No, there is a great distance between the impeller vanes and the flat of the t cover. You are reducing that to greatly reduce what the engineers call "parasitic recirculation" to make a vastly more efficient pump. the OD of the plate is slightly less than the OD "tips" of the vanes (so you can weld em) and yes the vanes/plate sticks out past the pump face perimeter where the gasket is but with the deep recess of the t cover flat there is still clearance between the cav plate flat and the t cover flat & the pump still fits on the t cover perimeter with the gasket like normal. dont have a pic but see how much distance there is between the vanes and the t cover flat & that big space is what you are wanting to reduce. On a side note, if the t cover is off look in the 1" port openings on each side & halfway in you will see a casting ridge made when the poured the alum into the mold & 3 minutes with a die grinder will remove it for a more unobstructed passage