TJ,
The nose-up stance is because the engine is out being rebuilt. The chrome reverses on the front are just temporary rollers. The car had all 4 15x7 E-Ts. That's the way the original owner had it set up back in the '70s, blue drums and all. And you're right......he did have a set of cut-outs welded into the original front pipes. He later removed them and welded plates over the holes! The original head pipes/mufflers are still on the car.
Verne