I figured you guys would know an answer to this if anyone would, and I'd probably enjoy your answers the most as anyone who reads Car Craft would have to have a similar mind as mine

4th gen camaro with the LT1

4 gen Vette

monte carlo ss aero coupe (if you can find one for that cheap)

73-77 malibu

73 74 el camino ss (came with SBC 400)

78-81 malibu

4th gen el camino

you can probably find a 4th gen camaro or vette well under your price cap and have some upgrade money left.

Don't leave out a notchback LX 5.0 mustang either those cars rock!

good luck on making your choice.

 hey i drive an 88 5.0 mustang as a daily driver, its a great car. they are cheep to buy, easy to work on and parts are pretty cheep and easy to find. if you find a stocker or a clean four banger there are tons of projects for ya, if you like to werk on yer car. i love mine, if you build it right it will look muscular. bein in the rust belt i do have a winter beater so i couldnt tell ya about how it runs in the winter

yeah, any of those cars you posted would be sweet, id drive any one of em.  

What area of the country you live in?  If you're going to drive it in salt, I'm going to recommend not building a daily driver hot rod.  You don't want to put all that work into a car, and then have it rust out from underneath you.  If you're in arizona or down south you're fine. It also matters if your area has smog regulations or not.  A sbc in a s10 is pretty manageable, and can be useable as a daily.  You've got a pickup bed to haul stuff, and more than enough grunt to spin the tires.  It would be my recommendation.  You wanna hear about imports, I suggest a different forum.

I think An 87 monte carlo with a tbi 305 would be a good car they get decent gas milage and are fairley fast and look pretty good and they handle ok and since it already has a v8 you can buy hop up parts and they could be transfered to a 350 depending  

Sorry you don't like the thrid gen - I didn't either until I bought one for my kid. I drove it around and liked it enough that I bought an IROC.  We ended up replacing his 305 with a 350 crate motor, and we had one of our friends do the tranny for a reasonable price.  With motor, struts, brakes, shocks in the rear, new tires, and the computer/tbi upgrades I don't think we have more than 4 grand into it (that includes the price of the car).  We did get a steal on the car, but there are so many around that you are bound to find one in good physical shape for dirt cheap.  We have to pass emissions up here, but even with that we were able to use a better than standard cam + a custom chip from jet, and the result is a car that has some real grunt.  Heck, it's a 350 on steroids pushing a car that's over 1/2 engine compartment.  Not bad.    Happy building - Bowser  

Here is a site that's great on this subject: www.joesfalcon.com  

Why don't you build one like mine?
It's a 1987 Monte Carlo SS with a 406 cid 6-speed T-56, TPI from a 1988 Fbody I converted to speed density.
I think the Monte SS is the closest you can come to a 'chevelle'-type of newer car.. it has the frame, the room for the kiddies and it is about the same weight as the Fbody... and it looks tuff!!
When I bought mine new (it was stolen and recovered twice so you know it is a popular car even with the crooks!) I don't like the Aerocoupes though, it just plain sux, I think it looks wierd!
Anyway, I haven't had so much fun driving since I street-raced my 1965 GTO...
With the double-overdrive I can run my 3:73's and jump on the highway and drop to a little over 1700 RPM at 65 MPH.

i think you should help me fix my 67 cutlass supreme that im having to rebuild a 455 pontiac screaming chickin motor into . at least until you decide. lol. then i can give you one of the motors ive got in my shed out back so then you can place into any car body you want relation to the motor and starter side. lol and they are a 455 olds. 400 442 olds., 307 old or a 350 olds the last one is a good one because they also put diesels in some model olds and you know what kind of block those took. bullet proof ones. lol .anyway . this prolly didnt help ya but i sure could use the help.lol . friends helping friends ... hell ya'

a 307 is a chevy motor, and olds diesels(don't even think about it)  

olds put 307 in alot of 98 regencys and in cutlass around early 80 s your prolly thinking of chev. 305 . even thought olds and pontiac are concittered part of gm . they are superior motors and are different in that the power the quality , price and motor acually operates in the opposite direction. counterclockwise. price a 350 chev. crate and a olds 350 or  up your lucky to find 350 olds if you do it would be around 3300 for crate when a chev 350 is around 1500

olds/ pontiac askes wheres the bow tie? response is back there....

1987/1988 Ford Thunderbird Turbo Coupe. Lots of options, great handling, 4-wheel discs, turbo motor, T5 stick shift with 3.55 posi, stock. Even has EFI, A/C, and heat to live with everyday. Wanna go fast? Find a no or low-option car. Want to have modern amenities? Find a loaded one with power moonroof, leather, automatic climate control, etc. RWD and made in the USA. I love them.

   Oldsmobile made a 307 with a 3.80 bore and a 3.385 stroke from 1980-1990. The 350 diesel block was a different casting than the gas block. Much thicker. Most of the serious racers use those making anywhere from 800-1000hp normally aspirated. 1700hp with a turbo.

Yea - It's my understanding that the main journals in those diesel blocks are the same size as those on a big block.  Conversions are indeed possible and strong engines can be made if a clean block can be found.  It's also my understanding that the lower ends of those diesels sometimes took a beating and that's why they were junked in the first place.  If I could get a good look at the bottom end of a 350 Olds diesel and could find a clean strong one, I would not hesitate to buy it for a build. 

The 307 is an Olds engine that I had to read up on to get familier with.  They typically are not a good builder since they have "windowed mains" which I have to honestly say I have never seen on an Olds.  That's to say I have never had a 307 or 403 apart before.  This type of main does not have full solid castings between the main cap bases and the block like you do on all the earlier blocks (like the 330, 350, 400, 425, and 455).  The 307 is a good basic engine that works well for road cars, but it tends to be a little punky for builds because the bottom end is a weak point.  403 is better because it is more like a big block, and is worth doing some bottom end reinforcements.  They can be made fairly strong and are worth messing with if that's what you got.  I wouldn't advise constant high speed thrashing as a race engine though.

That's what I know - Bowser