I knew the engine was leaking oil..drip drip drip drip..then the hesitation and loss of power. They wanted $495 to take the engine apart and look for leak. I did a dumb thing. I hesitated on that job. It got worse. I messed with the oil level and ended up with white smoke coming out the tailpipe and stall.

It's sitting in the driveway now. Such a classic car I don't want to junk it. Cadillac dealer said they would work on it .

On acceleration the car misses and slows down. A new fuel pump and rebuilt distributor failed to fix the problem.

when i first start the car it chugs a little like it wants to die..when you give it a little gas it starts to sputter and backfire LOUD! when i try to drive the car it hesitates and will backfire also..It seems that if you turn on the turn signal or hazards it gets worse! The hesitation will go with the flow of the hazards.Very rarely when i can drive it, it will go from like 55mp to starting to sputter,hesitate,BACKFIRE,then acts like it wants to die(but doesnt). Can anyone relate???

as others have discovered, the mechanics cannot solve the issue. No pin point has been discovered which causes the power failures. Fuel pump most likely, but as others discovered, when replaced (at a high price) problem still exists. Fuel filters, plugs/plug wires/injectors/ even bad gas does not seem to be the real cause. So, if anyone has a solution, please email me... thanks