With and without, no change. Tried phenolic, wood, plastic, cutting boards, aluminum, you name it. Tried every type of heat shield, wrapped the lines (fiberglass socks, alum foil, combinations of both, heat-wrap, changed fuel line locations, etc). No changes. The carb simply got too hot.
I'm dealing with the same exact situation now on a second vehicle. If it's hotter than 90F outside, I get into vapor locking, boiling and percolating bowls, etc. Fuel is delivered by an electric pump, fuel line is completely isolated from engine and isn't near any heat sources. I've lowered the floats, tuned the timing and mixture for coolest operation (stays at 180-190F with a 194 thermostat, only gets to thermostat temp if I climb a decent grade, never gets hotter than 200F). Carbs are on spacers (but I have a significant hood clearance challenge, so they're only .250 thick). It's also got three electric fans. If I let them run after shutdown, I can avoid percolation about 60% of the time. Nothing else has had any appreciable effect. I'm about to try a 160F thermostat to try and keep the intake cooler to prevent heat soak into the carbs. I can shut the engine off, disconnect the fuel, and wait 5-10 minutes and watch the fuel boil and then fire out of the boosters (it's worse if I leave it connected, but disconnecting rules out the line as the cause), then listen to it whistle and spit for a few minutes before the entire garage smells like gas. It's awesome.
So far, the experience with this new engine has been the same as what I had with the dart. Except the new engine has holley carbs (2x4) vs the single edel carb on the 318. The edel made it easier to see the boiling fuel - I could take the top off and watch it.
When it was cooler weather and more humid, it didn't seem to be as bad. But now that it's hot and dry, it's a challenge.