I have just bought a 2ndhand 1988 Ford Meteor sedan 1,4 litre South African made. It is sluggish on accelleration, but correctly pinks a little when in too high gear for the load. I suspect the several valve things in the pipes around the distributor & the carb. How do these work and how do I check them? There is another problem: the dipstick won't come out of its guide tube more than about 6 inches, no matter how I jiggle it. I have tried to remove the guide tube but it also won't come fully out from the block (it enters the block below the carb. and the handle is near the distributor, so the dipstick pulls out over the battery)

Optional Information:
1988 Ford 1,4 litre

Already Tried:
as described