my 82s 12a starts but it wont idle at all and i have to give it gas to keep it above 1100 rpm or it dies. when running it sounds like a lawnmower and has terrible throttle response. accelleration is poor as if it is working really hard. the rats nest is connected correctly and the carb was rebuilt about a year and a half ago. it ran fine a week ago, but i went through some swapping hassles ( ended up swapping back ) and now it runs like crap. any suggestions?

 

Take the stock air filter box off and then start the car. If you hear a loud honking noise, the shutter valve could be bad. Try plugging it, It's the hose closest to the drivers side seat. Also, you might as well change the fuel filter. Only 5 bucks.

 

Sounds like it could be firing on only one rotor? I'd check for vacuum leaks and the shutter valve like twinkletoes says.

 

also, check the anti afterburn hose. make sure its seated in place and is free of cracks or holes. check the obvious, spark, on both leading and trailing, and check for other vaccume leaks

 

As mazdaverx713b said, check the hose represented by the red line in this picture. The bottom (where you can't see it) tends to melt over time as it is close to and directly over the exhaust. It is between th e rear of the carb and the firewall.
http://intertron.com/ron/images/carb/c6.jpg

Make sure leading and trailing plugs are fireing and correctly connected. Lower are leading, Top are trailing. 1 is front, 2 is back.

 

shutter valve is brand new out of the box ( i had a spare lying around from last time it went out ) afterburn hose is connect4ed and seated properly, spark confirmation from all 4 plugs

 

here is some video of what im dealing with the first one is the rats nest and vac system and the second is the car running. i jsut uploaded them so it may take a few minutes for the conversion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NoOOmYEJy4

EDIT: still waiting for video 2

 

VACUUM LEAK SEARCH....






















lower case letters for emphasis.

 

video 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRKAPTjdato

 

You may have a combination problem of a vacuum leak and a timing issue.
Trailing and leading switched?
Ignitor shot or has dirty contacts?
Brake booster hose is tight?

Describe this "swapping" thing.

 

i swapped my carb from the 82 over to the 83 and tried to get it running only to find out that the engine on the 83 is toasted so i swapped the carb back to the 82. while swapping i made sure to hook up the linkages correctly using my spare carb and hooking up the linkages one at a time as i disconnected them so that i didnt mix them all up. all vac lines were replaced with new as well as the shutter valve.

all vac lines are tight including brake booster and ignition contacts are clean. which coil is for leading and which is for trailing? leading is up front nearest the header panel correct?

 

Leading coil is usually the rear one, while the trailing is the front. Only place that logic fails when dealing with a 1st gen ignition.

 

ok thank you very much. i went and got some new plugs im goign to try just to make sure im getting adequate spark. i will let you know if anything changes

 

ok new plugs are in and i double checked my wires and they are all hooked up correctly. symptoms are still the same, i searched for vac leaks with carb cleaner and nothing changed, searched for vac leaks on the forum and found 80 million ( exagerated) post saying "help i have a vac leak" and tons of replies saying "remove the rats nest" which i cant do because im in CA. i have checked the usual suspects for vac leaks and replaced them on good principle and still no change.

when i swapped the carb i did not remove the spacer. rats nest tubes are brand new, brake booster is tight, cant really check timing because it wont idle but it was dead on when i pulled the carb and i didnt play with it. checked ignitor connections and they are clean, coil connections are clean.

 

my apologies for the last post here, i was a bit frustrated. the vehicle is now running. as initially suggested it is the shutter valve. looks like i will be going to the dealer tomorrow and asking for a new part. for the meantime i have it blocked off with a bullet shell ( 7.65mm mauser already fired with the primer left in it ) and a cap on the air cleaner unit. thank you everyone for helping me out, and i once again apologize for my post above, sometimes i seem to get frustrated easily....im sorry