still enjoying the hell out of this little truck - the meet-ups with other monteros and friends, and the trail runs around southern california are precisely why i worked to find one like this, and then spent so much time asking questions and fixing it up. really grateful to the folks here at ADD (past and present) for the advice and help.
picked up some aftermarket headlight doors to replace the 30-year-old, cracked and brittle plastic - they seem just like the originals as far as quality goes. a bit of flash to trim off, but otherwise look perfect.
also spent some time in the snow. dual LSDs really seem to be the ticket for a lightweight truck, and i didn't run into much trouble in deep, fresh snow.