That is one fine looking ride. Sounds like you've got some work ahead of you to get it right, but its all doable and will be worth it in the end. You're gonna have a very unique ride that you can be very proud to drive.
I too bought my car sight unseen and was led astray on several things. The "header leak" turned out to be broken headers. The interior was totally trashed, he pretty much skated around that one. The wiring was very scary and the transmission while it is a 5 speed its from a truck with 1st gear being next to useless. The engine runs very rich and uses a ton of oil. The brakes and suspension needed totally rebuilt. But the body and paint are damn near perfect thank goodness, I am no body man. Its taken me over a year to get to running decent and redo the interior. Then of course I've decided to upgrade to LT1 and a 4L60! Oh well, playing with it is why I got it in the first place.