Think I'm gonna try a 3/4" washer and a bit of an old used seat post (where it transitions from smaller to larger). The larger inside mates to the washer, which will mate to the carb. With a little filing, the small side will slide over an intake opening. Two welds and voila, hopefully it will work!
I did notice that the holes of an intake almost match those of the carb. With the manifolds I have, I don't know if I would be able to make a smooth transition between the two bore sizes ---- there's not much room to make a large taper. With the seat tube over the manifold, I can 'sharpen' the intake tube to maximize the flow. There's also 2 step downs instead of just one. We'll see......