Figured out why I had ping and ran poorly...
 

I already had a suspicion, but just now got around to checking it. Apparently since my rebuild over a year ago, I have been riding around with 24 degrees BTDC timing :giggle: Go me! Those damn marks get so faded after all the years and apparently I used the wrong one. Thought I was setting it at 14, but instead it was roughly 10 higher. I have been noticing a lot of ping, especially in the hot Alabama summers. Also probably doesn't help that my compression is about 1/2 point higher than stock. Backed it down to around 12 degrees and now no more ping, feels a bit happier through the revs, and seems to idle much better with the a/c and lights on. Maybe my piston tops don't look like hand hammered cymbals. Just thought I would share this obvious revelation. Maybe I'm not the only dumbass to have done this. I just feel more stupid for having driven it like this for so long, and being too lazy to hassle with that tough to reach CAS adjustment bolt on the back of the head. Always end up with a burn or a new scar when I mess with it.

PS, with this now resolved, I feel better about maybe running this engine boosted for a little while, at least with low boost and a very conservative tune. Build an upgraded replacement in the meantime.

Thats a bummer, dude. A little detonation might not hurt it, though. Pull them plugs and check it out.

That's ridiculous. So with advance how much timing were you running in boost?

About 0... no boost here. Power is for fags! If I had been boosted, I would estimate about a day of 90 degree weather and it would be in pieces. At least I learned the lesson pre boost. Hope to remedy the no boost problem one day. Suspension and brakes come first though. Would rather learn the car at a reasonable power level before I start running over double the power.

Jeez dude, glad you figured it out.
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lol alright :)

Like I said, I kind of had a feeling this was the case, just never got around to it. Just sharing my daily wisdom on shit to NOT do. With my kind of errors and mistakes, one would think I had never been around a car before. Almost always the little issues I overlook.