Welcome aboard John.

Ironicly you'll be arriving in Phoenix at just the time their more active rod season will be winding down.....................snow birds will have parked their rides for "the season", or will have dragged them to their other home for "the season" there. The full time locals are less enthused about the heat.

I would recommend you take your time figuring out what you want, do lots of research on where the market is, what really kicks your tires. There are many facits to our hobby from very traditional stuff that emulates the immediate post WWII "golden age", through 50s and 60s style, then the fat part of the resale market, left over cars from the 80s and 90s. From what I see there are an awful lot of those cars from the 90s hitting the market. Infirmed or departed owners/relatives, financial crunch, who knows all the motives, but cars with graphic laden paint schemes and swoopy sculpted multi color interiors are pretty dated right now and have the shortest lines of buyers. Those in the know realize it can cost upwards of $20k to repaint and reupholster (depending on tastes and skills), so while the owners are trying to get top dollar, the potential buyers are walking away. That's just one example of what you'll be exposed to, there are more, and I'm not trying to discourage you, just warn you that misplaced enthusiasm can be costly. On the other hand, if you join up with some of the local rodders there you can learn a lot about what's available. The best time to buy a local car in that area will be next winter when more of them will be out and about. Dive in, it's a ball.