I had a VT LS1 exec 6 speed before I had my line.
I had it for 3 years.
All I had on it was a set of 17's, full exhaust, some suspension and a tune
made 213rwkw and did EC in 2.02
Not bad for a big taxi!!!
It was big, roomy and confortable.
I had a few options in it - cruise, cd, air, power windows, lsd so yeah, was pretty good, cheaper to insure than an SS also. Never had dramas with oil consumption or piston slap.
I really liked that car!
Id suggest though going for a VXii LS1 powered commodore. Slightly more refined.
Just keep looking around, you'll find a decent one around after a while! Some standard, some minor mods, some wild mods.
One thing though I cannot stress though, is make sure you have an exhaust on it as its bloody quiet when standard!!!!!!
I sold it for 19.5k back in 2005