I've been looking for a plain surplus AKM style one to restore mine, and have seen nothing but scams, polymer, $50+, Out of Stock, Romanian foregrip only, and such.

You seem to know what you're looking for so I'd suggest putting a WTB ad on several different AK sites and see what happens. If you think you can score a deal on it, be prepared to wait for one to show up at a local show or be quick with the "I'll take it" & cash in a marketplace thread. Thing is with AKs that haven't been imported in 30+ years is that the parts are getting scarce and therefore expensive. Good Luck.

You may want to phone the usual players on imported parts and see if there is anything they can do for you. Sometimes they can turn up something for you, but expect to pay extra for that service.

Didn't say I wanted an ACTUAL maadi one. I just need AKM style, with close enough color to the upper that came on it. Need to chuck uncomfortable Romanian grip that magazine keeps hitting when released.

In that case check the AK boards for a member called Z_recto. He should be able to match a standard AKM LHG to the rest of your wood pieces, if that's what you want to do.