the distributor to rotate slightly, mis-timing the engine. Some of us have put a washer under the bolt, i put in an ARP stud, less wear on the block threads that way.

The first thing i would do, after checking that plug, and perhaps putting on a temporary plug wire, is to re-check your timing, and check the bolt hole depth on the hold down for the clamp.

Wish you wll, and let us know as it goes.