The car looks to me to be worth well in excess of $1500. You scored!!
As far as the low, dark and slow part of it, I'm in with that.

If you do start thinking about a more modern powertrain for the car, buy a whole running car with the motor/trans you want and part it out. Use what you need and sell off the rest. That's the way I have done it for years and it really works out well. You don't have to chase down any other parts, you have all the wiring right there and when you're done, you get to recoup some of the money you paid for the donor. I have actually come out on the plus side a couple of times.