Ben, I may have to call you since we have the exact same car. It's really weird, because if you notice, the piece is not broken off, and in fact it has internal threads. It fits absolutely perfect inside the filter, almost as if it was made for it. I would have never given it a second thought if it hadn't fallen out, which leads me to believe the flow of gas could also push it out. Looking in the back of the carb where it goes in does not give me any more clues as to it's purpose. I'm going to leave it out unless anyone can tell me otherwise.