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My 144 had the hich-ups for a while and a week or two later died a few times in traffic. Would start fine after a few minutes. Turned out to be the (obvious) center carbon electrode in the distributor cap that was almost non-existant. New cap, no problems. The electrode is supposed to be spring loaded and push against the rotor. Can also be carbon build-up inside the cap, and with humidity the spark runs throught that rather than the plugs. Clean with almost anything, e.g. methelated spirits, turps, fuel, but make sure to dry properly if you don't want flames. Could also be a failing ignition condenser. They dry out after long use, enspecially low cost ones. Fit it with the wire coming out the bottom of the condenser to make sure water does not slowly enter it (should be potted, though). Or a cracked ignition coil getting moisture into it. Or way wrong timing. But I assume you would service your car regularly and properly, and some of these comments are just for completeness. On timing, my old Mazda could be set statically, but the B20 needs to be running when you set timing.