I would take the time to find a better frame. It is a buyer's market, you can find a lightweight double or triple butted frame for a song if you know how to hunt them down.

Basically if you are trying to buy an specific frame, they usually go for more than the entire bike is worth. If you familiarize yourself with vintage bikes you'll be able to spot lesser brands and models that do have great frames but generate little to no interest in the marketplace.

Univega made fantastic bikes. So did Lotus, and often hit the market as a generic bike with no value. I'm currently working on a Lotus Eclair touring bike (that let's be honest, I don't need). I paid $25 for the bike. I'll probably spend $50 on overhauling it, and after many hours of work I'll be lucky to get $100 for it. As I said it is a buyer's market. What I'm getting out of this bike is the joy of rebuilding it. Some like model cars, some like puzzles, I like to rebuild bikes.