Not feeling the love, guys.
I saw a guy up at the Grove with a very nice '67 'Cuda lookin' at the sky on launch; sound Familiar, Rumble Fish? Like two weeks ago?
Did that needle valve fall out of the carb? It looks like a float needle valve.
If you know a good aluminum welder, that may be repairable, which might be important if you want to use the original carb. It will take a lot of work to clean it up to hide the weld.
Make sure that Holley center carb choke is set properly. They really can't bench set it without it running on the engine. When the engine is cold, at fast idle, there is a spec on what the choke plate gap should be. Once warmed up, if you blip the throttle, the choke should snap wide open...
I've never had to remove the distributer to replace a manifold on a 340, and one has a six-barrel factory manofold, and the other the '68 factory cast iron AVS manifold.
The front and rear corners are where most of these leak. Just be sure not to use sealant anywhere near the intake ports, or...
I have a for-real AAR I bought in 1979.
The rear suspension should have a factory sway bar, the frame rails near the front spring perches should be boxed in, and on the steering box, the steering arm should be different than the standard 'Cuda. This steering arm gives the car a faster steering...
I believe a 5.9 has a cast crank and external balance. The circumference of those holes are broken off,(cast steel is brittle). You need your money back and a new crank.