Doc - lots of cyberspace pixels have been unduly disturbed by this subject.
As far as thickness of the gasket is concerned, on an inline engine, the thickness is far less critical than making sure the holes, slots, etc. in/on the gasket MATCH WHAT WAS SPECIFIED BY THE ORIGINAL ENGINEERS!
Sorry, but to me, saying Rochester B is too general, and I ALWAYS go by the original tag number, to the original bill-of-material for the carburetor.
When substituting a Carter (as in your title), the correct gasket
AS SPECIFIED BY CARTER SHOULD ALWAYS BE USED!
But back to thickness: there is lots of noise, some of it justified, about a thicker gasket improving the tendency for hot soak (most posters call it vapor lock, but it is not). The thicker gasket can help insulate the carburetor from the engine heat, but is MUCH more necessary on a V engine where the carburetor sits in the middle of the engine, than an inline, where the carburetor sits off to the side. In fact, on an inline, a thicker gasket can, depending on the environment, do more harm than good. There are more folks that have icing problems on inline engines than have hot soak issues!
As to your question as to what to do:
DON'T QUIT, we have to have someone to send the Rochester B believers to, and you are he!
As to the gasket to send; you simply cannot go wrong by including the original as specified by the factory. If the end-user wishes to change the thickness, let them.
Jon.
