If you don't use the block plate you are getting better protection than the factory piece but nowhere near the protection the scattershield and block plate provide.
As already stated the block plate is there help contain the flywheel/clutch in the event of catastrophic failure. Don't lose sight of the fact that there are about 20 bolts that attach the blockplate and scattershield to make it like one unit.
I'll never forget the guy on my block (when I was kid in the early 70s) that lost part of his right foot and his right hand when the clutch exploded on his Z28 during a street race.
Lastly if you race at a sanctioned track the scattershield is not legal without the blockplate, all the attachment blots must be present and it can not be modified in anyway...there is a reason.
Be safe.
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