Obviously, then drive the car and retard until it dioesn't ping seriously on throttle application.

Make sure that something isn't shorting out when the vacuum or centrifugal advance moves the breaker plate.

Did you leave the ballast resistor in the circuit or remove it? Also, it is possible that when you bent things around, a plug wire/cap/rotor was damaged, or that the Petronix puts out a slightly hotter spark that is arcing or cross-firing to another plug and causing the backfire.

Bob

So i put my pertronix in today. I've never worked on a points system before but I understand the theory. Ok, so it started up but when I open the throttle it looses power, spits and when i close the throttle it drops, sputtering with the occasional backfire (one of which popped open the seam on one of my (cheap) mufflers - sigh).

Yes, I did conveniently ingore the "adjust the timing" step because I don't have a timing light (yet).

So I loosened the distributor bolt and twisted the dist. until i ran smooth, opened the throtle and adjusted some more until i got it where i though it was ok.

during my test drive, when i accelerated, i have loss of power, hesitations and misfires.

is it possible that despite setting the timing by feel, it is in fact not set right and this is why i am having these problems? or, should i look elsewhere?

thanks for your help
brett