The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop 235 Rocheser Carb Base to 216 Carb Swap

I was wondering if I could swap the base from a 235 rochester carb to a 216 carb. Anyone know if it will work? My 235 Rochester carb is bad and I have two good Rochesters from 216 engines. If I can just swap the bases to match the 235 bolt pattern then I'd be good to go.

Will it work?

Maybe.

Will it work well? Should be good for a 20 percent power LOSS.

Jon.

I agree, can't run properly.

X3

I did this with a Carter and it ran. However, once I finally located the correct Carter YF for my 235 the performance and gas mileage were noticeably improved.

If I were you, I'd keep looking for a 235 carburetor. Place an ad in the Swap Meet 'Truck Parts Wanted' forum.

I have seen the carbs for the 216 with the mounting holes elongated to mount them. Folks do what they need to do to keep them on the road!

Okay, thanks everyone - that answers my question. Now how do I find out what is the correct Carter carb for my engine?

This list:

http://www.thecarburetorshop.com/Carter_YF_Chevrolet.htm

Jon

Thanks. Looks like I need 2100s for my 54 235.

Hey Jon, I found a 788 YF will that work ok. Your list says 1959-52. Mine is a 1954.

788s fit 1950~1952, not 1959-1952.

Will it work?

Don't know. Have always thought engineers knew what they were doing.

Check the second line in my signature block.

Jon.

It will work. I did it on a 216 in a 51 chevy 2dr sdn. I didn't notice a big issue. My original carb was leaking so bad I thought was going to catch fire. I had another carb off of a 235 Babbitt in a 51 also but the base was different. That's why I swapped. I ran that carb till the clutch went 2 yrs later. Then it was time for the 261 I had waiting for it.

Hey Jon, my bad - dyslexic or just can't read. Re: engineers - 20 plus years in Quality Assurance work and engineers do on occasion make errors. Re: second line - I'm not modifying the carb. Just poking fun - I think I'll give it a try till I can find a 2100 per your list. Its got to be better than the leaky Rotenchester

Hi Craig,
I'm supposed to receive a 2100s in a week or 10 days. Let's see what it needs when I get it and go from there. Man who sold it to me said it looked clean. I've dealt with him before and he was good for his word. I did have 2 of the 2101s models here but they've been sold (the auto-choke model) and I also have a 967s still here (also auto-choke). There isn't a great deal of difference in the 967s and the 2101s from what I can tell...but it is the auto-choke model also. You can see it here:

https://tinyurl.com/yypdnl6g

I love train drivers (engineers?) They keep us wrench jockeys busy fixing the mistakes they make on millions of production vehicles. Case in point- - - -when GM introduced the downsized 100 amp alternator back in the 1990's on virtually all their small and mid-sized vehicles, some unholy alliance between the engineers and the corporate bean counters resulted in the installation of a marginal-capacity sealed ball bearing in the rear end frame. Yep- - - -they failed- - - -by the thousands! The lucky car owners just got a locked-up alternator that would keep the engine from being cranked because the other weight-saving attempt- - - -the permanent-magnet starter motor that was also used extensively on those vehicles didn't have enough torque to take the cap off a screw-top wine bottle! The unlucky ones experiences the alternator rotor shorting itself out against the stator windings, causing electrical meltdowns and fires that destroyed whole vehicles!

Yep, I love automotive engineers! Those kinds of mistakes kept me and my family fed for a lot of years, and paid off a hundred acres of Tennessee backwoods. Now the kids and grandkids of those engineers keep me busy driving all over the southeast evaluating warranty claims over their current screwups!
Jerry

A bowl of gasoline with a wick extending up into the manifold will work too.

This works great for the older updraft carbs.

Since we are dealing with a downdraft, a currently unemployed 15-year-old, standing on the running board pouring fuel into the engine from a leaky boot is an option!

Jerry - often there is a 7 word conversation from the corporate bean-counters to the engineers: "that costs too much, make it cheaper!".

Jon.

My engineer brother used to make $1,000.00 a day running computer modeling simulations for auto manufacturers. He was a private consultant who could design a part on his computer, and run it to failure without ever physically building the part. His mission was to predict failure rates for new designs so the companies could factor in the cost of replacements for parts that failed while still under warranty. He called then "baby chicken" parts- - - - -"CHEEP- - - -CHEEP- - - -CHEEP!"
Jerry

Duntov made a rant in a magazine 50 years ago about how many great and cheap ideas he had for the Corvette were deleted by the accountants, because making the car better was not a viable objective. Standardizing every possible part is golden.