Got your message on the painting tips, thanks. Will archive them for the day the big commitment happens. Still buffing through the last coats of lacquer and seeing primer so it won't be too long.
As for the choice in steering, I went to power because of two things. First, with wide bias ply tires it was alot of work to turn at slow speeds such as parallel parking.
Second, was the amount of turns required lock to lock. Once I lost control as I couldn't keep up with the wheel in a power slide. A rookie mistake for sure but I'd swear there was a breeze coming off the wheel (like a fan) as it spun back and forth.
The feel was nice at speed though so that is a consideration. I think Dave likes manual steering. Maybe he will pop in with his opinion.
If you do stay with power and have the money, I would recommend getting a Firm Feel steering box. I replaced the over-powered "original" last July and it has a much better feel. Hence the name. I think there is a thread here about it.