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One of the rivets on the throttle linkage broke. So I pulled it off thinking that all I needed to do was to put in a new rivet. To my surprise, I found the holes on the bracket that bolts to the firewall was 1/4" and the on the cross bar between the bracket and the carburetor and the small metal piece are 1/8". To help clarify the situation, the hole size on both outside pieces is 1/8" and the interior hole is 1/4". I did not find any bushing that goes in the larger hole so this would seem to indicate that the cross bar could rock up and down on the bracket. Is this what is really happening by design or am I missing something?

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I believe that is the intended purpose. The cross shaft with a bracket mounted to the firewall on one end and solidly to the head or manifold on the other would need a bit of free play or movement somewhere to prevent binding or bending as the engine moved.

Howard,

Loved your explanation & logic. I've replaced both rivets with the required play and just finished driving the car around the block. Once again all is well with the '51 Packard and I can continue with the '32.

Thanks for the QUICK and EXPERT advice.

Almost, but not quite. Once upon a time the the vertical piece was isolated from the firewall bracket by rubber. That took up the space around the rivets. The movement of the engine was compensated for by the vertical piece being spring steel that would flex.

The only problem with leaving the joint loose is that the vertical portion tends to flop toward the firewall which renders the throttle return spring ineffective for want of leverage. Thus you see many of these cars with extra throttle springs hooked on the linkage near the carb. I usually bolt the pieces together being careful to leave a good gap between the firewall and cross shaft.

Ross,

Do you have any pictures?

Thanks