Hmm...that's a tough one and here is my take on it.

You are right about this being a very different and therefore unique ride. Take it from a guy who's been building M-body cars for...ohhh, let's see, about 30 yrs now. These rides (and you can probably include the F & J bodies in there) never got any respect, even from the "home crowd", or to put it better, especially from the "home crowd"...LOL, get where I'm going?

So it may be a case of "beauty is in the eye of the beholder", and you may be hard pressed finding someone who can appreciate that ride the way YOU had appreciated it all those years.

In the end, pick your battles and/or priorities: if you want to move more to the street, I would happily recommend a nicely cammed say mid-240s @ 0.050 roller, with a good flowing set of heads on a SB stroker motor...plenty of "go", fun, and it still has that tell-tale sound to let others know "you mean business"!!! Otherwise, maybe part it out as per your considerations and keep fond memories of what once was?