Like Mick said, there's no way you can beat the price point on the Standard Telecaster. However, like you said, you can't get a Standard with a swamp ash body!
Here's what I'd suggest:
Do as much research as you can here and other sites like the Fender Forum, TDPRI, and harmony-central. Beware of actual supplier's websites. All of them are there to sell their products for as much money as they can get, so you need to know how to separate the BS from the real deal. Building up a custom guitar is like building up a custom computer. You can't beat Dell on the price point, but you can buy better parts and build the machine YOU want. The reason why I mentioned GuitarFetish is because their parts are pretty much the same quality you'll find on even an American Standard Tele for a lot less money than the Fender-stamped components.