Picked up this sad Duster today

Do the patina look. Leave it as is, but build up everything mechanically, put in new structure or repair where necessary to make it safe, and drive the crap out of it. Make it fast, and when you leave it in a parking lot you won't care about dings, nobody will give it a second look. Heck a 72 340 3 speed car. You dont find factory 340s in the wild like that much anymore.