I have been getting a 1980 2.0l A/C camper back on the road after being sat for 6 years or so, and despite sounding mechanically good and revving nicely in neutral, the engine is causing me trouble. I took it out for a run today for the first time, and have two issues.
Firstly, and most seriously, it seems to have a big lack of power. 40mph in 3rd gear was about the best we could get, and often full throttle did not yield a noticeable increase in power. The front brakes are still binding slightly, but not enough to account for this. The condition felt similar to fuel starvation, even though I've replaced all the fuel lines from the tank, filter, and added a new facet type electric pump. I have heard that this pump is more likely to over-fuel than under-fuel. It is powered by the battery via a relay triggered from the coil.
Could this problem be caused by a distributor fault or blocked carbs? I am totally new to both of these and don't yet have a good understanding of them.
The second issue, which may or may not be related, is that the idle is quite poor, and it will often stall. This is the same hot and cold, and is made no different with or without the idle stabilising unit active. I can't seem to find any (more) vacuum leaks, and don't want to rush in and meddle with carbs unless it's the only option.
Once all this is done I only have to replace the clutch hose, replace the front calipers and then do a ton of other stuff, but then... with a little help ... I can go to Europe!
Cheers,
Neil
