capt,n
if thats the price for the whole power head including all the plastic and magneto you might get a lower price for just a short block.
either way it sounds like you need to find a dealer who is more sympathetic to the r/c cause. i made good friends with one dealer by showing him my conversions and taking him flying a couple of times, he was totaly flaberghasted! he has a really small shop so i don't find too many goodies there but he does help me make hubs on his lathe and will order me parts at dealer costs. the only profit he sees from all this is the fun involved in this hobby.

dave