The original gist of my idea was not to get an already inexpensive frame cheaper, but rather to make the type of frame that would normally be upwards of $800 within the financial grasp of those who mostly would not have that type of scratch to drop on a frame.

I was also thinking frame only, so people could kind of tweak the handling by going with a road or track fork. Then again, i'm not sure how beneficial this would be.

In any event my general idea was a material like columbus life, reynolds 853, or 3/2.5 ti, welded, clearance for a front brake, and a bit short of true track geometry. Then pair it up with a carbon fork off of ebay, chucksbikes, nashbar...