The only real way to "save" any money on these types of jobs is to either find deals on usable "pre-owned" parts, and/or do as much of the assembly work yourself as possible.

I would think you could have a mild streeter 383 short block done for about $3k......put on some stealth/e street heads for under $1100, reuse the stock valvetrain, intake, pan, timing cover, valve covers, etc.......put it all together yourself....... Seems like you could be into it for under $5k.

Where you're located matters as well.
The tri-state area is likely going to be on the high end of the price range......
Other parts of the country where everything just costs less...... It might be $1-2k less for the same job.

I'd also consider a decent used running motor.