Newbie stupid questions about restoring a vintage tail dragger

[bbutler455]

I have been learning about my building/restoring options over in the homebuilder forum. I have arrived at the conclusion that I an a restorer that likes to fly rather than a flyer that likes to restore. I am 63 years old and have run out of interesting cars and motorcycles to restore. Why not a cool old airplane? I am anal about my restorations and all my projects are more reliable than new. I am retired, have time, and a modest portfolio. If I could sit on Santa's lap... what would I want for Christmas? Given my wish list below... what models should I look at?

1. It has to be a significant aircraft, worthy of being returned to the air. Piper, Aeronca, Champion, Bellanca, Stinson, Taylor, Luscombe, etc. - Upper-wing tail-draggers seem like a lot of fun, significant aircraft milestones, and affordable.

2. I want to do much of the non-technical work myself with the over-sight of a certified FAA mechanic. That being said, I don't want to spend the next three years building a kit from scratch.

3. My shop is at my lake house. I need to be able to trailer the finished plane to the air field.

4. Airplane specific user forums, plans, and documentation will be important.

5. I want to fly low and slow, but want good STOL and climb performance. (Local IFR flying with a few cross country trips.) Mild aerobatic capability would be nice.

6. I need cockpit room and carrying capacity to carry myself and an instructor or occasional passenger. Open to tandem seating. What's the catch? I am 300lbs, 6' tall, with wide shoulders (4x shirt).

7. The plane needs to be easy to fly. I flew with my father when young and have had lessons, but will be completing my pilot's license while working on the plane. I'm a newbie. A forgiving plane is on my wish list.

8. The plane needs to be a reasonable financial investment. (stop laughing) All the flying members of my family spend stupid money on very nice production planes built by somebody else. They fly all over the country. This is not me. I usually come close to break even on my vintage sports cars and motorcycles. Even my boat is a 16 year old COBALT that will never be worth less than I paid for it. I would like to restore a vintage plane for $25-30k that is worth at least what I put in it.

My apologies if any of this sounds like pie-in-the-sky. It's always been this way. I get an itch to restore something and then start learning everything there is to know about it. It's a process.

Any suggestions for specific aircraft and models I should check out?

Thanks
Brock