I admittedly didn't read your whole post, nor the complete replies thus far, so I apologize if I duplicate anything...

Anyhow, sounds like you've done your research to me, and you know what you want.

The only year you can get fuel injection and the classic early type grille is '72. But it is possible to retrofit the early grille and bumpers from a '72 to a '73. You need to remove a bar (held in with a couple spot welds) at the bottom of the plastic grill, and drill some holes I think to mount the biggie grille that will make the lowered front bumper look at home. In '74, they changed to the shock absorber bumper mounts, and it would be tough to fit the early grille.

Most folks (as you've read) don't like automatics. THey suck power, and they don't last as long. But if you *really* want one with an auto, what the heck. Figure a transmission rebuild into your purchase price. But the price of the car will be much, much, much less...just because they ain't desirable. DON'T convert a nice stick shift car to auto... it'll cost a lot, and you'll lose a lot of equity. A good manual shift car can be got for...say...$1500-3000+. A good clean auto car can be had for a few hundred bucks I expect. Keep an eye on ebay.

Better dash in the later cars... thats a bit subjective. I like the early dash. If you want a late one, get a late one.

Fuel mileage... wouldn't count on more than about 18 or so in town. Perhaps ~24 highway witth the auto..if that. Not great. Don't worry about it.

I personally prefer carbs to injection, but that's just because I dont' mind tinkering from time to time. Hard to fix an injection problem roadside. The injection is wonderful when it works right.

As with all cars, your number one concern is gonna be finding a good rust free, unmolested example. Something with fairly low miles, and good original wiring. A good interior would be nice too. And watch for cracks in the dash.

Happy hunting, and keep us posted!
-Matt
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-Matt '70 145s, '65 1800s, '66 122s wagon, others inc. '53 XK120 FHC