I got it on ebay for ~$60, seemed like a good deal, figured I'd have something to drop it into sooner or later. Might try to make it work in a FFish. I kinda fell for the monogrammed cooling head to mean "fancy"
I definitely agree that the OS carbs are the Rolls-Royce of their type, I'm eager to swap as many of my engines with them as I can, but I'd tentatively make a case for function over form if that one's giving you trouble.
I'm yet to break in the 11k I put on my TRX 3.3, I just admire it now and...
Looks as good a job as anyone could do, the only downside I see is that the pinch bolt will be applying its force directly to the repair, so you'll either have to be pretty gentle with it or use a little sealant to kinda glue it in.
An Sh. 18 slide carb is under $20 and would be a drop-in...