Here's my 2 cents,
Being a yank myself I'm a bit partial to the vette seeing that I owned one as well I loved the car. I had no rattles in mine. Souped up the engine with some minor mods and was pushing 400+ ponies.
You have got to remember that a vette is a fast car not a quick car. Vettes were made going fast and handling. they pull a 1g on the skid pad. Being a IRS car if you put too much grunt there you'll just snap the U joints and mess up your half shafts. You can change the rear out and put the straight axle on it but you'll lose on handling. You want a monster fast track car get a camaro. Millions of parts and aftermarket stuff. If your planning into just barely dipping onto the 10's I thing the Vette half shafts will stand but you have to get the super heavy duty U joints. But just to have something different go the vette I see skylines all the time and if I see a sweet looking line its got my attention, but since only a few people own vettes here it is a stand out car no matter what year it is. if you do the same with that your old man did with buick you'll be a pimping mofo.
Back home there is a saying among vette owners, "There are two kinds of people in the world. Vette owners and those that wish they were."
After having one I have to agree.