Thanks for the welcome and the ideas, folks.

Hmm, stone-chip. Not a bad idea, that. I'll have to see if i can borrow a compressor. While the rear axle is all removed, it'd be a doddle to throw that up there. I think for the sake of ease and cost, the suspension parts will be hammerite.

Still wondering about the coil-springs, though. Dunno quite what to do about those. Maybe some really wide heat-shrink sleeving would tidy them up a bit.

Reading this site has me all enthused and fired up - got me wanting a V6 in it.