thanks for the kind words and advice!
as requested, here are some more pics from when I first picked her up. The interior is kinda dodgy (pun not intended), anywhere the sun got to, is trashed (as witnessed by the rear deck) BUT
That hideous shag carpet and seat covers are protecting pristine rubber floors and the vinyl seats in back look pretty good too lol
bodywork I'd rate at best a 7 out of 10. There's some damage to the car, dings on driver's fenders and passenger door. I'm betting it'd be the obligatory chunk of change or blood sweat and tears to block, sand, and fix her up. I have about $5,000 budgeted for paint and body, I hope it's enough. I'm keeping her the original color, so that should help.
ONLY rust on the car is in the engine bay near the battery and vin tag though, so she's solid. Trunk is clean.
I've also attached a pic I found online of what this car used to look like
keeping her stock, it's the kick panels, side jams, little trims and such on the interior that concerns me. It's not like this is the "famous" B-body in orange or black, or the E-body, so there's not a lot of aftermarket when it comes to that stuff...