It was definitely black. Not sure if or when it was painted. It's got a 71 front end now though. The body was surprisingly nice on it but it did have some bad spots on both rear frame rails.
Unfortunately I went with a Ron Francis wiring kit when I did my V8 swap so I'm no help in troubleshooting the electrical stuff. Just start with the spark plugs and work your way back is all I can say. Good luck!