valve timing off?
 

i have a 72 K5 with a 350 V8. its in great running condition and has always been a great weekend toy. but recently its been sitting for quite a while, and when i tried to drive it a few months ago it was missing on acceleration and just ran rough and wouldnt go up to speed. my dad fixed it by flashing a red light on the engine when it was running and adjusting something. i dont know much about cars but i think he was fixing the valve timing? but i drove it after that and it ran as good as always. but then it sat for about another 6 weeks or so and im having the same problem. if anyone could help me out with this that would be great! thanks.

he probally adjusted the ignition timing.

My vote would be ignition timing as well. Sounds like he used an inductive timing light.

yea that sounds right. but would you know why the timing keeps going off? any ideas would be helpful.

im guessing that the distrubitor hold down is loose.

That would be my guess as well. Some people leave them loose so they can adjust it by hand without tools. This can lead to the distributor moving on its own.

thanks for all the help. i have also gotten some suggestions that the carb accelerator pump is bad or i need to set the point dwell then reset the ignition timing. im sure it will be figured out this weekend, my dad is the mechanic he knows all about this stuff