Great plan gsjo
Here are couple pics from an eBay 67 intake.
The holes up front with a trough connecting them is a heat crossover that allows hot exhaust to circulate and warm the carb. Good cold weather feature - but bad for anything else.
If the shimplate gets left out it warps the baseplate.
Most guys today are drilling and tapping those holes and installing hex head pipe plugs.
Intake would need to be off the car for safest removal of the metal shavings.
I'm not sure if epoxies would endure the heat to plug the holes - but maybe there are products now.
