Hellraiser---some advice from and old hot rodder. You have far more money to put towards an engine than I ever did, with any of the rods I have built, (and thats quite a few). Look in your local paper for used cars that people want to sell "as is". Many of these cars still have excellent drive trains in them, but 1---the guy has went to trade it in on a newer car and realized it has no or very little trade in value on a commercial lot, or 2--the body is rotted bad, and the guy figures that the car is too old to invest the money in for a body and paint job, or 3---the car looks great, runs well, but the frame is rotted thru (that happens a lot here in Ontario Canada). You can buy these cars for mext to nothing, or at least under $1000. Do a compression test on the engine, check the colour of the oil and tranny fluid, smell the tranny fluid---if it has a burned smell or is black, don't buy it. Listen to the engine run, look for smoke, listen for knocks. Hold a sheet of paper over the tail pipe while the car is running at idle---if the paper sucks back against the pipe, that indicates a bad valve in the engine. Check under the car for oil leaks. Have the owner start the car for you while the engine is cold. Then let it warm up for 10 minutes and have him start it hot. Put the car in gear, hold your foot on the brake, and give it some gas gradualy---does the transmission slip? try to have the seller take you for a test drive (not always possible) If you decide the engine is good, buy the car and tow it home. Pull the engine, pull the driveshaft, pull the horns, pull the interior rear view mirror,pull the battery,pull the master cylinder and brake booster, pull the speedometer cable and housing, pull the fuse panel, in short, pull off everything you could conceivably use on your rod. Then call your local wrecker and they will generally come and tow away the hulk for nothing.
Use the rest of your $4500 to buy chrome, paint, and services that you are unable to perform yourself. That is the way the 90 percent of us rodders who can not afford new crate motors do it and still have enough money left to pay the mortgage, put the kids thru college, etcetera.