Originally Posted by
wfon
...I am not really sure what is "normal" for this truck. It seems to me that I should get much more power out of this engine ... I can't understand why this sweet V8 should not have its own throaty purr, not just at idle, but as I roll out and onto the highway. It should accelerate smoothly and then push me back into my seat. Shouldn't it?
^ This. If nothing else to compare, it's tough to get a baseline. Very important.
Drove my truck for years with it all kinds of whacked out. (Frugal is good. Cheap is expensive? Something like that. Used a junkbox carb and dizzy and golly knows what for timing because the crank dampers on these engines are trashed by now.) Here's how to fix that kind of thing.. Get yourself a manual, no way around that if you want to own stuff like this. Motors" manual, 1950 is a real good one for these vintage engines, next a vacuum gauge, and then a timing light and a tach.
Usually even if you haven't done a procedure before by reading through these forum archives will set you up just fine. Another problem If the truck isn't driven much like many "classics"; the battery will sulfate up, wiring connections and grounds will corrode and eventually fail, ignition and lighting and everything else won't work right. Brakes will start to stick, leak at seals. Tires and belts and hoses start to take a set, etc. Fuel starts to sour and gum up in the carb, valves tend to stick. Read the manuals and webpages that apply to these engines, YT videos and the gazillion web pages - esp. for oddball stuff. Y block 292s have low compression in stock form and allows for substandard fuels.
This is not a bad thing necessarily these days because they can have a lot of advance dialed in without detonation or pinging. If you want to run better octane fuel timing can be advanced some more. Take the time with your truck and you will be very happy with your Y block. I can see by your photos that your distributor is right in there where it needs to be (or clocked correctly). Just a smidge in one direction is 1-2 degrees, a vacuum gauge works great for timing but have to use a light to see what's what from 500 rpm to 3500 or 4000. Mine is at ~ 14 deg. initial or so, and have deduced the weights are on the 10L slot. That means there is about 34-36 degrees of "total timing" brought in, before the engine exceeds 3000 RPM. The vacuum advance will add another 10 or 15 degrees at steady freeway cruise for a grand total of about 50 degrees BTDC, that's what you want to verify.