79 Pacecar

x2 and have been looking for a project or a damn reason to start one.

Exactly.
You have the same problem that I do, being in the northeast. If we were to go looking for a similar car at a similar price, it would be a rotted out POS. Get a car from the southwest, and I'll bet there is next to no rust on it at all. Granted, the car would still need work, but you would have a solid foundation to work with.