[mkimber]

Does anyone have an opinion as to what happened here?

I kept the engine running at idle on the '87 Carrera for about 30-40 minutes while doing several small maintenence items (e.g., checking and filling the oil, checking the spark plug wires, just listening to the engine, etc.).

When a took it for a spin, the car ran very rough with terrible acceleration. Absolutely lost the now familiar power band surge above 3500 rpm. Felt as if I was trying to pull out a tree stump. Panic and depression immediately set in.

When I started it up about 4 hours later, there was a big cloud of white smoke, but the car ran as if nothing happened.

At the moment, I feel like a lucky knucklehead.