Hi all,

I'm trying to finish up the engine for my '55 Stude coupe; it's a
R1-spec (high compression) 289 that I've thrown some dress-up pieces at.
 One of the additions is an aluminum intake manifold.  I'm planning on
using an Edelbrock "Thunder Series" AVS carb on it.

Question is this:  the carb's linkage will not clear the manifold
without a spacer.  The manifold itself is not "open" - rather it has
four holes where the butterflies are.  I have a cheap aluminum spacer
that I used to get everything to fit but here's where the questions start.

1) I am leaning towards a phenolic or wood spacer to insulate the carb.
 I realize that too cool is as bad as too hot but with the volatility
of modern fuels I'm more worried about vapor lock and boiling over after
shutdown than I am about poor atomization.  Agree/disagree?

2) Most of the "4-hole" spacers that I've seen are made for Holley carbs
and have similar sized holes for the primaries and secondaries.  The
AVS, and the manifold (being based on an old Studebaker "R3" casting
designed for use with an AFB) both have primaries smaller than the
secondaries.  Would it negate the advantages of using a "4-hole" spacer
to open up the holes in the manifold to eliminate the "step" where the
manifold is smaller than the hole in the spacer?  If so, does anyone
make a spacer "blank" that I could drill as I desired, or am I looking
at rolling my own from a piece of hardwood?

3) am I just all worried about nothing and should I just run a divided
spacer and open up the manifold completely?

This car is basically going to be a cruiser, although with the R1 engine
I am hoping for a bit of a kick to it.  Drivetrain will be a wide-ratio
T10 with aluminum flywheel and diaphragm clutch (already together)
backed with the stock Dana 44 rear end (3.31:1 ratio.)  Future plans
will probably be limited to some head work and maybe a different rear
end (probably either 3.31 or 3.54 due to desire to be able to drive on
the highway, but limited slip) unless my finances change drastically.

I know that I am probably overthinking this, but I have a desire to
build this car "right" and really don't have the experience with carbs
and spacers to know exactly what happens when you do various things with
them.

thanks,

nate