extreme heat
 

my 86 na had both mufflers until the right one felt so i drove it for a while until i got a huge exhaust leak at the joint between cat 2 and 3 so found a racing muffler and had the second cat cut off and installed a single muffler (left)but i left the 3rd cat, now i did felt improvement in ferformance, but when the car is warm up i smell like something is burning and the cat is red hot but i dont get the warning light in the dash and the gasses are so hot is really unpleasant to stand behind the car. what could it be?

Ouch .... Wall of text.

I think you are saying you had a exhaust leak, but I dont see where you fixed the leak.

Also factory Cats are thick walled steel. After-market things are not . U can get heat shielding / padding and attach to the bottom of the car with spray adhesive that will insulate your car better. Its also possible that if your cat is clogged, more heat will be produced. Excessive exhaust temps can be a result of timing of A/F mixture problems also.

[p.s. Punctuation is your friend]

i took off the middle cat to fix the leak. the leak was at the joint where it is bolt on.
Also theres liquid out of exhaust probably fuel.