To add a little more guilt here. Rebuilt Homelites Bearcat 55hp's from Ed Ewing Economy 4 Cycle Marine of Redding, CA are less than 2K each.
http://www.4cyclemarine.com/
I'm sure if you told him that you wanted them for a collectible he'd try to match the originals. If Ben didn't want to give up his project . . . maybe we could start a CSC pool to restore one of these oldies and donate it to a museum. Would be incredible if Florida would preserve part of LakeX or Miami for a Powerboat Racing museum.