1986 2.0 ignition timing

[geezer101]

You may have a dead vacuum advance on your distributor. This will nerf your engine with no effort at all. Take the vac hose off from the carb end and suck on it - if you can draw air through it continuously the diaphragm has split and you either need to install a new vac unit or get another operational distributor. I have been struggling with a similar issue and finding a good used distributor is no mean feat as the all seem to suffer the same fate.