Thanks everyone! In particular Johan for a good reminder about the OPP (Ontario has a pretty draconian policy on speeding) and Jonny for some tech advice - for now the timing is set to 12 btdc at idle and slopes to 32 btdc at 3500 I think so there's lots to be done there and probably a bit of torque to be gained.
Even though it's far from running right, I'm over the moon about the way this thing is running and driving, and could write all day about it! So pleased that at this stage of the tuning all I've done is fiddle with the idle adjustment and main rack a few clicks, and was actually able to take a little drive in the country to do a bit of break-in:
The car is hilariously fast at full throttle, and the sound is something else - it's a lot less peaky than I thought it might be, nice fat midrange and will be really driveable once I get the tuning right. It feels like it has zero rotating mass and just gathers speed so easily and effortlessly.
The chassis needs work - the nose moves up and down a LOT in response to the brutal acceleration in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd gears, and without any (MUCH NEEDED) bump steer correction (on the way!!!) it's a handful, especially when keeping an eye on the AFR gauge. The rear also squats a lot for the same reason. Nice problem to have. I'm going to have to go stiffer with the TB's, which I sorta planned - the Rot Rod was a test bed for the 21/28mm setup and should be perfect for this car, maybe 20/28. I've been thinking of going to 29 rear in the rot rod, anyway.....
The quaife diff is brilliant. The brakes, not so much, I think I am going to have to rethink my pad choice and move up to HP+ from HPS. I knew the brakes would require a good shove without a booster but I think I can get it to stop a bit easier, and am concerned there may not be enough braking power for a panic stop right now.
Anyway, it's far from done, but super happy so far - everything works as it should and it drives so nice and smooth and feels like a new car!