All good info, guys. Please keep it coming. For me, this is about hotrod/street rod. I'm not interested in restored original cars, they're very cool but not for me. I never thought a about the lack of ride height adjustability in a Corvette rear suspension, that's a great point. I want the car to be fast, but it'll see little if any actual drag racing. A '32 is very clearly out of the question. I only want a steel car. I completely understand those of you who have 'glass cars and love them, but its just not what I'm looking for. That leaves me with a steel 1931 as my only financial option, it would appear.

So, given what I have described above about the car, and I completely understand it's not much to go on, would $20K be out of line?

What is good/bad to look out for in front suspensions? Also, I keep reading that the '31 frames are weak. Without re-framing the car, which is out of the questions, are there some readily available strengthening kits available that will shore it up to an acceptable level?

Thanks for all the great input, I'm learning more each day. Please keep the input coming.