Thanks everyone, for the input with my problem. Today we had poor weather here - cold, freezing rain etc, so further testing was not possible. I am rereading all comments and looking at all possibilities.
Ted - no weights/points in distributor - just a rotor.
Art in Ct - I checked for plug washers - negative. However, the more I look at these plugs, I thinkyour theory of the mechanic leak down test/excess
oil may be a contributing factor. First of all, the
oil is clearly
above the plug seating face, which means it had to be from the outside - there is also a noticeable browning / darkening on the plug ceramic surface - something going on. I have cleaned the plug exterior up and will reinstall.
Bob and Duane - this could be the main issue. The MSD was moved by Doug/Ritchie when the car was at ERA end of Jan, but, the routing isn't as you describe. There are 2 wire sets that come from the firewall/MSD, running together, along the engine right side, and then going across the front, to the distributor. here is their routing, tied together, (I assume the 3rd line, which goes to the front of the intake is the water temp sensor line?):
When they emerge on the left side of the engine, the lines connect as follows:
Pair #1 - orange and black - go to the coil.
pair #2 - red and white - go to a white connetor. Out of the other side of the connector are a black and red wire - which goes to the distributor, and the other side of the connector joins a 3rd white wire, coming in from a harness running down the cars left side - this white wire has the #40 label - visible in the pic, and clearly #40, but not readable in the photo. There are actually 2 wires inside the #40 bundle, one is cut off under the tape - only the white is attached to the connector. Is this 2nd wire redundant? Besides the miss under load, the car does start and idle ok. Comments?
So....if the wires running together is a problem, then this may well be it, as they are tandem from the firewall to the distributor/coil. I will reroute for sure and see if this helps.