I went out to the shop and tore the front of this @%$$## engine down and put an eye ball to the timing marks on both cams and the crank gear. All three are lined up perfectly (I was really hoping to find one off kelter!)

I pulled the damper/crank pulley to make sure nothing had slipped there- it was good.

I went ahead and pulled the distributor and looked at it real close. The internals look new. Added a new cap and rotor (just in case) and stuck her back in the hole like I new what I was doing. The rotor points just to left of the center of the distributor toward the center of the fly wheel. I am certain the mechanical timing set up is correct.

I set the base timing with a light (whilst the connector pin was grounded) to 5 degrees again. with it here it still idles a little rough, and doesn't seem to have any low end power. I moved her to 10 degrees (the lug on the distributor base is just past the stud) She idles a little better but power still seams to be lacking.

If I remove and plug the fuel regulator vacuum hose she speed up a little (approx 100 rpm) and smooth out. Power seems better but not what I expect.

I got to digging in the FSM and found in the "Engine Adjustment" section, where it says engine vacuum should be 20 in.Hg. I'm only getting 15. It is steady (no bounce what so ever) The book says this means the timing is retarded.
If I crank the distributor on around the vacuum stays at 15 in.Hg. I am begining to think the timing is a result of some other problem.

I keep wondering about the fuel pressure. With the vacuum line installed at an idle I'm getting 40psi (spec is 38psi) and with the vacuum line removed I'm only getting 50 (spec is 47 to 53) could the fuel pressure be messing with me and the timing? <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

A couple of things that might have an effect, I don't know:
1) The cat is long gone. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/ignore.gif" alt="" />
2) We had this engine bored .045". <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/notooth.gif" alt="" />
3) Whats up with a six cylinder that has a firing order of 123456? : <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/scared.gif" alt="" />
4)While trying to figure this out I noticed that if you stare into the barrel of a pistol with both eyes open it looks like a double barrel! "CLICK" Darn out of Bullets! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/zombie.gif" alt="" />