Ten degrees before top dead center.

I pulled out the old timing light today and took a peek at the ignition timing. Prognosis... The ignition timing was retarded by four degrees. Now there's something. I adjusted the timing from 6˚ to 10˚ before top dead center. The result? Holy mackerel! I have a V8! More power, smoother acceleration, smoother idle and (for vanity's sake) better sound. I imagine it'll get better fuel economy too. But that remains to be seen. Yay progress. I would never have known that the timing was off had I not checked with the peeps on the Chevy/GMC forum I follow. I love networking.