Welcome to the site. We'll help as much as we can. I would second Arlie's idea of the coupe. Fastbacks are expensive, although if that's what you want, go for it. However, I've seen rust free coupe's that run go for $2500. I would suggest learning your skills on a car that you can get cheap and drive while you work on it. When you have extra money, go through the brakes, maybe do a disc conversion if it's a drum brake car. A little later drop in a mild performance motor, etc. Be patient, and when you stumble on a killer deal on a fastback, you can always pull the nice new stuff off the coupe and put it on the fastback, and move on a little at a time from there. As you get ready to tackle a project, we'll offer advice and moral support. The important thing is to have a good base to start from. By the way, way back when, I fell in love with an Eleanor myself-the original one. There I was, at a drive in movie in a '72 R code Mach 1, watching that unbelievable car chase. I wasted a good set of tires after the movie that night and haven't grown up yet.
Steve
PS. Does your local comm. college offer an auto shop class. They'll teach you everything you need to know and may even let you bring in your ride for your class project. Something to think about.