Thanks for the info Harley. I appreciate it.
The term "open" rear end or rear axle means it didn't come from the factory with an "Equa Lock" differential. On the rear axle code on the build tag the restoration guide lists 1, 4, 5, and 6 as open and A and D ones with Equa Lock. Mine does a pretty good one wheel peel so I'm pretty sure it doesn't have an Equa Lock.
I played around with the power windows today and got them working. Basically the lock unlock switch was stuck in the lock posit.
I intended to repair/restore the steering column in a similar fashion to
this thread, though I will do a little more troubleshooting prior to buying a bunch of unneeded parts.
I'd read that Autolite carbs were OE and they were quality. I could tell that the Holley one was a replacement given all of the crazy rigging that had been done: I assumed that Ford didn't use coat hangers as OEM throttle linkages...
Thanks,
-Matt.