We recently purchased a 1989 Volvo 740 Turbo and although we have fixed several problems on the car we have an intermittent performance problem that we can't seem to track down. From time to time, when we start the car the acceleration is much weaker than usual and the engine will begin to sputter, particularly when you push it into the turbocharger during acceleration. The strange thing is that the problem will generally "solve" itself if we stop the car and restart the engine. Once the engine is restarted the car usually returns to its normally aggressive level of performance.

We originally thought this problem was a result of a bad pre-pump, but replacing this didn't solve the intermittent performance loss. Has anyone experienced a similar type of problem with weak or sputtering performance? What are some ways of getting rid of these gremlins in the engine. I am suspecting that it has something to do with the distributor, the computer or something else electrical that resets itself when the engine is restarted.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.