timing marks , whats there value?

The zero in the middle is tdc(obviously)

The 0's on each side are 10(the 1 is covered in grime) so yes the marks inbetween are 5.

thanks, the p.o had the initial timing set at 0 tdc, i set the timing at 10 degrees btdc and noticed improvement, getting late so i will try 15degrees btdc in the morning and see what happens, thanks again folks

Plug your vac line & see what you have for total. Are the orig springs in the dist(1 light & 1 heavy w long loop on one end)?. Stock 74 318?

my timing light is old, not dial back, and i didnt pull the dist cap, was getting dark, i will check the dist springs tomorrow. i did disconnect the vacuum line from the advance on the dist when i checked the timing and i did plug the line too. how much difference should there be in the readings with the vacuum line attached/disconnected at idle?

Ported vac would have zero(or near zero) vac at idle. Stock 74 318?. Make a new mark on your dampener 2&1/4" clockwise from your original TDC mark & that is 35.5 degrees.

stock 74 318 block and heads, eddy performer 4bbl intake and eddy 600 cmf 4bbl carb. no intake leaks, new hoses and vacuum lines too.i have the vacuum advance hooked up to the timed vacuum port on the carb also. the distributer appears to be stock/original as well.

What cam. I would 1st see what your total is(where it quits advancing & vac adv plugged) & if your springs are oe you might get the MP light spring kit(its cheap) & sub in ONE of them to replace the stock heavy spring w the long loop on one end then set your total(as in above) to 35 & see what that lets your initial fall at & post that for a start & if it EVER pings back it down & the curve(slot length ) will probably need to be optimized also. You have no dialback so .0632683" around the circumference of the dampener is 1 degree so with some math and a 2-3" micrometer cut/measure a piece of wire to mark your dampener to get some readings.

stock cam, well i hooked up a tach and disconnected the vac line and plugged vac line, made a new timing mark on the balancer as per instruction to give me a 35 degree mark. brought the motor up to about 2800 rpm's and then adjusted the dist till the new mark was at 0 tdc. snugged down the dist clamp and checked my initial timing and that was at about 11-12 degrees after tdc. runns good and i was able to break the tires loose and no pinging.

11-12 before TDC?

oops, my bad, i read my new timing mark instead of the initial timing mark. my initial timing mark reads 15 degrees btdc. works good.and if i need to, i can always back it down a tad. thanks robert you were a great help