my 83 just wont work right. right now there czr just runs as if it was running out of fuel. what i dont understand i that why did the center of the interior inside and and the exhaust pipe outside get so hot that if began to smoke at times. my dad says it the catalyc clogged up. is that the cause why it runs so bad??

 

Yeah, sounds like the catalytic is clogged. Try removing the catalytic center section from your exhaust and driving like that to see if the sluggishness goes away (it'll be really loud).