Jordan, what is the scope of your project? You say this is a senior project- so I assume you have to be done by June? That's only 3 months! Also, what is your budget? Keep in mind that most of us plan our restorations in years and $thousands rather than months and $hundreds. We can better advise you if you can give us more background on what your goals are... do you just want to get it running again? Do you want it to be really fast, or just ok? Do you want to do the body and interior? Are you going to keep it as your daily driver or sell it for profit? Regarding the crate 350, For resale, you're better off with a Pontiac motor, even if its not numbers matching. What you have now is a Pontiac motor, so if you buy a crate 350 (Chevy), you'll have to get Camaro motor mounts and wiring harnesses, and who knows what else. You can rebuild the motor you have now, because you've already verified that it is not seized up. Its not as hard as you think- you just remove it, dissassemble it, send the parts to a machine shop, then reassemble it. I did mine in High School (tho I never thought to try and get school credit for it!). If you're not working, and you keep at it, it should take a few weeks. Another option you have is to buy a used Pontiac 350. I'll bet someone on this site has a running 350 that you can pick up at a good price.
The paint will problably be you're biggest drain on time and expenses. From your pictures, it looks like you have a lot of rust. If areas are rusted through, you're going to have to weld in patches.
One more thing- are you sure the motor is not original? You can verify this by checking the serial number on the side of the engine next to the timing cover. If it matches the last numbers of your VIN it is original, and would make the car much more valuable. If its not original, tell us what codes are stamped on the engine and heads, and we can tell you what you have. Don't discard it until you really know what you have.
So, again, if you describe your goals, budget and timeline in more detail, and also any history you know about the car, you'll find a wave of very knowledgable and experienced advice coming your way.
