Well I found out why the axle is different from the build sheet...
Notice the trim paint along the lower panels. On the front door, the silver paint is on the rocker line while the rest is factory blue, but on the back door and quarter panel the silver paint is along the top line while the rest is black. REPLACEMENTS...
I asked my dad if they had any body work done and he was like "oh yeah, I tried to turn left across a highway and there was a concrete median and while I was trying to get straight somebody hit me and crushed the whole rear" ... the axle was folded over along with the rest of the rear quarters, and so it was all replaced. Sheesh.
After I got the panels cleaned I put some test paint on the right side. This is the blue metallic Rustoleum rattle-can, about five coats. It's like electric blue lol--way too bright although it looks good for what it is
Also noticed while poking at headlights and grille that the header was destroyed. The little square clips that act as screw anchors were half missing, because the fiberglass holes had been torn. So I bought another header panel. Good news is that I discovered three radiators--I know that one is the factory tranny cooler, and I guess the other is a factory oil cooler but I don't know for sure.
I need to think about next steps some more. The doors need to be replaced because of excess damage (left front is warped along leading edge and has major rust at the rocker), and the hatch has some cracks in the fiberglass, and I need to remove that stuff for full prime and paint anyway so I may just replace with new-to-me parts (especially a set of 97+ doors with the old 91 chrome trim swapped on).
I need to test a few more colors too. I am 90% sure that I will do rattle-can Rustoleum, about 7 coats with wet-sanding in between since it will allow the easiest touch-up.