PJ, I'll be interested to see if the shaft remains unstuck. I've owned my '36 chevy pickup since 1965 and before I made the stainless steel shaft and bushings I asked many others whether they had a solution to the sticking problem. Most of the people I asked had no idea what I was talking about when I said "Heat riser valve". Every one of those who did know what I was referring to said that theirs was stuck and they simply live with that.
Those may not stick in a daily driver because the daily rotation of the shaft polishes off rust as it forms, but my '36 is only driven occasionally. That used to give it time for rust to form and rusting involves an increase in volume so the shaft would seize in the manifold.
I still remember tapping the end of the shaft and the counterweight with a small hammer and spraying in heat riser lube to free it up to no avail.
The same thing happens to my 1952 Ford 8N tractor that I use to smooth my gravel driveway. In the winter when there is a lot of humidity in the air the clutch disc sticks to the flywheel as rust forms unless I drive it at least once every 2 weeks. That problem is even mentioned in the tractor owner's manual. The manual recommends blocking the clutch pedal in the disengaged position to keep the disc from sticking to the flywheel in the winter. Even that didn't work for me. Not letting it sit for over 2 weeks proved to be effective.
