Low-Buck Modern Muscle!

Lately, even "Entry-level" musclecars-i.e 383 Road Runners, 400 GTOs ( Excluding Judge, RAIII, RAIV or 455HO models ) 396 Chevelles, ( Not L78s or L89s) 289 or 351 64-70 Mustangs ( Excluding Shelbys, Boss 302s, and 428 Mach 1s )  etc can fetch 15 or 20 or 25 thousand dollars if their nicely restored. That's beyond a lot of people's budgets for a second or third car. ( Assuming they have a daily driver and their spouse does too.) However, people on a limited budget can still enjoy a high-performance american muscle car, they'll just have buy something newer. This isn't a bad thing. There are a number of cars out there dirt-cheap that have tremendous potential. #1 1979-93 Ford "5.0" Mustang. The fuel-injected 87-93 models are the best performers and most reliable. Big fun stock, and there is a ton of factory and aftermarket speed equipment available for these cars. I have seen rough, but running examples as low as $800 and anything over $2,000 is usually pretty nice. #2 1982-92 Camaro/Firebird. The downside is most models had underpowered 305 Chevys under the hood. The upside is a stout 350, 383 or 400 small-block is a bolt-in. # 3 1985-91 Chevrolet Corvette. Corvette collectors snub these cars while chasing the later LT1, and LS1, LS2 and LS3 models. These cars are a screaming bargain. I have seen decent examples on used car lots for as low as $3,000! The TPI 350 made 250 hp and 330 lbs ft of torque stock, and is easy to work on. With very little work you can up both those figures by 100. Or you could swap in a killer 383. Either way, you could give those smug later model owners a run for their money they won't soon forget!  #4 1993-2002 Z/28 Camaro/ Firebird Formula and Trans-Am. I have seen these cars for as low as $3,000 as well. The LT1 and LS1 motors have about 300 hp stock, and again, you can up that by 100 or 150 amazingly easy. #5 2005 and later Hemi Charger/ Chrysler 300C. These cars are under $10,000 in any state in the union. Most have leather, CD player, and a ton of luxury options. The 5.7 Hemi has 340 hp stock, and there is a ton of aftermarket equipment available. #6 2004-2006 Pontiac GTO  I have seen these cars as low as $8200 at auctions. Yet they feature the LS1/LS2 heart of a Vette. 350 hp from the 5.7L 2004 models, and 400 ponies from the 6.0L 2005-2006 models. Something to think about if you don't major bucks for your '60's or 70's dream car, but still want some all-American muscle under your right foot. Mastermind