Ray.  What carburetor are you dealing with?

Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)

Lets start at the beginning.  You say "you" rebuilt the engine.  What does that mean.  Did you rebuild it or did you have someone else do it.  What exactly was done to the engine.  Why don't you come clean and let us all know what's exactly going on so we can help you better.  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqG-Q_kVI3s how to set valve lash

Firing order 1-5-4-8-6-3-7-2  Distributor spins counter clockwise

Front of car    1 2 3 4     Back or car  
                     ENGINE
                      5 6 7 8 

Valve lash is .019
Point gap is .015
Ford 2100 2 barrel carb idle adjustment 1 - 1 1/2 turns out both screws

Sorry I misunderstood what they were asking.

Ray, just to clarify things, the timing you describe here is the "cam" timing.  What the other fellows here are describing is the "ignition" timing.  They are two separate things.


Mark

1956 Mercury M100
1955 Ford Fairlane Club Sedan
Delta, British Columbia

The reason I say it will not idle slow is cause the fast idle in the carb is advanced. When I pull it back to the stop it will run for a bit and than die. The fuel in it is new tank has been cleaned out. It's a 12 bolt system. I will try messing with the dizzy some. But why does it has so much trouble overcoming the compression when the choke is closed? Is it putting extra fuel on top of the pistons?

Six volts or twelve volts?  What carburetor?  Have you tried setting the ignition timing with a timing light?  As has already been brought up, how old is the fuel?  Checking the percent ethanol content in the current load of gasoline wouldn't hurt at this point either.

Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)

How are you determining that it is idling fast, with a tachometer or by the way it sounds?  Use a tachometer to determine that, if you are not.  Fast idle is bad carb adjustment, a vacuum leak or advanced timing.  Any one of those can also make it hard to start.  Stock cam?



Lawrenceville, GA

Hope this helps
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYGU7mTwsZc How to set timing with timing light
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0uEMeDVxaA  How to set timing with a vacuum gauge

Try keeping the distributor clamp loose enough so the distributor can be turned while the engine is running.  Try moving it a bit counter-clockwise first to retard a bit and see if it will settle down.
Try to find a spot it likes.  Timing lights are not expensive.  You really need one to set it and know where its at for tuning purposes.

The timing is properly set with 12 pins. Between the marks on the chain. The valve lash was set before I put the engine in the truck I did a complete
Rebuild on it. The firing order has been double checked. It is firing on the correct cylinder. At first it was off and wouldn't even start till I check and adjust the firing order. Not to sound stupid but is there a way to check the timing without a timing light? Once it starts it runs pretty good however it will not idle very slow though.