I could buy Merlin engines for $500 completely rebuilt in a crate in the late 60's there were 100's available.....put one in a 34' Hacker boat built a transmission to run 2 drive shafts boat would do 100 mph and burn 110 gallons per hour......
When I was a kid the local newspaper had an aviation writer and once he wrote about P-51's beind sold out of Davis-Monthan AFB for $500-$1500. Some with only ferry time to the airplane graveyard. I decided I wanted one and started saving up coins. Later I called the writer and asked him about them and he said you could maybe buy one but they cost $50 an hour to fly and that was too much money. But, that was real money and was a lot harder to come by than now.
I do remember climbing around on one and was surprised that they had to use 115/145 aviation gasoline.
The Gov't quit selling combat aircraft to civilians when civilians wound up buying them and taking them to other countries where they were used in fighting. The big episode was in Nicaragua, IIRC, between P-51's and Corsairs. That started the increase in restrictions.
