timing

Like everything else in life, Jimbo, "It Depends".  It depends on the type of distributor you have and a few engine characteristics.

Find the distributor (to the left of the fan pedestal) and see if it has a vacuum advance diaphragm hung on the side - it should look like a little flying saucer about 2"-3" in diameter, hung vertically on the side of the housing with a hose going to it from the base of the carburetor.

If it IS a vacuum advance system, then start the engine, get it nicely idling and set the idle spark advance to 6-8 degrees BTDC.  Anywhere in there is fine (more on this later).

If there is no vacuum can hung on the side, (very typical with dual carb engines) then it is a centrifugal advance system and the proper way to set the advance is have someone sit in the driver's seat, start the car (warm engine, please) and in neutral with the e-brake set, run the engine rpm up to about 3,000 rpm and hold it there (as best you can).  When it gets to speed, set the advance to 30 degrees BTDC.  Wear some ear muffs - the noise is pretty loud.

When messing with the distributor on a running engine, BE VERY CAREFUL OF THE MOVING FAN BELT!  It can really mess you up.

OK, so why all of the different thing settings, like your 7, 10 and 32 degrees?  Again, it depends.......on the quality of the gas in your locale.  Better grade gas offers a bit more tolerance of pre-ignition (Knocking), especially if the engine has a higher compression ratio.  If  you have better or, sometimes, higher octane, gas you can run a degree or two more advance (like 8 or 32 degrees, depending on the distributor).  Crummier or lower octane gas will knock unless you run your advance back to 5-6 or 28-30 degrees.

The 30 degrees I gave you for centrifugal advance distributors should work well on a mostly stock 1,600 DP engine.  If you have vacuum advance, then ignore setting the advance at 3,000 rpm - it doesn't apply to YOU!

While you're at it, pop the distributor cap off and see if it has ignition points (boo) or an electronic module (Yay!) in the distributor.  If it has points, get a dwell meter and set the points to about 47 degrees dwell BEFORE you set the advance.

gn

Good advice. Thanks

Jimbo- Stock carb (30-1, 34-2 or 3, or??) and (as Gordon has asked) which distributor, or dual carbs (and again, which distributor)?

If it has vacuum advance, remove the hose from the distributor and plug it. Set the advance at 3000 to 3500 rpm(some distributors aren't all-in until then). Max advance is crucial to be NO MORE THAN 32 DEGREES, IF YOUR ENGINE CAN TOLERATE IT. Reduce max advance  if it can't tolerate 32.

It really doesn't matter what the advance is at idle, just adjust the idle speed and mixture AFTER the timing is set.

The distributor needs to be matched to the carb. you need to post the carb and distributor model number to know the correct timing.

It's also a good idea to list any modifications for the best match.

But as stated, you really don't want more than 32* mechanical advance. And it might run better with less. My engine likes 30*, it has no loss of performance and runs cooler.