You're looking to spend about $550 or so for most of the welded frames that I know of anymore. And the ones I know of (mentioned at the bottom of my 1st post) are just plain straight guage 4130 Chrome Moly steel. Not that there's anything at all wrong with that.....Especially for a touring frame.

What you might want to consider then, is a used bike that fits you perfectly. If you're like me and that's what you can afford, I'd spend some time over in the Classic & Vintage forum finding out what brands are bargains on the market (Usually the '80s Japanese brands or some of the Treks or Schwinns).

For sizing keep in mind that the old level top tube bikes are either measured from the centerline of the bottom bracket to either the centerline of the top tube, or to the top of the top tube, both along the seatpost......and it pays to find out which if you want your fit to be perfect. If you're looking directly at the bike you should have about 4 fingers between your crotch and the top tube standing straddled over the bike.

There are some great used bargains out there. Just yesterday a guy over in the P&R forum picked up a nice '83 Univega Viva Sport for about $100......One man's junk is another man's treasure.

PS

Don't know what your hubs are but most of the '80s freewheel hub bikes are 126mm between dropouts and the newer cassette setups are usually 130mm. You can cold-set steel bikes and have them spread to 130. You can't do that with aluminum.