Crackedback! I had no idea you had such a nice example.
I had a '79 Doba myself. Sweet car with a sweet ride. Had everything except the moon roof, tow package and 4bbl.
In a way your right. Then again.... Paying more for an earlier model that requires (to a degree) a real axle & front drum swap or disc change upgrade is an expensive item(s) to do for what you get stock on a later model.
On my '71, I did the Dr. Diff real axles with bearing installed.
The front drums set up is next.
A hefty upgrade price over the cheaper models.