My 81 wagon seems to have a clear coat. At least where it it's faded and peeling.
Granted it's not a lot. There is a place-mat sized area on the roof, some along the roof line above the gutter and behind the rear door handle.
Last summer, I used a 1000 grit stone sanding block (like a knife sharpening block but made for paint) and wet sanded one small area to get most of the clear coat off (tread lightly!). Then I switched to 1500 grit paper over a padded sanding block and worked my way up to 2500 grit.
At his point the clear coat was off and the paint was even and smooth. Then I rubbed it with a light polishing compound, cleaned it good and then waxed it.
In the end, the spot I worked on looked like the rest of the car that didn't have any fading clear coat.
I have a feeling there may have been clear coat on the entire car and someone in the past polished most of it off. If I run my fingernail from the nice paint to the faded area, it feels like the faded part is a layer on top. When that layer comes off, the paint looks great.
I got the sanding stone at a place called Wesco Auto Body Supply. I have no idea if they are "nation wide" (like ZZ Top) but I'm sure you can get one at your local. I took my car there and showed him what I wanted to do and he set me up.
Good luck!