I have a new engine with the following spec:

Seasoned Late Model Block 1 Peice Rear Main Seal CNC bored .030" over
Forged steel rods w/ ARP rod bolts
Hypereutectic Flat Top Pistons w/ 9.1-1 Compression Ratio
Hydraulic Roller .501"/.512" lift 224/231 Duration @ .050"
Performer EPS manifold
S/P Torker Heads w/ Highflow 170ee ports, 2.02/1.60 valves, 72cc chambers
Full Roller Rocker Arms
Edelbrock 650 Thunder Seires AVS Carb
Pertonix Flamethrower Billet Distributor w/Mechanical & Vacuum Advance

Suoppsed to make 350 HP/390 TQ

The shop said that it should be set to 12-14 initial and 34-36 total by 3200rpm. When I set it in this range it just does not run as good as it should. It has a lag time before the engine catches on if giving it full throttle from under 1500 RPM. Also sometimes when I turn the car off it stumbles and still runs a little before shutting off completely. As long as you are in the uper RPM range it seems to run OK, but I now it could be better. I get a consistant 16" vacuum reading also. I have no vacuum leaks anywhere. Now if I set it to 18 deg initial and 36-38 total by 3500 it runs much better. Seems the the lag is gone, but the engine still seems to want to run after I turn the car off. If the engine shop says set it to the timing spec but I give it more intial will it be OK as long as it runs better? Also after driving the car for awhile and then turning it off for say 15 minutes car does not start right up again. I have to crank it for about 5 seconds and then it will start. Any help is appreciated. Thanks

If it cranks without straining when hot, you don't have too much timing in it yet.

18 initial is good for me, but 38 total most likely is a lil too much.

What kind of distributor is in it? If it's an msd it's pretty easy to cut back the mechanical advance a touch.

Do you have vacaum advance, and is it connected to full NOT ported vacaum?

The run-on is telling me you have the throttle open too far at idle, which tells me you don't have enuf timing in it, yet 18 better be enough... methinks switching the vac to a full manifold vac port will help.

The other thing I'd want to be certain of with a new motor is that the timing marks are accurate.

it has a powermaster high torque starter and it cranks fine, it just will not start for about 5 seconds. So with the engine spec that I listed above will it be OK to run the 18 initial with about say 36 total all in by 3500rpm? The distributor is a pertronix flamethrower. It is pretty simple to adjust with the three sets of different springs and limiters. It does have vacuum advance and it is connected to full vacuum, the port on the drivers side of the carb. How can I adjust the card so the throttle blade is not so open at idle to get rid of the engine run on. It only does the run on about 50% of the time. How exactly would I check to see if the timing marks are acurate? I do have a piston stop, but I am not exactly sure how to use it? Tanks

marks first. Pull all the plugs and put the piston stop in.
Turn the engine till it hits the stop.
Put a mark or peice of tape on the balancer where the zero on the tab is.
Turn the engine the other way till it hits the stop.
another mark.

The zero line on the balancer better be exactly in between the 2 marks, same distance form each.

If the carb is new, pop the top off and check the float levels. Edelbrocks are never right when they ship.

What's your idle RPM?
Manual or automatic trans?
Do you have a tuning kit for the carb?
Did the shop dyno the engine?
If they did, did they do any custom tuning?

I'm off to bed, I'll look for this in the am.

12*-14* is way too low. 16*-18* is a much better base line. Also this sounds like mainly a street set up so I would bring in all the timing by 3000 rpm, and keep it to around 36* total. I think Jim is right about the idle adjustments. If you bump up the timing you should see the idle speed go up as well. Run the motor to warm it up and make sure chock is open. Then what you need to do is back the air screw out to lower the rpm's. Then adjust the idle mixture screws one at a time to reach max rpm setting. Clockwise > to lean counterclockwise to richen. After you reach highest rpm setting on one side then adjust the other side the same way. Then go back to the first side and see if you need to readjust. ( See if you can raise the rpm level.) Once your done go back and reset the idle speed rpm with the air screw to reach desired rpm. @750-850 rpm
http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c87/HarleyD67/Smilies/14054_main.jpg

How far do I screw in the piston stop? The carb is new so I will check the float level tomorrow. Mnual tranny(TKO600) with idle at 850. I almost need it to idle a little higher because when I turn on the A/C the idle drops to about 500 rpm. I do not have the complete tuning kit, but I do have the jets and metering rod to richen up 1-2 stages. The shop dynos all of the engine before sale, but they did not mention any special tuning. Thanks for the help

jsut kinda play with the piston stop. Easiest to measure is if it stops the piston maybe an inch or so (on the balance) from the balancer line. More gets hard to measure, less puts the piston too close to tdc, tough to be accurate.

It's not impossible that your combo of parts has shifted the timing marks 10 degrees, and that would account for your troubles.

What type of balancer, front cover, and timing tab are on it?

For sure chack the float settings, you can download the book on the carb if you don't have it. Need to pull the accelerator pump link, secondary lockout link (both shown on the right side in the pic Harley posted) and the metering rods, then unscrew the top and pop it off.

Be very careful with the idle screws on that carb. Bottom them both and count the turns, make sure they are set same. I always turn both at the same time, in 1/8 turn increments (45 degrees) and let it settle for 30 seconds or so. Those screws are VERY sensitive.

850 with that cam and MT should be good, but it shouldn't be dropping that far with the A/C on, not more than 100-200 rpm.

What could cause the timing marks to shift 10 deg? I do not know what balancer it has and it just has a standard chrome timing tab and cover. What would cause it to drop 300-400 rpm when the A/C is on?

The rpm drop is just from the load of the compressor, the engine has to work harder. I would expect it to make enough power at idle that it wasn't such a big issue tho.

There are a few different combinations of timing tab and balancer, depending on the year the parts were speced for. There is a "combination" of mismatched parts that would shift the indication 10 degrees off true tdc, and other combinations that would shift it more!