Ok my take, if i got the car cheap, and in somewhat shitty condition, I will mod the hell out of it. Weld a sunroof, add SSR Mk1 rims, maybe engine swap..
But if the car is mint, and close to all original, no way I am modding. I will try to keep it as stock as possible, unless absolutely necessary.
I cringe when I see people who got a nice older car then go on and put 17" or 18" rims and say they "need" to "drop" the car, then complain they cant get their jack under the car to service it, or complain their chassis scrapes on any humps or elevations.
Also those who cut wires as they like then find lots of trouble tracing which wires perform what function.
I faced these litanies of headaches with my old car, the saga. The previous owner added a amp, and with it lots of wires, also when the power window relay failed, the auto electrician bypassed it and add a wire and fuse above the footwell. Then more and more wires and object accumulate, like central lock and alarm, adding to the mess. Those bunch of wires then is tied up just above the brake pedal. After some years, the wires sag, and at times, the tip of my shoe snags these wires. causing some failures of either the radio, alarm, or power windows. It is scary for me to try to trace and re route these wires when I am no electrical expert.
Plus I have seen how paint shops just use lots of filler to cover existing rust and then repaint, ..the rust always comes back within a year. My advice is you fix and treat the rust yourself, before sending for painting.
I would much rather get a good condition old school car with original parts, wiring and paint, and work from there to keep it in tip top shape. No dropping, swapping engines/gearbox etc.