hi sages- think i have solved my rough running and misfire especially when cold or damp. replaced dist.cap and rotor with echlin napa parts. looked to be good quality. couldnt find bosch which is what were on the 92 240. old parts seemed very old . terminals inside and on rotor were worn , burned and somewhat corroded. motor instantly ran better and miss was gone. car has 221k. in using the old rope and weight trick to remove the stuck rotor, i pulled the ears off it. had to tap off the remainder with a cold chisel . put permatex anti seize lube on the shaft so next time rotor isnt stuck. in examining the fragments of the old rotor i noticed there was a coil of wire buried inside the top of the rotor between the end and center terminals. it was covered with a black plastigoop. never saw that in a rotor before. figure it must be a resistor which gives a step up to the voltage or current given to the plug, like a capacitive discharge function. not sure why that would be needed since the bougicord plug wires are resistance wire and should do the same thing. am i right. also- when i got the rotor off, i slid off the plastic cover on the lower distributor, expecting to see a reluctor and magetic pulse swiching unit, but there was nothing but an empty tub. is the coil charged and discharged directly through the ecu by a different kind of switching? thought volvo used a system similar to ford and chrysler. thanks tons for the education. oldduke