just thought someone might want to read about my cadillac situation - bought a 72 sedan deville which had a lot of body damage to the passenger side (previous owner swiped a mile marker which took off all the chrome trim and door handles and left areas of rust, also dented the hood.) the car has 98000 miles and seems to be in decent shape mechanically. i think the frame may have been slightly bent, and the carburetor linkage is a nightmare because of how it's all bent out of shape and sticks and i cant tell which pieces need to be replaced or if i should just get a new quadrajet, or if someone who knew a lot about carbs could bend the pieces back into the right shapes (im talking mostly about the cams/arms and metal rods on the passenger side of the carb, and the manifold choke coil) it's all pretty confusing to me. also the car is kind of loud... very loud when you open the hood. i think the exhaust is fine, but maybe the manifolds are loud? i saw a post about manifold leaks but how do i know what that sounds like? im not sure i could identify it.. the manifold looks an orange/brown rusty color as do all the bolts.. i guess it wouldnt hurt to tighten all those bolts down - if theyll even move? should i try? also i believe the a/c system was recently recharged and the compressor replaced.. but when i installed a new heater core (ugh) i think i might have damaged something under the dash or not hooked things back up properly so now the a/c wont work. i think it just blows hot air down at my feet.. anyway the car is now sitting at my new place where i have plenty of room to work on it, and it's registered as a historical vehicle until i have the time and money to put gas in it. ill just repair it for fun in my spare time. if anyone could give me any tips on any of those things i mentioned (carb, exhaust manifold, body work, a/c) that would be great. it seems like a huge project but i guess im not in bad shape since the engine and transmission are fine. i could barely even feel/hear the transmission shift when i brought it here from its other home earlier today, and it has a lot of power. it seems as if there's a clicking (valves?) coming from under the hood, but i dont know if thats just audible because of the exhaust leak if there is one.. hm. anyway, ill probably be posting some questions in the future. this is a great forum, ive already learned a lot from reading posts. thanks guys!

-bill

I would be most concened about about a bent frame; you can tell if it's "crab-tracking" by driving thru sand or soft ground in a straight line and check if there's two tracks. Sounds like the body is really messed up, but I don't know. Would it be a good parts donor for a car with a good body? Maybe. As to the liknkage, how did it get messed up? I would find a similar car and take close-up digi camera pics, and compare with yours, and go from there. manifold leaks are loud popping sounds; tappets are tic tic tic sounds. A quick look on a service station lift can tell if the exhaust manifold collector(s) are shot. I'd do that first. Wouldn't hurt to hand tighten exhaust manifolds or intake manifold too, for that matter, and snug the carb down. Don't over-tighten! I know nothing about AC; my '49 Chev has model 455 AC: 4 windows down at 55 mph! lol Good luck; just a few thoughts from an old car nut. Matt

Sounds to me like you have an exhaust leak. You should definitly do the test matt suggested to test the frame. If your frame is bent then you might as well find a good donor car.

Also, it might be a good idea to take some pictures of the linkage and post them on here.