Hi Guys,

just wondering if anyone has any advice on timing for 351 Cleveland. My problem is I am trying to help a friend of mine tune his worked 351 without any idea what cam is or what advance it is set at. reason for that is our other close friend died a couple weeks ago and he took all that info with him as he put engine together. Is it normal for a 351 engine to want around 20 -25 degrees initial timing just to run nice at idle. that's what this wants and seems to run well all the way through rev range on highway but it is hard to start and winds over for long time before firing up. any advice ???

Any idea what the CR is ???
Have you had a vacuum gauge hooked up when it is idling ???
Has the dizzy been regraphed ???
Are you using a hi-energy ignition system ???
Does it want to run on after shut down ???
What carby are you running ???
Is the intake a dual plane or single plane ???.....hi-rise or medium rise ???
Have the cross-over ports in the intake been blocked off ???

Tunnel ram, twin 465 holleys, no run on, 4v heads closed chamber, flat top forged pistons don't know CP ratio, Crane electronic ignition fitted to Mallory distributor, not been graphed no one near me does that. Goes like hell cant fault the way it runs and performs just winds over to long before starting.

you need to look more at the total advance than the initial, depending on CR and heads you probably only want around 30 degrees or less total timing.
tunnel rams generally take longer to start as the fuel has to travel a long way to the valve.
try press the accelerator 2 -3 times to the floor first, before cranking and see if it helps

forgot to mention is running 4V Heads not sure of compression think its around 10.5:1. I will try the idea of giving it a bit more fuel to start. It is running quite a grey colour on plugs when I removed them not white but maybe could be a bit lean. Run premium fuel. Engine is in a 67 model XT Falcon. I checked voltage at coil and it only has 6 volts key turned on and about 9 volts engine running. these old falcons have a resistance wire in the ignition wiring. I am wondering would this contribute to poor starting. maybe I need to give it a full 12 volts.

You should see what voltage you have at the coil; while cranking....that will tell you something.

In my experience, try setting the initial timing moderately, around 10-12 degrees, and see how the engine reacts. If it starts out easier but performance isn't great, gradually increase the initial time until you find the temperature pico park