LD340 Can’t Get The Carb Base To Seal

The main argument against a filter before the pump is that pumps don't like to suck....so anything between the pump and liquid gasoline is considered not the best. But, the advent of electric (vane type) pumps made pre-pump filtration more important.....that helped drive bigger and less restrictive filters. On my cars with vane pumps I run a big filter before the pump. On cars with a diaphragm pump, I am less worried about the odd spec of sand going through the pump....it won't care too much.

All that said....the OP's car does not appear to use an electric pump and is more or less following the OEM layout. Is it optimal for a 6 second car? No...but that's not what he has.