I musta been around some crappy tuned cars then,or something was very wrong with the fuel system. A lot of the cars I've been around, especially at shows, made your eyes water, and nose run, just sitting there. Not the nice ones mind you, mostly like the ones you can clearly tell were done in a month in prep for the show. There were a few of those at this past good guys, i had to walk a few feet away from em to not be gagged out.I was born early 50's and I can tell you that none the cars that my father, my uncles and aunts, my grandparents bought and every other car I was in ever smelled like gas.
Either way, to end this thread, aforementioned carb has had the vent tube added by Ken at everyday performance, so my canister can stay. And regardless of other people's experiences, my car has ALWAYS smelled like gas since I removed the 231 and old failing charcoal canister right up until the point I installed a low mileage canister and hooked it back up with a new filter. I also never had a vented gas cap either, so that may have been part of it and the tank pooting at me when I removed the cap when it was under 1/2 full.