I would say u answered your on question with "build what u want or u will never be happy!! 8 years ago in the mix of building several pro street trucks, I bought ( stole) a 67 2dr Imapala super sport 396/4spd that had lite damage from wreck!! Spent 2 years w/ body on resto--sold for 20k at houston auction -new owner sold again before it left the building-Friends say "boy i wish i had done that " and i tell them it was the worst 2 years of my life!! They look at me strange and say "WHY"!!! I tell them i hated every minute because it was not what i WANTED TO DO BUT I DID FOR THE MONEY!! Or so i thought(labor)!!! I love to create and this project had to be to factory specs!! KIlled me not to make changes!!
I think u know what u want but u also know the risk of cutting a future collectible --It's tough -but sure is a lot of fun---
jim