MG Car Repair: timing, spark plug wires, firing order

Question
Do you know what degrees I should set the 1800cc engine at for a 74 MGB with twin SU's? the car starts great but spits and sputters once started. Fuel is o.k., new plugs, points, condenser, wires. I believe the car was made in UK. How would I know. Serial # for car GHN5UE328282G thx Jeff

Answer
Hi Jeff
You have an MGB made in Abingdon, England sometime between September 1973 and August 1974.  It was made specifically for the North American market.

I really need to know the engine number in order to answer this question.  It should be stamped on a small plate attached to the top of the cylinder block, between spark plugs 2 and 3.  Hopefully it is still there.  

Assuming you still have the original 1974 engine, made for the USA (Not California), we are probably looking at a static advance of 5 or 6 degrees before TDC.

You say it starts easily, but it spits and stutters once started.
Is it possible that, when you changed the spark plug wires, you connected two of them the wrong way round?  

Firing order should be 1,3,4,2. (But remember that the rotor turns ANTIclockwise).