Bruce- Is there a bike co-op or community bike shop in town? If so, that could be a great resource for cheap parts. The one in my town gets tons of cheapo bikes donated. The volunteers tear them down and/or build up the better examples. They have bins of spare parts, and can help find the decent stuff buried in there. Plus, they're okay with wrenching on cheap bikes to make them usable for anyone.

If you can swallow your pride, the dumpster outside a bike shop will have gems in it sometimes, especially if they don't donate the cheap bikes folks trade in.