pinging & knocking advice

[Charger72SE]

last year the Charger really got a base case of pinging & knocking on acceleration & going up hill.

here's what changed from the past:
- I drove the car a lot less (about 350 miles) so the gas sat in the tank longer
- I had a new stock distributor installed which has lighter springs in it

I gradually richened the Holley carb A/F mixtures screws in half turns until they are now half way out.  My Champion spark plugs still don't have a tan color on the ceramic centers.

this was my plan for spring:
- make sure the new distributor was installed at 10* BTDC
- add Stabil to the gas everytime I fill up (I really think the 93 octane Mobil gas I'm buying may have ethynol even though it's not suppose to)
- I'm going to have A/F bungs installed on the exhaust pipes & test the A/F with a K&N A/F tester that I have
- if this doesn't rid the pinging & knocking, retard the distributor 2-3*

does this make sense?  anything else that I should do?

thanks!!

[Sublime/Sixpack]

Of the three changes you mentioned I'd suspect the distributor. Don't you have another one you can slip in there for a quick check?

[elacruze]

See, you already know what to do.

Get fresh gas.
Put heavier springs in the distributor.
Richen up the carb.

Without those things addressed, anything else is Navel-Gazing.

[Runner]

the carb adjustment screws just effect the idle.  to richen the carb up at cruise youll need to put a bigger jet in.   if you only drove it 350 miles a year put race gas in it  lol.

[Charger72SE]

thanks for the advice!

I read an old article on 72 Chargers with 440 HP and it suggested going from .060 jets to .063 for better power - next carb rebuild I'll do that

I'm going to check the timing first - since "timing is everything" and my local garage who put in the new distributor, has done some shoddy work in the past.

trust but verify!!

thanks again