Honestly, I think the Ford 302 (5.0) os much better than the 4.6. Now, my advice may be a little biased but the best thing I can say to you is buy a 93+ Camaro v8, so you'll get the LT1, properly call the cast iron king. Though not as fast as the newer more refined LS1, it is a powerful, torquey motor. It has A LOT of potential, the Iron block makes it better than the LS1 for FI... you can build it up n/a, heads cam, etc, even stroke it. And you can definitely find it in your $$$ range.
Oh, and year for year, the F-body is always faster.