Welcome from Alberta Canada.
As
@GrimsterGMC said, toss us some pics to see what you have going on.
My .02c (Canadian, so less than freedom bucks) is to get the mechanicals sorted out first. I know it's no fun that way, but no sense having a decent body wrapped around a pole because something broke, or rear ended someone because the brakes failed.
You can go as cheap as you want or spend more then you can imagine on paint.
Spent some time on YouTube University watching videos. Particularly Kevin Tetz. He's a shill for Eastwood, who are a decent budget friendly DIY paint supplier.
And post some pics....I love me the steppys, lol.
I have a 91.