Although I would still suggest what I did in my initial reply (and what others have likewise suggested), namely to go to some club events, look at cars, and talk with owners, quite frankly at that level of budget your kit preference may not matter much. You can find cars in that range if you look but unless you find someone in dire need of cash, you’re likely to be dealing with cars that didn’t turn out as expected or are desperate for a lot of love. I would recommend joining as many Cobra-related forums as possible and scouting the for sale sections because that’s probably where you’re most likely to find the best combination of low-cost cars for sale and owners you can “check out” a little (by searching their post history and reading the comments they’ve posted). I’ve considered buying cars and bikes from people off of forums before, only to search their past posts and find references to them having wrecked the vehicle they’re now trying to sell.
If you up your budget by $10K or so and look around, you can start to find cars like this:
https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds...a/2364990.html