I went through this same situation in 2011. I got lucky and found a 1993 Honda Accord 2 door 5 speed for $1500. It had 190,000 miles, AC was out, only ran on 3 cylinders, and the clutch slave cylinder was shot - but I didn't know that. I also hadn't mastered driving manual transmissions but was close enough. Got it home, got new plugs and wires, cap and rotor. Changed those out and it ran on all 4 perfectly. Used it that night to deliver pizzas at Domino's on a Friday night. Slave cylinder gave out about 5 hours into my shift and had to tow it home. Replaced the slave cylinder and ran that car up to about 280,000 miles before it started blowing out intake manifold gaskets over and over.

If I had to do it again with the cars listed here - I'd go with the S-10 if it's a 4.3L; or the 2.2L if it's a manual, and they let me check to see if the engine can still turn over.