After many calls and contacts i have come to that conclusion (find a complete donor),
of course i thought i had done that when i got the 18' Steury with the 302.
but it had a 215E out-drive
, i did notice it was big but had gone about 70mi to get it so figured what the heck, $200 with trailer.
BTW the 215 I/O stuff is for sale.
I have found lots of piece meal stuff, but as you point out, one missing part and i could spend much more than i saved.
All that said, i have a donor lined up for $500, even has extra props.
when im done i will have lots of extra parts, including a motor.
Thanks for all yer input