Hi rubycob1 - You sound like you are in a similar position to what I was in January 2012. I hope you get the car you want with a bit less pain than me. I had similar criteria to yours so I bought a V8 TVR. It was in good mechanical condition and the shell was reasonable. It is always worth buying the best you can get.
Then I was persuaded by some TVR lovers that it was too good to cut up so I decided to keep it and go for a Scimitar. I ended up selling the TVR to Chris at Tribute Automotive (the forum below this one) who cut it up anyway and turned it first into a Ferrari 250 and then a D Type.
When I bought the Scimitar I ignored the advice to buy the best you could afford and spent the following 9 months stripping back, cleaning up, welding together and rebuilding. The engine bay needed more than the usual detailing.
Then I had a slight accident. This put everything on hold for 6 months while they decided whether I would keep the foot or not. It became clear I wouldn't be driving a manual geared car any time soon so I sold my G46 to MickeyMo who is now reselling it having put the finishing touches and paint onto it. I believe that make it the first (only?) G46 on the road with MOT and I am pleased to have sold it to someone who made such aa good job of it. After the work I put in it would have been a shame to see it rust away.
While laid in bed I had plenty of time to think and plan. My criteria had changed slightly in that I needed an automatic now. most old automatics are pretty rubbish so I started looking at more modern cars. This made the whole rebody thing more challenging as it is harder with modern monocoques. I found the Tribute site with the MX5 Ferraris but wanted more than 4 cylinders and a better noise. After lots of thinking I decided a BMW 2.8 would be a good engine and as the panels on a Z3 unbolted it would be a good donor. A bit of research into period cars that I liked the shape of led me to the Maserati 300S and as it was a modern car the time was taken getting the kit built for me rather than rebuilding the donor. These are now available as kits.
Sorry for the long post but it has been a long journey. I thought I would share so you can see what happens to great plans