I own a 1993 Chris Craft with a 454 King Cobra. I recently replaced the engine with a 454 Magnum out of a Mercruiser. The engine came as a tall block complete with the intake, carburator and a Mallory distributor and coil.<br /><br />The engine runs great until 2000 RPM where it starts to "ping" and sounds almost like a diesel engine... I can't even get up on plane. Base timimg is set at 10 degrees and the fuel tank is full of fresh 91 octane fuel (Super Unleaded). What exactly causes an engine to ping?<br /><br />Thanks,