having trouble with a 73 lincoln i just got. garaged, sat for awhile, but after driving the first day the carb caught fire. prev. owner said they had rebuilt the carb(last 3 years), can't find numbers, think i have a 4300 in there, but i'm having issues getting it out. once i do have it removed, should i attempt to rebuild what i have or install another, and if i install another, should i stick with the 4300? i'm concerned cause i hear they can have issues leaking and warping, which perhaps led to the fire in the first place. help!

I've run 4300s for 40 years and never had a fire, lucky I guess. Gasoline is actually amazingly forgiving, unless it gets near sparks. So causes:
1. Most likely, loose fuel line connection or leaking fuel line fitting or leaking plug on the front of the carb - spray fuel at the distributor = fire.
2. Crack in casting, same area.
3. Severe flooding - 4300s are usually not prone to this but on some the float pin slides loose, I've had them slide right out. Then they flood!
4. Seeping out the front gasket, many of mine have done this, usually just annoying. Permatex will fix it but then a bit messy when you take the carb apart.

If the carb runs good or ran good I'd try to save it but only if you figure out what caused the fire and fix it.
If it is the d3vf-da (?) carb they are not my favorite, they run ok when clean but are slow. Our galaxie ran about 0.3 sec quicker 1/4 mile when we pulled the d3vf-da 4300 off and ran another 4300 instead - I prefer the 1968-1972 versions.

I guess I'm saying, if that carb caught fire and is a doggy 73 version anyway, maybe look for another 4300 if you can't find the cause.