If your looking to build something up from a frameset you cant beat the mid to late 80's Schwinn's with the Tenax tubing (Panasonic built) or the 3 tube Columbus SL frames built in the U.S. Other companies with very economical steel framesets are Trek, Peugeot (late 80's are British threading) and any of the Japanese makers. Like Japanese cars most people think Japanese bikes lack 'soul' and I'd have to agree. A word of caution in regards to the Panasonic Schwinns is that they use headset built to JIS spec which means 30.0mm headtube cups.

Italian framesets will run a little more than those previously mentioned, decent frames with good paint and decals constructed with Columbus or Reynolds tubing start in the $250 range with lesser examples (bad paint bad decals or rusty chrome) bringing as little as $100. 'Marque' names have the potential on running considerably higher.

Component wise you'll be able to build a Shimano 105 bike for ~$150 w/ wheels and a 600 Ultegra bike for ~$200 w/ wheels. Add ~$100 for STI levers. To achieve theses price points you'll need to savy and patient with your purchases. A 7400 series Dura Ace build could get pricey with anything higher up in the series like 7402/3 or 7410 being considerably more.

If you choose to go the Italian route you should be able to build something up with Victory/Triomphe for $150. An Athena/Chorus build will run a little more. Nuovo/Super Record, Record and C-Record could/will be prohibitivly expensive.