No, not a real cat!

But the catalytic converter. The tracker was acting like it had a clogged exhaust, so I took the catalytic converter off and sure enough, it was melted on the back half and was mostly clogged. so I took the torch and cut the top off of it and pulled all of the honey comb and what looked like asbestos fiber insulation out. Then I Put the top back on and welded it shut (it was made of something that was pretty hard to weld) . It now sounds like a ratty rice rocket as the lack of honey comb and a poorly installed cherry bomb muffler(the muffler is 2" and the trackers pipes were 1 3/4" so I had to fill in the void with ugly welds

, I hope to make a new exhaust system that is an actual 2" or 2 1/2" system with a good muffler and cat, and possibly a header

) The thing I dont understand is while the lack of a clogged cat has improved it some on uphills, it still is quite the dog on hills, so I am beginning to wonder if the 50,000 mile(now with 80,000 on it) jdm attarco motor is getting worn out. I have done all that I can to make it run right, and it still is more gutless than it should be, and it burns lots of oil (about a quart every 400 miles) I have tried to advance the timing to get more power, but that just results in tons of pinging(even at 10 degrees).I am also having electrical problems with it(the lights and everything become dim when I am driving at night, plus the lights and heater fan interfere with the fuel injection causing it to idle high and surge). I wish I knew what is up with my ride, because I really dont want to have to take the easy way out by buying another car.