Hi, I have an old Ford 352 that I put an HEI distributor on with a vacuum advance adjustment inside the vacuum. Im not sure if I should put the hose to the left or right side of my Edelbrock 4 barrel carb? One side has vacuum at idle and the left side does not?

 

Either source can work. The vacuum source at idle (manifold vacuum) is what I would recommend. Using this source you will need to readjust your base idle RPM as the idle would likely jump a little when you first hook it up. The other source, sometime called ported or timed vacuum as I understand was introduced to assist early emissions controls.

There are those that swear one or the other is 'best' and can come down engine/cam combo or personal preference.

My dad has a '59 Fairlane Galaxy 500 with a 352 and an Eddy 4 barrel. We used the stock distributor but set up the vacuum advance on manifold vacuum and it works just fine.

Out of curiosity, do you have this Ford 352 with a GM distributor in a 3rd generation Camaro?

 

The distributor is a GM with a Ford lower end, and it is in a 76 F150. Im going to tinker with it today and try both sides driving; the left port retards the timing slightly at idle because there isnt any vacuum, I believe it opens up as the RPM's increase and the drivers is constant?