Vacuum leaks are very bad for CIS, so check that. Also, a high, hard brake pedal can be produced by a leaking m/cyl - can fill up the booster if the m.cyl reservoir is being topped up enough. Pull the vacuum line from the booster, and slip a semi reigid wire or rubber tune down the bottom , and see if there is fluid inside - more than just the tip indicates a leak.
jp 83 Euro S AT 57k

 

All great advice here. I chased down multiple problems in my 79 5spd Save thread. While many factors contributed to my low RPM mis, the brand new injectors were mostly at fault. I had bad spray patterns and low volume in a few. Jim Doerr got me all straightened out in the end, just couldn't get the final piece of the puzzle.

Your timing advance may be an attempt to compensate for other issues, although all the CIS cars I have worked on tend to be forward of center on the adjustment. I think the fact that these cars have a vacuum retard and a higher initial timing at TDC than later cars account for this.

 

I did pull the covers and check the timing last night and all seemed to be ok. Just seems odd that the distributor would be maxed out. I will be working on the CIS testing this weekend and will report my findings

 

It's possible the distributor itself was installed a tooth off.

Some people forget that the helical gear will move as it is set in place. They put the rotor where it needs to be at the top, then it rotates as the gear follows the curve of the teeth.

Some people who know better still forget it and have to reset the distributor (BTDT).