suspension upgrades?

If you have been driving it, and all the suspension components are worn out - just replacing them with new is going to be a huge improvement.
Don't forget the rear suspension. Some new leaf spring bushings and most likely the shackle bushings are shot. You might also consider adding a leaf back there to restore some ride height and handling improvement.
Regarding sway bars. Many of our cars came from the factory with front sway bars. You cannot just buy one and hang it on your car though, unless your lower control arms have the sway bar tabs. Something you might think about prior to your buying and installing the lower ball joints and lca bushings. Look around and you might find someone selling a complete set of lca's and sway bar together.
If you consider a rear sway bar, factory one's are pretty scarce. You can buy aftermarket or modify other bars but for a daily driver you may not find it needed. I would suggest some homework and study before doing that. You could add that at a later date with minimal hassle.
Last couple things I will mention is the age and experience of your son and whether you have power steering or not? If your son has never driven one of our old cars - it can be a big leap from today's rack & pinion new cars to an old car with 1/4 turn of "slop" in the steering that is just the old time steering, and nothing wrong!
C