"The flywheel is still in the same place with or without a block plate and your starter bolts up evenly with the block -- so a block plate that's in between the two is not going to make a difference in the distance."
Yes it will! The blockplate is BETWEEN the starter and the bellhousing. If you remove this section from the block plate it WILL be closer to the flywheel.
Also since this section isn't touching the block it wont effect the bellhousing/block spacing.
Seen it done.
I know this, I just finished replacing the ring gear on my flywheel!
