If you feel discouraged or disagree with what has been stated, those responses are from experience and we are only trying to help.
I have to agree, it is suspicious that the powerplant is absent. It makes me think someone parted it out for those components because the hull was shot.
Bayliners of that era had a bad reputation as far as structural rotting. They didn't last very long.
That being said, any boat can rot away if not taken care of properly and the opposite is also possible if it was properly protected.
I suggest you investigate if in fact your hull is a lost cause or not. You might have that rare hull that has been taken care of properly and it could be a solid investment. The odds are against that though, but you never know....
Can you rebuild the stringers and transom? Of course you can, it's been done and well documented here many times. It's a matter of funding, knowledge, personal time etc. Only you can determine if it's worth it for you personally.
You will be grinding, cutting, sanding and repairing hazardous materials. The shape of the hull has to be checked and kept true throughout the build. It's an intense undertaking. Probably cheaper and much easier to just buy a better boat. And....you can get one that's already of the outboard variety.
I would investigate the integrity of the wooden "skeleton" of the hull before dumping in any hard earned cash. Take a couple of samples of the stringers and transom wood before proceeding.
Dril into the transom and stringers from the inside just deep enough to determine if the wood underneath is wet or dry. Obviously, dont drill all the way through! Just enough to sample any shavings.
If you find all is dry, you can fill the holes with 5200 and proceed with your project.
I'm not bashing Bayliners, I own one myself. Mine is newer though (2003) and has been very well taken care of by two previous owners. Bayliner was building them a little better at that point too.
If you proceed, I would like to follow the conversion to outboard. That would be an interesting project.
Keep us updated.