Thanks again Brian,
I was considering training on them rather than solo rental.I have at least 10 hrs on the 310 and 1 hr on PA31.I recollect during my CPL days at Fortworth/Sycamore(TX) seeing quite a lot of them.When I was last in USA in 1996 I had flown the B,N,and Q series at San Jose and they rented out at $180then.Perhaps i should reconsider going there.I had also flown the PA31 there and had a joy ride on the 402. May be another good source is the Aviation Yellow pages.unfortunately I am unable to access that magazine here.May be you could find what you want there or in FL if they still confiscate D-runs aircraft.I found the Q model a marvel.Perhaps you can find a good A&P to salvage you one at a fraction of the price.but might have to wait.The R model was popular in Nairobi(5500ft ASL) due to its hi performance capability.south Africa is another good value for money source and might give you the adventure of your life time to ferry it across/or ship it to Europe and fly it from there!A good retirement project I might add!
Keep in touch if anything interesting crops up.Especially in the AZ area as I have a brother I m over due to visit!
Kind regards ol chap!