I'd love a wooden antique, but really, if I could spring for $700/mo hangar rent and so forth, I'd already have one.

I think an aluminum ship without too much horsepower would actually be kept and used by many EAA'ers. Not much point in giving a homebuilt - still need A&P to work on if you weren't the builder.

Something with a little panache - how about a Varga Kachina...or Cessna 190 (sigh).