How to deal with paranoia about fuel leaks

Hey guys:

I know that's a strange title, but it's a valid question.

I do all my own work on my cars, and nothing scares me, except....gas leaks. When I had my first car(a '71 Impala), my father refused to have a steady fuel drip at the carb repaired. I wasn't mechanically savvy back then, so I drove that car for a few thousand miles constantly smelling gas and constantly afraid it was gonna go up.

On top of that, we had a VW bug that caught fire from gas leaks at least twice, so NOW I am perhaps not paranoid, but definitely averse to any gas leaks or potential for same.

Now owning another Slant six after all this time, I can't help but cast a wary eye on that Holley 1920 sitting 6 inches above the hot exhaust. I know that statistically, straight six engines with paired manifolds probably don't suffer fuel fires any more frequently than any other engine, but I'm curious if you guys give thought to this.

I actually rebuilt a 1945 for it to get away from that vertical fuel bowl, but the 1920 seems to work great even though it's covered in gunk and I see some seepage out of the accelerator pump drain hole. It's the original carb also.

My thinking now is to fabricate a drip pan to mount under the carb, much like airplanes and some old foreign cars used. It may sound silly but I do not want a situation where the float decides to stick and gas overflows onto the hot manifold.

Your thoughts...