https://fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=108264
Keep a fire extinguisher onboard with you if you do run one (you should have one regardless). I had one of the mesh wire filters on mine. After a no-start condition one day after work, I popped the hood and noticed gasoline dripping out of the filter. Took it off, waited 10 minutes and it fired right up with no choke (cold start). It was parked on a slight incline and I didn't shut the fuel valve off and run the bowl dry. I just parked, turned the car off, and shut the fuel valve off.
As far as taking the air filter off a modern car, no I wouldn't. The system was designed to run with an air filter from the factory. These cars weren't and putting a paper filter below the carburetor is a fire hazard.