Mathew,
I just had EXACTLY the same dilemma with a discount frame ($20) and a discount fork ($20) whose steerer was too short, but which had a chromed crown and which matched the frame PERFECTLY. This was a frame rescue project.
My solution was to send the fork to franklin frames of ohio for a steerer tube replacement. You can look up my questions and the suggestions on the framebuilders list, but part of the solution is to grind out the steerer (solves the problem of a burned fork or a pinned fork), and then to cover the chromed crown with wet rags and low-temperature braze in a new steerer tube, and then polish it up again. Don't screw with the possibility of a failed steerer tube, please, don't try to add an extension to the steerer tube, please!
I can send you pictures of the fork when I get back home in a few days. Total cost was a very reasonable $135 for the fork, including fork cost ($20) and 2-way shipping and an extra $20 for grinding out the tubes rather than un-brazing them.
- Don Gillies
San Diego, CA, USA