Engine miss/poor fuel consumption

[John Rogers]

A couple of days ago our 1974 2.0 developed a miss and the fuel useage went up? I tested the timing (breakerless ignition) and all the components as per the trouble shooting article, even swapped brains and could find nothing. Tonite while the engine was idling I heard the snap of a spark jumping. I found that the end of #3 spark plug had gotten unscrewed and the plug wire was just sitting on the plug. After reinstalling the connector, it sure runs good. I haven't seen this happen in many years.