Charles,

Sounds very similar to a problem I had with my new '87 syncro.  The fact =
that it runs fine again for awhile after you restart says that the FI =
computer is getting bad input and going into a rich mode which loads up =
and finally stalls the engine.  A restart resets the ECU.  My black =
smoke, missing, and power loss would repeat consistently 30 seconds =
after each restart when the engine was warm.  I received some great =
suggestions from list subscribers, which can be found in the archive for =
December '96 under the thread "87 Syncro Westy poltergeist".  The dealer =
working on my car finally added a ground strap to the right side of the =
engine, and the problem disappeared.  This was a done after trying just =
about every other option related to ECU inputs:  oxygen sensor, temp =
sensor, air flow sensor, etc. and finally the ECU itself.  From perusing =
the archives and talking to my local mechanic, I'm afraid this sort of =
thing is pretty common, but have hope.  Since the ground was added to my =
'87, it has run great.  Now I can attend to the next chronic problem:  =
coolant leaks.  :(

Bob Stevens

78 Camper ASI  140K
87 Syncro Westy 90K