A thorough clean and polish would do so much.
If the pickups still work, then I’d leave them in. Maybe sandpaper on the pole pieces to get them shiney? Just don’t use wire wool!
My 12 yr old daughter liked my Squier CV Mustang, but ultimately preferred her Ukelele!
I think there’s some decent options out there, so it’ll boil down to what inspires her enough to pick it up.
I had one in the finish you sought - I accidentally killed the preamp so got a passive loom. Worked really well. So comfortable to play with such a perfect balance. I eventually decided the neck was too skinny for me so sold it. Maybe I should have kept hold of it 🤪
Not sure where you are in the world, but Newtone strings in the UK will make a custom set for you. Might be worth a look when you next need a new set for the 38” beast!
The only jazz version I had was ash bodied, and was heavy as hell (sounded awesome though).
Had a PB50 that @yorks5stringerhad sprayed LPB nitro and that was ace (just decided single coil Ps weren’t for me).
I would summise that the weight is all in the body, but also some of the sound might be, too?
I surprised myself with how easy it was to make a scratch plate. Bought a blank from eBay, made a paper template, cut out with a jigsaw, finessed the shape with a bit of sand paper, edges beveled by dragging a blade over them at a 45% angle.