Get rid of the poly bushings. I drove my friends 66 vette who put all poly bushings in it and it was terrible and couldn't wait to get out of it. I have a 65 vette with all rubber bushings and can drive it all day. I'm so glad I drove his before making the mistake of using poly on mine.

My work-around for an 8 3/4 rear and 6 1/2 leafs is 22 psi rear tires and red koni shocks all around.
I only drive a couple hundred miles a year so the ride never... ever gets old.

Not for me, I like going back in time and driving the American Steel. Yes they are lacking in all kinds of ways compared to modern cars but that is not why I fell in love with them, why I still Love them, and why I will always enjoy the way they feel, drive, smell etc, you all get my drift.

Also, I find my '89 Diplomat Police with the stroked 360 a nice balance. It's a tight car with a good ride, strong brakes, good handling, pretty quiet as far as wind noise, and factory power windows, locks, trunk, intermittent wipers, (cruise and a/c but they are gone), and with the stroked 360 FAST FAST FAST. With all the torque it makes, I can have 3.2 gears with the 727 and it will cruise at 75mph and not be annoying. So a good mix.

Have had similar experience. Hop in my 06 Mustang GT and the world is great. Get in the 69 Cyclone with manual brakes and sloppy steering and whoa.... World of difference there. I'll admit, I'm still not that comfortable with the Cyclone but it certainly is a different experience. Starting to consider getting rid of the older cars and buying a newer Challenger.

I had a stock 76 Road Runner, 318 2bbl, 4spd OD . . . that car was very fun to drive as daily driver ! It handled ok, ride was nice, and got great mileage !! Sure it wasn't fast . . . but in '76 it was all about the decals and flares and louvers !! Course being Orange it stood out !

Also had a 1980 Plymouth Caravelle, 2dr. (in USA it would have been a Diplomat), 318 2bbl, auto, ac/cruise ctl . . again, it was a really nice car to drive. Not fast, but very comfy and got the job done ! . . .

F,M,J body cars are a really nice compromise all round - and as larrymopar360 said, inject some HP and you get a really fun car !!!

It's the tires I'm tired of on mine. I upgraded the suspension with 300# t-bars upfront, five leaf springs in back and factory cop car front and rear sway bars. When I had 15" Radial T/A tires on all four corners it handled good and rode great. I swapped out to 18" Nitto 555 in preparation for a giant brake swap that never materialized and while handling improved even more, the ride quality went straight into the can. Not that I was surprised by it, but after a few years with it and dealing with Michigan roads I think I'm going to step back down to 17" or 16" wheels to get some sidewall back. Whatever accommodates the four piston brake setup I'm planning with 11.75" rotors.

Looking at cats for the exhaust too. While fuel injecting it helped immensely with the smell, it's still there and can become bothersome on long trips.

If you can smell the exhaust you have either got the exhaust too short and not coming out under the car far enough or you have bad trunk seals. You shouldn't have any exhaust fumes inside the car.

If you no longer enjoy the crudeness of it, you can selectively soften up and/or modernize it to try to take the edge off.
I think the choice of vehicle is working against you, though.
E bodies, although beautiful, functionally are not very good choices in a vehicle for someone who appreciates an '80 Regal.

You might want to consider a '73 or later B body instead.....the rubber isolated K frame and suspension
made them much more compliant and cushy. NVH reduction was pretty huge.

As for me, the more I drive modern stuff everyday the more I appreciate the crude, brutal simplicity of older stuff....
however I did choose B bodies because the larger platform just seemed to feel better and make more sense.