I don't think Crusader was saying, "Do not check the ignition system dynamic advance".
DJR, I would certainly hope not.
We should always look at what the progressive advance is doing from idle RPM to the full-in RPM.
When they say "power timing", my take is they are talking about the process some folks do where they adjust the timing only by ear. They rev up the engine a little and find the sweet spot where RPM is the highest and the engine is running the smoothest. Here's a guy advocating "power timing":
https://forums.ihpartsamerica.com/threads/ignition-power-timing.2122/
(Just to be clear:
I would never power time my engine.)
Nor would I.
And DJR, you are correct! If Crusader is saying "DO NOT power time this engine" as though lifting the hatch and playing around with the distributor while under way and under a load......... I would completely agree with them.
Doing that is just plain stupid, and it's a recipe for engine damage.
In the part Rick thinks is BS, Crusader was just saying, "Use a timing light and
set the base timing to our spec".
Actually, I'm suggesting that we set BASE advance, but that we DO NOT stop there.
I'm suggesting that we continue and look at the progressive advance (as RPM increase) and look the total advance at the RPM at which it occurs.
That is the only way that we will know if the old and worn mechanical distributor is doing what it's suppose to be doing.
Please ignore post 16. There is no value there.