VF500 F low dollar rear shock solution is?

Hi everybody,
I have made excellent progress on my "low buck, get it on the road" project but need more help. To briefly summarize what has been done to date: I bought a non running, but all there, '86 VF500 F back in Februrary and have gptten it running great at this point by: replacing the battery, replacing the starter relay, replacing the spark plugs, 1 coil, 2 plug wires, replacing 1 CDI box, cleaning the carbs, setting the valve clearances, rebuilding the clutch slave cylinder, replacing the drive chain, fork seals and all brake pads. The grand total in the bike so far including the $400 purchase price is $720, which includes an oil filter and a $65 E Bay belly pan (for later when I put the plastic back on). Most of the parts were bought through E Bay which has kept the costs in line so far. The most valuable thing in making the project workable though, is the information I've gotten from this web site and its members. I definitely could not have gotten to this stage without your help, so thanks a lot for everything!
So, now the bike is running great and the budget not exceeded... but the rear shock is trash. I left a message with Jamie Daughtry today and he called back and left a friendly and detailed message on my phone saying that based on its symptoms the shock was toast and not rebuildable. He also said there was no salvage yard shock that could be readily made to work on my bike.
It could be that down the road I'll be ready to put more serious money into the bike, but right now budget issues prevail. Until I've ridden it for a few months and put at least 1000 miles on it I can't justify putting much money into it since I'm not sure if I will want to hang onto it for years, although it is VERY impressive so far.
Anyway, remembering that I'm a guy who says, " you can tell poor workmanship by the wrinkles in the duct tape", does anyone know of a cheap way of getting a shock which is adequately workable, not great, not as good as new stock, but just livable; I don't need a remote resivoir or air adjustability. I'm an old guy who cruises mostly country roads in semi-rural Florida and the stock freshened up VF500 F front suspension feels like heaven compared to my '68 Bonneville.
I have a friend who is a machinist and could mill up an adaptor and also am not adverse to cobbling up something with welding and steel stock if that will work. I vaguely remember a post that suggested that an '87-'90 Hurricane 600 shock could be fairly easily adapted, but gave no details.
So, all input will be greatly appreciated as would be the sale of an adequately working stock VF500 F shock if you have upgraded to one of Jamie's and have a working old one on hand.
Thanks in Advance!

Jay