Looking for advice. Want to build a Duster to run on a budget.

You sir win a cookie today for your well thought out and rational argument.
I'm sure he won the hearts of all the racers on this forum with this one-

" you ruined a car that could've been great. further, you've made any future repairs even more difficult. just adios'd all the beautiful original paint in the name of your fundamentally flawed and hacky "preservation". so sad to lose another one to the clutches of a person with a deranged sense of self worth. "