I will introduce myself along with some information and pictures of my Kingswood.
I am Peter from Brisbane. As a young boy and into my teens I dreamt of owning a GTR Torana. Unfortunately it never happened. If only I knew then what a collectors car it would become.
Purchased my first car, a HT Belmont, when 18. Kept it for 3 years. Purchased the HJ Kingswood from Andersons Auto City, Gladstone in 1977 as the second owner with 24,253 kilometres on the clock. It was pretty much a fully optioned Kingswood, 4.2 litre, T bar automatic, GM factory integrated air conditioning with tinted windows, tinted top band laminated windscreen, power steering and metallic 2 tone paint.
The car was initially a showroom demonstrator with the first owner apparently being the ‘milkman’ in Gladstone from the mid 70’s. (If anyone here can supply further info on the original owner I would be most appreciative)
I drove the Kingswood for 25 years, retiring it only due to the cost of petrol to keep it running. The car was than stored in a shed for 17 years before deciding that it should be restored. So the project begins.
I am not a mechanic, self taught from growing up on and then owning a farm for some 20 years. So plenty of potential questions to the knowledgeable people on here.
Some pictures of the car after being pulled from shed after 17 years of storage.

Thanks HK1837.
It is a Feb (IIRC) 1976 build. It does have the canister just no hoses connected after I installed a Holley 350 carburettor.
I don’t have any pictures of the VIN at present. Will take one when I next visit the site where it is stored.
You are right about the heater tap. I am also worried about finding a new/second hand rear bumper. I don’t think the damage to it can be repaired to as new condition.

I was planning to keep it as original as possible but the more I get into it the harder it is to do that. The biggest problem I find is that it is hard to obtain ‘correct’ information plus newer technology like the HEI distributor and coil is a desirable upgrade.
I pulled the inlet manifold off the other day only to find it had some corrosion about the size of a match head that was letting water leak into the engine. Do I repair or go as you suggested? Decisions decisions.