How much do you have to spend? Do you have a job or rich parents who will buy you what you want? If not you need a plan to get some cash. I mowed lawns to buy my first car.I never drove it on the road because I didn't know how to do a brake job.
I have a few project cars that I'll probably never find time to work on That I would sell for under $1000. If you lived around here I could hire you part time in my body shop to help pay for it.
I wish people would put their state in their profile. Smithtown could be anywhere USA. If I said I was from Portland it could mean I'm in Oregon or Maine. Jonney and I might be neighbors. I'm about 30 miles from Littleton N.H. unless Jonney lives in Colorado. I think there's a Littleton in Massachusetts too.
<--<< As you can see from my avatar I'm centrally located near Norway, Paris, Sweeden, Denmark, Etc.
You'll need at least $5000 to get a 32 to 34 project that only an expert could restore and double that for a rough but running car.
Your best bet would be to buy a 80s Camaro or Mustang that runs good. They're reasonably priced and can be hopped up as you go. There's also plenty of used parts in the junkyards for them. They're mostly V6s but you can swap in a small block V8 later. A firebird is usually cheaper than a Camaro even though they're both the same car.
Don't settle for an import. Nobody here wants you to become one of them ricers.
AL