Agreed, welcome. You must have bought that proton off that lady who's husband hated the VX in Austin :-)
It will be a rough ride, comes with the territory, you could drop new shocks in, but why...that is half the fun - feeling every bump. If the rear view is a must, Tone sells some pretty sweet and inexpensive rear view cameras and displays. Quite innovative, they go right on the rearview. You might look into the little fisheye mirrors to put on the sideviews, they are a huge help