Welcome aboard. When I was rebuilding my truck I totally enjoyed the journey. It was fascinating. When people asked me how long it would take, I would routinely tell them ten years! That way they didn't ask again.
As far as the drive train is concerned, if you want to go original, there are a lot of folks installing newer components and are looking to getting rid of the old.
The main thing is to enjoy yourself. There are experts here in many areas but the majority are like you and I and that is one of the things that makes this place so great.
