Timing and dwell

Finally got a plug in timing light so no more using my old 12v off a remote battery. Well, anyway I tried to set the dwell angle first but could only get it down from 45 degrees to 38 degrees before it wouldn’t start. I left it at 38 and set the timing mark on mark.

Not sure if I should go any further and try to get the dwell down to 32/35 degrees.

Make sure the dwell meter is set for the number of cyl the engine has. Must be on 6 cyl for a 6 cyl engine. Dwell meter could be faulty.

Could be a faulty meter. Has one needle but different scales to read ; 6/8 cylinder. Haven’t used it in 60 yrs. Last time was on Chevy small block with one of those slide up windows one could put an Allen wrench in and adjust while running. I thought that was a great idea but do remember some of the guys exclaiming an “ ouch ! “ moment for some reason .