I just went through the same thing (as Beast 54) with my '65 Chevy 6 cyl. With the old Rochester carb it ran ok. Truck only had 49,000 original miles and but needed a tune up. The old gal needed to be run and give me some confidence she'd get me down the road. I had a friend rebuild the Rochester. When we cranked the engine she would only run in high rpms, wouldn't idle, and ran hot. First indication was a manifold leak. Did all the checks, nothing could be found. So then I borrowed a Rochester carb from a friends pick up, installed it, and the 6 cyl ran smoooothe. Put the rebuilt Rochester back on, same problem.

I purchased a Carter YF. Truck runs good again. From my reading up about the Rochester carburetor, it only has four screws that bolts it together. (Carter has 6). The Rochester carbs are notorious about warping. Some say they're junk then. It doesn't make sense. But that's my understanding.

Also found out the Rochester accelerator pump uses a leather diaphram. Carter a nylon diaphram. If engine is not run periodically and allows the fuel to dry out (several times) in the Carter the diaphram will crack with the ethanol gas of today. The leather diaphram of the Rochester would be a better choice. And personally I would prefer the Rochester but a professionally rebuilt Rochester can run into some high bucks.

Last edited by Sign_Painter; 03/02/2011 5:08 AM.