What size engines are we talking here?
I doubt you could make anything cheaper yourself. I have a book on making your own, it is highly detailed and can be dangerous. At the surface it might look economical to try, but crash a few rockets due to bad ejection charges etc and any money you might have saved is gone pretty quickly.
Another option might be RMS motors. Click the "theatre" option on the left for more info
http://www.aerotech-rocketry.com