[swedishandgerman]

That is the wrong distributor for that car

Both, in fact all distributors max at the same advance, of course. That’s why you’re going to have to set that dist to the max setting and really disregard what happens below at lower engine speeds.

The b20a Distributor gives loads more low engine speed advance especially in combination with the vac advance. That’s because the old Strindberg goes weak one quick throttle opening. This is compensated by lots of advance.

On the contrary the twin SU’s dump a load of petrol down the jugs which burns better on not so much advance.

If you can stick a b20b Distributor on there, or my favourite of all of them, a full mechanical advance Distributor from a b18b, you’ll get the best results.

All said, you’re not going to notice a huge amount with a few degrees at idle nor low engine speeds. But you’ll notice a heck of a difference air the timing is set right at max advance.

Fiddling around with timing and carb settings is my thing, so if I could persuade you to get on the A303 down to Exeter, I’d be delighted to get that car running right.

For me, it’s a no to ATF. Too thin and in comparison to using SAE20 oil, the dampers don’t go so crazy.

For me, it’s Shell V-Power or standard unleaded with Octaneboist to achieve 100 octane. That way, the old car runs perfectly on 36 degrees advance, no pinking, lots of response and a super smooth idle. 32 to 34 degrees max on standard unleaded, but anything more and there’s some pinking.