Yes, one needs a vision of how he will enjoy his car before starting to spend $$ on stuff he may or may not need. If you are looking to have a better than restored driver, you could probably go with a nice stock style front end rebuild. If you are used to new car style handling, then maybe an aftermarket front assembly and new style brakes is a must for you. When I bought my 67 Cuda, the owners son refused the car because he thought it was a death trap and was sure the front end was going to fall off. He had only driven new technology. You can have yourself a nice 340/360 car with all rebuilt OE style underpinnings, it's just gonna take a while to round up the necessary items.
As for tools, I see you are planning on buying an air compressor. Your best friend for rust removal is a die grinder and cutoff wheel, and an air chisel will certainly come in handy as well. A nice 3/8" drive air rachet speeds up the process and a decent impact wrench. I like to keep pieces of pipe around as well for those stubborn bolts, and I also have a pair of 4' bolt cutters that seem to get a lot of use. Overkill I know, but they were free!!
I have taken apart many of these early A's with much enjoyment, and more than a few setbacks. Better start rounding up the necessary metal right now, most of it is not being repopped, and some of it is downright hard to find!! Good luck with your project, and as said above.............bag and tag, bag and tag!!! Geof
