Thanks guys.
My unknown is the compression ratio....I'm guessing it dropped some with the AFR heads as they are the larger chamber but have been decked. My plan is to pay close attention to how the motor sounds and feels, check plug readings, and figure out by traditional means what is too much timing.
With the lumpy cam the motor seemed to settle in to a comfort zone at 14-16* initial and it shut down without a hint of run-on. Once I get the exhaust hooked up and can tinker with it some who knows on total timing and curve rate until I can put a load on it. 12* intial 36-37* total is the SBC benchmark based on this MSD video but that motor also had 10.5:1 comp and if I'm lucky I'm at 9.5:1.
Factoring the lumpy cam, modern fuel, and lower compression don't you think I can be a little more aggressive with timing and not melt it down?
I'm guessing one of these combo's 12+21=33 - 14+21=35 - 16+21=37 - 12+25=37 - 14+25=39. I'll play it by feel and ear to see what it likes for initial with closed exhaust and go from there to find this motor's sweet spots.........make sense?