recent talk of distributors

recently there have been a couple threads about distributors..(as well as
over the years)...i have used the 009 distributors for years(german usually)
and they were okay....have used the factory SVDA's also...they were
better....yesterday i got around to installing the Mallory Unilite(bought it
back in early feb) with vacuum advance in the bug(1641, ported factory
heads, mild cam, dual kads) and it is great...haven't gotten it completeley
dialed in yet so it is a bit retarded at idle....i installed the grey/grey
springs that are reccomended by our own John C and Jake R. the advance curve
is great and linear and out of the box the thing is set for about 24 degrees
advance.... i will adjust the limiters to obtain the 16 degrees i have read
work best(12 advance at idle and 28 total)...the vacuum advance bumps it to
around 40BTDC at partial throttle during cruising....the test drive last
night(around 60 miles) tells me the car runs much better(even not completely
dialed in, which is a non issue since i was at highway speed) and is more
"smooth"....and trust me with SOLID mounts you can notice a "smoother"
engine....guess the extra advance while cruising helps...the power is
instant when you step on the go pedal and very nice...i'm pleased...now i
need to get those carbs dialed in better....still running a bit rich...maybe
install the hyfire ignition box i also bought along with the distributor.