1973 Duster - From Strip to Street

I suppose I'll make this my "Hi, I'm new" thread, too... Well, I'm Alex, I'm 22, and this will be my first real restoration-esque project. I don't dare call it a restoration, because that would imply a return to original condition. I'm not sure I could bear that!

So, not too long ago, I got hold of a '73 Duster that had been mostly stripped out, and converted from a /6 to a 318. Not much body panel rust, but what may lie below makes me wonder.

The plus side: it's a running, driving 318 with 360 heads, Edelbrock 600cfm 4bbl, Edelbrock intake manifold, Edelbrock valve covers, Hooker Competition headers, Magnaflow mufflers, and a 100 amp alternator. Not sure if it's got a bigger cam or not...

The "down" side: original 3sp auto, 7 1/4 rear end, and a lot of interior missing. Most of it, really... Both benches are still there, as is the dashpad, but the front bench and dashpad definitely need a recovering...

Most of the gauges are in working order, minus the speedo. Not to mention all the missing bulbs behind the cluster...

Of course, the poor thing wasn't exactly running, much less driving, when I bought her - A new battery and some carb tuning cleared things up relatively quick... Took me a couple days of tinkering to figure out what needed to happen, but I did an 80 mile round trip in her last weekend, a couple days after towing it home from the previous owners locale! I was quite proud of myself.

So, first on the list of things to get done is pulling body panels, sanding, priming, and, hopefully soon after that, painting. Then the search for a 8 3/4 rear end, and probably a 4 speed transplant..