have pulled my distributor out and would like to know
the proper way about re-installing it

should the points open at 7 degrees defore top dead centre clockwise or anticlockwise

can someone give me a run down of how this is to be done without a timing light, say with a circuit test light

from what i know i put the distributor in with the rotor facing #1 spark plug wire at 0 deg tdc
and the points open at 10btdc with the rotor going ccw

although this gives me a nice idle, i get a bit of a backfire from the engine at high rpms without load
i'm also getting some white smoke in the exhaust but this might be because of condensation

A mate used to do this when tuning VW Beetles. Mark the timing marker with some whiteout out of a pen.Remove dizzy cap, then turn on the ignition. Turn the main pulley until you see a spark from the points. That is the point that the ignition is set to. Move the dizzy body until the points spark at about 10 degrees, then tighten the bolt. The only problem with this method is that you have to remember to turn off the ignition each time or you can burn out the coil if it comes to rest with the points open. You can tell the direction the rotor turns but the position of the No 3 spark plug lead, due to the 1-3-4-2 firing order. Turn the distributor away from the no3 lead to advance the timing.