The Carter WA-1 is an excellent carburetor.
HOWEVER!!!
When migrating O.E. carburetors from one application to another, it is important to do some math. As a general rule of thumb, one can do plus or minus 3 percent displacement.
An example: say you have an O.E. carb that originally was used on a 200 CID engine (200 means easy math). 3 percent of 200 is 6. Thus this carburetor could probably be successfully migrated to a similiar engine/vehicle from 194 to 206 cubic inches.
What is a similiar engine/vehicle? A similiar engine/vehicle would be a combination of an engine of the same general type (6 or 8 cylinder) with roughly the same maximum RPM. A similiar vehicle would be roughly the same weight.
I show WA-1's used on Oldsmobile 230, 238, and 257 CID sixes. If your carb is from a 230 or 238, it will probably work. If from the 257, you will probably experience low RPM issues.
Now about spending more money. Carter (and Rochester) used velumoid gaskets during this period. Carter quit using the velumoid about 1963 or so. These gaskets shrink over time when they are dry. ALL N.O.S. Carter carburetors from this time period should have a repair kit installed prior to attempting to use the carburetor. How do you feel about fire extinguisher residue all over your new engine?
Personally, I would suggest selling the Olds carb to an Olds person, and applying the sale price to a YF rather than spend money on a carb which you will eventually replace. MOO.
Jon.
