Regency Wall boards reno q's

Hey ppls,
Currently i am reno-ing an inner room that for some unknown reason had not been walled with the same boards all the way around the room...
The bulk of the original room is lined with Regency profile pine boards (vertical), approx. 150mm wide x 22mm thick. I am removing the other crudd boards used in this room and discovering that there is only one noggin, about half way up the wall (approx 1500mm). Overall wall height is about 3050mm.
Of course in a house this old... the wall height varies along the length of the wall in question. lol
Anyway, i have got hold of 24 second hand boards of matching profile, width and thickness to re-line the wall with, and thus have matching walls all round the whole room.
My goal with the room reno is not to make it like new, just blend the "new boards" in with the original boards to complete the room.

The 2nd hand boards are a mix of who knows how many different colours, paint types (original lead type, oil based, and or water based), textures (some have a sort of suede paint on part of them), and thicknesses of these too. Also there appears to be some sort of flexible filler that was used to fill in the gaps left by bowed boards along the tongue and groove (which I did not pick from the stocks for sale).

All done outside under a carport away from the house:
I guess a process of removal of the filler with a metal spatula/scraper, loose flaky paint, and any drips/chunks of paint, putty etc too while at it in this step.
Then a bout of sanding (while wearing the protective gear), with the “fine” belt, to remove the lumps and bumps remaining.
Lastly docking the boards to get a square end to measure from and cut to length for the wall to fit them to.

Fitting the boards – due to the age of the hardwood studs and noggins, is pre-drilling all holes the only way to go?
Should I use nails or Robertson screws to fix the boards in place? Either way the heads need to be puttied before painting.

Any criticisms and ideas appreciated.


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