LD340 MODIFICATION OR NOT?

First, I'd leave it alone. Second, the is no provision for a factory choke. TQ's should be choked to start, even in California or Florida. There is enough meat to cleanly modify it for a TQ. If you want to trade even up (assuming yours has not been milled on the intake face), I have one that was not pristine so I had it modified including welding up the heat crossover, cutting down the center divider per Super Stock recomendations, and opening up the carb base for a TQ. Never ran it since it was fixed.