Over the years I have owned Chevs with the 216 engines I always found out they ran better with Rochester carbs!  Believe they are easier to find and kits seem readily available! I can also vouch for Al Moffat as he is very knowlegeable in working on these old carbs and has a ton of parts to use for repairs!  Bob.

50sedandelivery wrote:

---

...Is it always necessary to ream and re-bush the throttle body? I thought the shaft was softer and would wear first before the cast iron.

---

 I believe you are correct. There needs to be an interference fit between the body & shaft, otherwise a vacuum leak could form. Brass is something that can be plated, and that might be what is necessary to restore the tight fit of the shaft into the body. There are numerous examples of hand-reaming to achieve a tight fit, e.g. the bearings in an old bronze bushed outboard motor of the 1919-63 era.

As an aside, 50sedandelivery, are you running a 216 Chevy six or a Pontiac 239 flathead six?

I hear you. I was just saying that plating can add material thickness, perhaps it can then be turned down to a desired diameter. I was considering hard industrial chrome (NOT the shiny kind) for the journals on my old well-worn 1950 Johnson 5 to restore the tight clearance needed to eliminate pressure leakage from the adjoining cylinder on my old rotary valve 2-stroke. In the end I used a different block & crank that was within wear limits.

Another thing, brass has natural self-lubricating properties. Think of valves on tubas and slides on trombones. I doubt hard chrome has the same lubricating properties.

BTW, the 1950 Johnson is restored now. Here is a picture of it and a few "closet mates" that will get their turn at restoration. The bronze 1958 motor is a running 7½ horse that I want to rebuild completely, while the 1967 Johnson 9½ beside it just needs a lower unit reseal & impeller change.