67 Barracuda convertible, suspension rebuild

Folks,

We've got a 67 Barracuda convertible. Nice, 15 footer. It's a fun weekend car.
Non numbers matching obviously. I'm not afraid of modifications.
My wife LOVES to drive this car. It's gotta stay friendly to her.
Safe, Fun, easy to drive.

It'll never see the drag strip or concourse field. It will see a twisty road.

It's got a 360, 727, 8.75 with an unknown gear. Power steering.
Front discs, rear drums. Small bolt pattern 14" front Cragars, 205 tires,
15" rear Cragars, 225 tires. We'll be keeping the power steering and brakes.

I'm planning to jack it up and refresh the suspension. There's not much rubber left...
Steering's really loose. Has front discs in dire need of rebuild and bleeding.
Shocks of unknown age, certainly worn out.

So many questions. I search and find some answers.
My main question. Can I upgrade to 73+ upper control arms, with big ball joints, and keep my current spindles ? Seems like a no, but gotta ask you experts first.
If we stay with stock discs and small bolt pattern wheels, is there really any reason to
have big ball joints ?

I'm trying to stay with a simple refresh, modest improvement without too much
project creep. Maybe a bit larger torsion bars, .940 ? Welded, stiffened K frame and
control arms. Bigger, hollow sway bars. Bilsteins. Performance tires at a later date.

Let's say $2500 budget.

Thank you,
Steve