For me, it wasn't the splasher issue, it was that of all of the AD's I have seen, and I see a lot of them, about 30% still have the original splasher engine in them. The other 70% or so have the next generation 1954-1962 insert bearing, full pressure oiling 235s in them. I am still not sure why this is. Were the new style 235's so cheap back in the day that it was cheaper replacing them than rebuilding the 216? I wish I knew.
"If you LIKE your 216 splasher you can keep it!" Now that you can get insert bearing kits for the original splashers, removing the need to find a Babbitt bearing person, they are a really viable solution. My original truck has the original motor, but the closest machine shop that could still do Babbitt was 200 miles away and the dude was 80 years old. Cost me about $800 for the Babbitt bearing job about 12 years ago. They were great engines for a lot of years.
