Good story, and the portions about fixing silly little things that add up is oh so common.

On that front end spacing, if that has the typical MII based suspension as many of those seemed to have, you can get "narrowed" upper and lower control arms that will give you an extra 5/8" per side (Heidt's is one supplier). Also, if you're careful about sourcing the front disc brakes you can save another 1/2" or so (ECW is one source).