I take my car to my friend's garage on Staurday nights a couple of times a year to see it on the lift. It's also been running a little sluggish and wanted to check it out before winter. I went last night and noticed my headlights came up very slowly. I rarely drive at night so I just assumed they were just sleepy or the 37 degree temp. was slowing them down. I checked out the car (found the annual anticipated steering hose leak) and got ready to leave. This time no lights at all.

I went to check the vacuum lines to and from the valves to the light assemblies and they practically fell off in my hand. The ends were widened and stiff. So I cut them back about 1/2", slipped them back on, and then started checking the other vacuum lines (wiper assembly, vacuum advance, etc.) and they all had the same problem.

When I lowered the car and started it up, the lights "snapped" up and the best part is that my car was no longer sluggish. It felt like I had added 50 hp!

Just a heads up!

Kevin

You really ought to consider replacing all the rubber hoses inside and out with new rubber. It is not expensive and can prevent a lot of problems. It is also good to get a vaccum guage and hook up to the hose off the dist. Get a feel for what the best reading is, ususlly 15-17PSI and from time to time check. The idea is to tune to the highest vaccum reading. A leaking hose, loose carb nuts and leaking pump can cause the enging to run rough or sluggish.

Thanks,

I just found a complete (molded) kit at Dr. Rebuild. I'll make it a Saturday project and replace them all.

Kevin

When you're all done installing all that new hose, get yourself a vacumn pump and see how long the system will hold vacumn. There are still a lot of old parts there!

Also, how much was the Doc Rebuild kit?

Dr. Rebuild charges $89.00. It's the same in Eckler's etc. Dr. Rebuild claims it's hoses are thinner, more like the originals, and easier to push on than the other brands. It does get tight for the hands in by the headlights and those hose nipples are really close on the actuator relays.

Thanks for the tip on the vacuum pump.

Kevin