Pulley System
if you're big shoots and all new a /6 to V8 swap is gonna be WAY over 10K. hell, an ATK 360 is about 6K alone.
but if you took your time and shopped wisely, selected good used components and didn't shoot the moon (ie 8.25 open rear end instead of 8.75 SG) you could pull that combo together for easily half that.
but again, all I see are excuses and backward reasons on why not to buy something that ostensibly could be a really great car.
in this game, beggars can't be choosers-- especially at your price point. so you either gotta get creative or you gotta put in the work by physically swapping/building what you want; as well as making smart, timely decisions on those items.
frequently if you can do both of those things the end result is much better than what you could buy "off the shelf" and you also come out ahead with a little more money in your account.