Who did the rebuilding of the carb?
There are two areas that always have to be looked at on a Q-Jet.
Throttle shafts have to be bushed And plugs under the main body need to be sealed under the float bowl, as the plugs tended to leak fuel.
I do see where the plugs were taken out of the base plate so idle mixture can be done.
Spreader bars are a good idea also for the stamp steel covers. Shop around and get an 8 pack.
Trivia question: On what engine where they originally used?

 

My​​​​​​ girlfriends dad did the rebuilding for me. He completely disassembled it and let it soak for almost a week. Yesterday he removed all the parts from soaking, started at the bottom, and worked his way up. I'm assuming he did everything you mentioned. He's the kind that always does things the right way, so I'm confident he addressed the issues you brought up. Thanks for double checking!! I guess we'll know for sure when I go to fire it up.

 

The 327 SBC has them from the factory, most other Chevy’s I’ve owned were second hand but my 55 210 had a 265 and it had them , but I’m not positive they were from the factory.

 

Sorry your off base with the spreader bar answer.
I also too have owned many, many SBC and none came with them.
All small blocks came with a hold down washer that looked like "tee"
https://www.classicparts.com/1957-63...ctinfo/86-120/
The engine was built like an early VW engine.
That's a hint!!!

 

If he didn't have a reamer and bushing tool along with the bushings it wasn't done. That area is a wear spot and is a known vacuum leak.
The cavity on the bottom of the main body should have been covered in JB Weld (or a quality epoxy) after a very good cleaning to cover the cap in the cast material.
Look at the video at 25:45

 

Oh, you're talking about the spreader bars? I thought the trivia question was about the Q-jet.

 

Come on Randy stay in the game. Focus!

 

Awww...

 

OK now that we are back to reality. Let's see if Ratty can chime in.

 

VW I should have known that, but didn’t.