Lost Power? But idles and runs smoothly?

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cam.man67

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Jefferson, MD
I just took the ol' girl out to Deep Creek Lake this weekend; got home a few hours ago. Even on my way up there, I'm noticing that she seems not to have the power she does normally. Throttle response is softer than usual, and twice I noticed a slight backfire as I was cranking her over.

That being said, she idles as smoothly as usual, runs smoothly, no backfires or anything. Fuel economy is about average.

So what sounds like it could be the problem? The occasionally startup backfire makes me a little suspicious of ignition timing, like perhaps the distributor bolt loosened up a little? But it shouldn't run smooth if that's the case, right?

I'm also wondering if my valve lash closed up on me somehow? Perhaps losing some compression that way?

The only thing I changed on the car before taking it up to Deep Creek was the oil. I notice I'm about a quart high on the dipstick, could that be causing something?

Thanks.
 
Fuel pump ''could'' be leaking into the engine causing the oil level rise. Check by removing oil cap and smell.OR pull the dipstick(away from the car) and put a match to it. Common problem. I also had a coil that was going bad and the car would idle fine but had no power.Just a few thoughts.
Valve lash''could" tighted from valves receeding into the head because of non hardened valve seats but may take many miles for this to happen between valve adjustments.

DEEP CREEK, Fun place rented a cabin there a few years ago.
 
Confirm the carb is at WOT when the pedal is pushed to the floor. I've seen where the pedal/linkage was damaged and the butterflies weren't being opened all the way.
 
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