81 te72. 3tc. Idles great, timing is perfect. Has a no name ebay header, bone stock otherwise. Stumbles or missfires all over the place. Replaced stock smoggy carb with one off of a 85 4ac. As far as i can tell its the exact same carb (other than the fuel line was different, being fwd. Swapped it to mine). Yes its a non rebuilt junkyard carb. Anyhoo, runs ABSOLUTELY no different. So its either the same exact level of crappy as my old one, or theres other issues. Checked for vacuum leaks with starter fluid and found none. Wondering if its the coil/modulator thing? Ive heard they are somewhat problematic. If y'all think thats it, then the next question is thus: the junkyard i work in does not have anyhing else remotely that old (the 85 4ac rolla was missing the coil). I grabbed one off of a 91 taco with a 22re. Its still in my yard van, but I'm guessing the plugs are all different and the wires are different colors. Anyone ever wire a newer one to work? I can't afford a new one, let alone a 6al. I just need to be able to drive the dang thing to work between paychecks.

Being an 81 TE in the USA I take it you have electronic ignition with a coil igniter

Before you tear the ignition apart what’s your fuel filter like?

Does it miss under load or just randomly ?

 

Once I had similar problem and replaced the coil with one from a Celica, from the same year/period that had electronic Ignition.

Had to make sure that the outside of the coil has a good earth to the body (scrap a little paint off the side that would be under the clamp holding the coil) and the body to engine earth strap is in good nick.

Other than that make sure the cable from the Dizzy to the Igniter is not damaged, as the signal used to trigger it, is a very small voltage and the slightest impedance in the connections will stuff it up