Why not build a strip jeep?
Easy to work on, and would be somewhat challenging!
Get a cj8, weight nothing to begin with, drop in a big block, pull out the front end and put in a solid beam axle, and let'er rip!!
hmm Maybe....
Good luck and don't just disappear! but if you want to build a street/strip car, I would avoid a older olds for two reasons, they are too beautiful to strip down and gut and are getting rare#2 they are a little bit heavy! I would look for a early-mid 80's G-body or F-body, they can be found for next to nothing, and are pretty inexpensive to find parts.
A friend that races has a slick car he built for dirt cheap cash, 81 firebird, no interior, no wipers, fattys out back and pizza cutters on the front, but he essentially runs a 87 GN drive train that he got from a junked car. built the entire car for about $4000 which includes the purchase price of both cars, all the adapters and subframe connectors and performance goodies, and runs into the low 12's to high 11's consistantly!
OH ya, G-body~cutlass, reagal, Monte carlo (non ss), grand prix, grand national
f-body~camaro, firebird