the stock intake plate from an 86-93 looks like this -
I think if you sprayed it silver, then masked off the sunk in areas, and painted the top level black - basically inverse the colors - it would look perfect.
it's basically the same plate that the explorers have on them too.
I would just paint the whole thing black, then take some sand paper and a flat block and sand the surface paint away to leave a brushed finish on the top. That is what I did on my 94 cobra intake, I will get pics later this week when I wax her.....