Timing Advance Pecularity

Ok. So I have this strange thing going on. The timing advance on the truck seems to be advancing too far and the engine is knocking when the car is warming up. As soon as the engine warms up and the temperature gage returns to normal operating temperature the problems seems to go away. There is another clue to this in that the distributor has been moved to the position where it is completely retarded, but the engine still runs fine. The motor had the timing belt changed by a mechanic and the head gasket. I am tempted to just pull off all the emissions mumbo jumbo and go to a stock 2 Barrel carb.. Any help anyone could give would be greatly appreciated...

Grattitude...

Check to make sure that the distributor vacuum advance hose is attached to the CORRECT PORT on the carburetor. If it is, have the timing checked or set correctly.

One way to check if it's vacuum advancing is to pull the hose off the distributor, put your finger on the hose and give it some revs. The suction should get stronger.

It sounds like something else though. The knocking shouldn't be affecting by temp as far as timing goes.

You might have a weak oil pump. When it cold the oil is thick and not being pushed to the head and living the valves. Do you have an oil pressure gauge or just the stock dummy light?

The distributor is over-advanced. Set the engine on TDC for cylinder 1, pull the distributor cap off to make sure it is located on #1 spark terminal. Roll the engine back to 5 degrees BTDC, pull the distributor out and reset the rotor backwards to line it up one tooth prior to where it is. There should also be a small set of matchmarks on the distributor shaft and body, that if lined up, should align rotor and reluctor at the proper time.