1988 vet-antitheft removed- some sensors changed - fuel pump changed - plugs and wires changed - no check eng light on. problem is the vet will start and run about 2 blocks then stops dead will start back up and get back home and stop again. this problem has been getting progressively worst - last week it would run a mile or so before it had to be restarted. this is a friends car (sound like he is using the shotgun method of troubleshooting) if/when you need more info let me know - as i only do C3's.

 

Have you check for the obvious. Fuel, spark, and air?....when it dies.

 

Check the voltages at the battery AND the alternator. When it "quits" does the dash go dark or is it just stalling out? Several months ago mine would just die then restart ok. Turned out to be a bad "NEW" alternator.

 

On my 86, 4th of july 4 years ago, we went to see the fireworks, that's me, fat dumb and happy.
the wife and me in our corvette, fresh wax job, clean sparkling car, air conditioning blasting, the top off, sunglasses, ice cream in the cooler, favorite drinks, fold-up chairs, we got an early start so no traffic, all was cool.
except it was still 115 degrees.
shut the car off, ate the ice cream, chatted, watched the fire works, then when over, hopped in our super clean gleaming road rocket only to have the dash inform me I had 10.5 volts.
I nursed it home, the wife blasting the car, me, and the heat, and everything. That night, I played around with it a little, determined it was the alternator.
I take the alternator out, take it to the local parts house, specify a delco reman, and pop it in. charge the battery, and voila!!! 14.2 volts.
next Monday, on the way home from work, I hear that chirp in the radio that signals a problem, look down, and 11.1 volts.
AIR goes off, windows come down, and I finally get home, it's running rough, and the thing quits when I reach the driveway.
I pull the alternator, go back to where I bought it, and they say no problem, here's another one.
I go back home, install it, take the charger leads off it, and BING! 14.2 volts.
2 weeks later, going home at night, the dash seems dim, lots of traffic, I look down, and 10.2 volts again.
I finaly get home, no lights, no radio,driving as fast as I dare to with no lights, it is bucking and almost dying, I keep my foot on the gas to keep it going, and take the alternator off, go get another one after work the next day. install that one, and right out of the box it's bad.
(almost like they put my returns in the box and put it back on the shelf.)
This time, I take it apart.
What the repair shops are doing is cutting the stator wires off, to assist in disassembly, then crimping little short wires on to the wires, and then crimping terminals on those short wires. Then they put it back together. Those crimps are overheating, and burning out the modules the wires are screwed onto.
SO what do I do?
I went to a junk yard, and got an alternator that fit my Buick for cheaps, took it apart, and used the uncut stator windings and module out of that. I still have a lifetime warranty also.
it's been 4 years now........14.2 when cold, 13.8 all hot and racy.
moral of the story:
never bring ice cream to a 4th of July display when it's 115 degrees out, it melts before you can eat it.
Oh yea, about your problem.
sounds like a really worn out fuel pump, or a bad pump relay coupled with a bad oil pressure switch under the distributor (the little switch, not the big one)
Chris