Inside, what I described is a basic! The engine will run near perfect . NOW, tweaking time. First. a disclaimer. I KNOW, OR REMEMBER, LITTLE ABOUT THOSE ENGINES. The distributor rotates different on different engines. For instance, on straight eight Buicks it rotates counter clockwise. SO , turning the distributor CLOCKWIES advances the time. After adjusting for maximum vacuum, try advancing the timing slightly! Moving the distributor housing maybe 1/8th inch. Lock it down and go for a drive. Better? Worse? Only YOU can tell. If better and no "pinging" when accelerating, you have gained. If pinging, a sound that sound not unlike a woodpecker, reverse the last adjustment slightly. Drive again. Make these adjustments until you are satisfied. Or just plain say to heck with it , that is good.
You are not going to hurt the engine with adjustments. If the timing is to fast, causing pinging, which is the spark firing too soon, long term, damage may/will occur. If pinging does happen, come of the throttle. It goes away.
Ben