g'day skipi agree with dan set your timing at 8-10 degrees my 272 is set at 8 it gets good economy & it flys when you give it a boot full its only done 8000miles as for your spark plugs if they are a nice light brown color i wuold put the same type of plug back in its running perfect at that color. i just did my valves again so i know how you feel ya gotta lve burnt fingers lol.