With the **** they are calling gasoline today I would loose anything that brought extra heat to carb. It boils off at a lower temp than the old stuff did.
I usually try to isolate my carb from any and all heat sources. It takes a little longer to warm up but its a hot rod and I got 5 minutes. Get yourself the biggest thickest gasket you can find screw it together and drive it like you stole it.
If there is an exhaust p***age in the intake manifold across the front of the carb you have to have the steel plate to block it off. If you leave it out exhaust will blow back into the engine and it will run like ****.
A lot of older carberated engines used a metal plate under the carb to isolate it from manifold heat. A neighbor with a '64 Thunderbird left it out and now after he shuts it off the gas boils out and when he has to start it he cranks on the starter for about a minute until the pump gets enough gas back to the carb to fire it up. He is having trouble locating another factory plate and he just replaced the starter again.
The other thing to remember is that the base of the AFB is aluminum. That stainless plate protects the bottom of the carb from the exhaust. Rochesters could get away without the plate by having a cast iron throttle body.
The metal plate keeps the exhaust from burning up the gasket because of the two exhaust holes in the manifold under the carb. I tapped the holes and screwed plugs in them on mlne. There will be plenty of heat in the manifold without it circulating under the carb base.
The Jalopy Journal
