This all sounds familiar. I am doing the same. Going through everything and rebuilding what was either done incorrectly or in a "just didn't care mood" by the P.O. Luckily, the body and paint was done correctly with very little bondo "used a magnet" to check. Found a lot of bolts and nuts that were just not tight, some stripped and other cross threaded. Good thing I has a cobalt drill bit set and a good tap and die set on hand.

"Pay attention to the details! It ALWAYS pays off."

1949 Chevrolet 3100 Series 1/2 ton Pickup
1964 Chevrolet C10 (Ol' Yella) (SOLD)
1958 Chevrolet Biscayne 2 door (SOLD)
1970 VW Beetle