304 Bell Housing Plate, Necessary?

Do I need the flat steel plate that goes up against the block and gets sandwiched between the block and the bell housing? As you may have guessed, mine is sitting on the shelf, where I forgot it, and the trans is all bolted up nice. I suspect I will be tearing it apart again, but wanted to see if it has a real purpose.

 

Bellhousing separator plate

"Need" is subjective.

"YES" - it indexes the starter and the engineers at Jeep (and elsewhere) decided it was a good idea to use one... why would you second guess them?
"NO" the starter bolts into place anyway and the gear won't be in a significantly different location without it. Many engine/bell units didn't use one until later on in production (like the FORD FE engines)

Me? I'd pull it apart and put it in. ...Otherwise it would cause catastrophic failure of my paranoia.

 

Do the job once.
Do the job right.

 

Rats. Thanks guys. I know you are right. I was just hoping...
I will take it apart, again.

 

Hmmmm. My Jeep has never had one, so I never knew it was missing

 

Hmmm, I remember having a 40 bolt scattershield on my '66 Chevy Malibu, I didn't know Jeep CJ's had 'em too.