Slow acceleration - carb versus engine?

[ArtDecoWorld]

I went to look at a 1980 Tercel the other day. Having had them before, this one felt slower to accelerate/less power. One can't start pulling things apart when looking at a vehicle. So, is there a way to help differentiate whether something like this is more likely to be a carb/fuel issue, or a worn engine? Thanks

 

[PimTac]

A compression test will give you an idea of what shape the engine is in. How many miles on this car? Could be fuel, valves, so many things. It’s a 38 year old vehicle.

 

[ArtDecoWorld]

Originally Posted By: PimTac

A compression test will give you an idea of what shape the engine is in. How many miles on this car? Could be fuel, valves, so many things. It’s a 38 year old vehicle.

True. But no way I can do that at this guy's house. Miles are 162k.

 

[Kestas]

1980s cars in general were slow to accelerate. I've owned a few. I swear the econoboxes did not need an accelerator, just an on/off switch. The bane of most cars from the 80s was the vacuuum lines. They would get old and brittle, allowing for vacuum leaks. The car would run somewhat sick.

 

[Chris142]

As mentioned could be lots of things. My 1st thought is timing or a stretched throttle cable.

 

[mightymousetech]

Originally Posted By: ArtDecoWorld

Originally Posted By: PimTac

A compression test will give you an idea of what shape the engine is in. How many miles on this car? Could be fuel, valves, so many things. It’s a 38 year old vehicle.

True. But no way I can do that at this guy's house. Miles are 162k.

Compression test takes 10 min. Should be easy to do at the guys house.

 

[Trav]

At this age anything can be wrong, along with the other things mentioned in the thread look at the vacuum advance on the distributor. At 37 years old (if original) its very likely the rubber diaphragm has failed. IIRC this one has a few hoses going to it.

 

[Rolla07]

Id check for rust underneath. Is it burning oil when running? Any leaks? Any reason you are considering a 1980 Tercel?!

 

[Linctex]

80's "smog motors" suffered from: 1) low compression ratios, 2) small head ports, 3) very lazy cam timing, 4) lazy ignition timing, and 5) lean mixtures. Welcome the 90's when cars actually started to have some performance along with economy.