Notch seems slow...diagnosis anyone?

I'd give it a tune up.
1) Get some fresh plugs in there (see what color the old ones are).
2) Cap and rotor (but it appears as though they would be new if you put in a new distributor).
3) Oil change.
4) Air filter
5) FUEL FILTER (that is where you issue could be).

You say the timing is perfect: what is it set at with the spout disconnected?

Check and/or replace plug wires.

So the original owner bought the car when he was 72? I would reset the ECU (disconnect the battery completely for at least 15 minutes or so). Fire it up and then drive the hell out of it for a bit. The computer probably learned his driving habbits and adapted accordingly (I'm guessing he was a real aggressive driver in his 70's).

See how it does after all that.

My 145K notch benefited HUGE from a full tune up. I did every filter, every plug, wire, etc. Car runs like a champ now. My plugs were worn to a whopping .072 gap!!!! And my fuel filter had black gas running out of it. I also ran some injector cleaner through it before and after the fuel filter to ensure any crap was outta there.

Do a full tuneup as suggested above then...

Dump the codes and see what the computer says is wrong…Codes may be present in the computer even if the Check Engine light isn’t on.

Here's the link to dump the computer codes with only a jumper wire or paper clip and the check engine light, or test light or voltmeter. I’ve used it for years, and it works great. You watch the flashing test lamp or Check Engine Light and count the flashes.

See Troublcodes.net Trouble Codes OBD & OBD2 Trouble Codes and Technical info & Tool Store. By BAT Auto Technical





If your car is an 86-88 stang, you'll have to use the test lamp or voltmeter method. There is no functional check engine light on the 86-88's except possibly the Cali Mass Air cars.



89 through 95 cars have a working Check Engine light. Watch it instead of using a test lamp.



What to expect:
You should get a code 11 (two single flashes in succession). This says that the computer's internal workings are OK, and that the wiring to put the computer into diagnostic mode is good. No code 11 and you have some wiring problems.

Codes have different answers if the engine is running from the answers that it has when the engine isn't running. It helps a lot to know if you had the engine running when you ran the test.

Trouble codes are either 2 digit or 3 digit, there are no cars that use both 2 digit codes and 3 digit codes.

Alternate methods:
For those who are intimidated by all the wires & connections, see Actron® for what a typical hand scanner looks like. Normal retail price is about $30 or so at AutoZone or Wal-Mart.

Or for a nicer scanner see EQUUS DIGITAL FORD CODE READER (3145) – It has a 3 digit LCD display so that you don’t have to count flashes or beeps.. Cost is $30.

i had a similar problem. my car seemed like it was falling down after 4000rpm. this did not seem to be fuel or spark related. it just seemed slow.

ANYWAYS, after a long battle of what-the-hell-is-goin-on i figured out that it was the cam. i swaped it to an E303 and gained 45hp (iron gt40 were already on it). it turns out that the old cam was from an explorer. im guessing that he just swapped engines when a rebuild was due.

just something to think about.

do a leak down and compression check. careful some shops mistake the two.