I was lucky enough to buy my dream car, a beat up 245 wagon for $300. It ran perfectly for a week. While going up a hill, there was a noise and a loss of power. The car recovered and was fine for a few days.

Then suddenly, it stopped taking gas from the accelerator altogether. I idled it to a friend's shop and changed the sparkplugs and the fuel filter (151,000 miles on the original filter...it was full of mud). No dice.

A mechanic tested the fuel pressure and said both pumps needed to be replaced. We changed both pumps, checked all the vacuum hoses, played with the timing. The car now runs fine as long as you ease on the accelerator (there is a certain point where it will die if you give it too much) and don't try to go over 20mph uphill.

We need the car to run in 2 weeks when my fiance's parents fly over from New Zealand. Any ideas?