To check advance curve, disconnect the vacuum advance line from the dist. you need to read the crank dampner degrees up to around 50 degrees BTDC. Easy way is to use a dial-back timing light, but a standard timing light will work if the dampner has the degrees marked. Mopar sells a stick on "timing tape" if you need it. Summit racing has them for $6.00
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/dcc-4529070?seid=srese1&gclid=CIiEx-6e78sCFY-DaQodX3IOFA
While watching the timing on the dampner with the timing light, increase the engine RPM to a point slightly above where the timing stops advancing (should be around 3,000+ RPM, depends on stiffness of advance springs.) This is the total mechanical ignition advance. Assuming the dampner zero mark is correct for TDC, set this total mechanical advance to about 35-36 degrees. That should get the total timing fairly close. Return engine RPM to idle. Read the advance at idle and subtract from the total above to figure how much advance is in the curve. If the idle advance is around 14 degrees then you have 22 degrees of mechanical advance in the curve. Different engine combinations like different initial timing, but I think if your idle advance falls below 12 degrees (24 in the curve) then you would want to have the dist re-curved to reduce the amount of mechanical advance in the curve. The way the change is made depends on how the design of the dist advance. If a Mopar electronic Dist, these even changed design over the years.
For compression gauge test, pull all the spark plugs. Having them in will make the engine spin slower. Disconnect the ignition coil, of if electronic ignition disconnect the dist harness so you don't get shocked from the disconnect plug wires. Then make sure the carb throttle is fully open when you spin the engine with the starter.
These cylinder pressures relate well to the engine dynamic compression ratio, which is a re-calculation of compression ratio calculated from the point of when the intake closes. This is the amount of air/fuel that would be captured and compressed at the point the intake closes (assuming no engine RPM.) Advancing or retarding the camshaft position or changing the cam (or static compression) will change these values and your cranking cylinder pressure.
When you compress the air/fuel in the chamber, its temperature will also increase. The higher the compression, the hotter the A/F in the engine cylinder (think Diesel engine operation.)
If you can lower the initial temperature of the air/fuel going into the engine, the compressed temps will be lower also. One reason why you don't get the pinging on your cold engine, and forced induction engines use intercoolers and/or water/methanol injection.
On my high compression engines, I have run 160-degree thermostat, and try to get cool air into the carb. Not the air that has been heated going through the radiator.
Other factors of the engine design would be quench, chamber (and piston design), and spark plug location in the chamber, but making these changes should have been considered when selecting parts for the engine, as changing them now would be expensive.
