You can still get your A&P license based on practical experience. You need to demonstrate the experience. And it's best if you can walk into the FSDO office with a letter of recommendation from an A&P or A&P/IA with a lengthy description of your skills and knowledge with a recommendation to be allowed to test. I did exactly that about 15 years ago. The Airworthiness Inspector I talked to had no problem at all with signing off to allow me to test. By way of experience, I had been working hands on part time with light aircraft for roughly 25 years, primarily with engines and systems, and had completed one plans built (wood and Glass) E-AB aircraft and one kit built (tube and Fabric) aircraft by that point in time. Then it was just a matter of studying the books and practicing the writtens until I knew it cold. The oral/practical was quite thorough and roughly a day and a half long. If I recall correctly, the examiner had 21 subject areas, all of which I had to score 75% or better to his satisfaction by either demonstration or oral discussion to demonstrate knowledge of the subject with full explanations of my answers and/or actions. Failure in any one subject area constitutes a failure of the oral/practical. I have no hands on experience with turbines either, but I studied it well enough to recognize what was in front of me, and was able to fumble my way through the various tasks I was asked to perform. I didn't try to BS the examiner. I told him up front that I had no turbine experience, but had studied as much material as I could to prepare. I couldn't have passed with just what I knew from building the two planes, and I couldn't have passed based solely upon study. The many years of experience I had accumulated by that point in my life were every bit as important as the book learning and on line study.

If you are trying to base testing for your A&P solely on the experience of completing an E-AB aircraft, that's probably not going to make the cut. You need to bring some experience with dealing with certificated aircraft, some balance of sheet metal, composite and fabric work and your engine experience needs to be significantly heavier than having bought an engine and bolted it onto the plane. You really need to bring a balance of knowledge and experience with all parts of an aircraft as well as pertinent regulations and regulation compliance. However, if your experience satisfies the Airworthiness Inspector's criteria when you interview, which can be somewhat subjective, they will allow you to test. Beyond that, it's up to you to study and pass.

FWIW, I didn't use the crash course schools. You have to show up with permission to test if you use them. If you already have permission, you might as well study at home. That will work as well as going to their facility so you can study the same materials. They are just going to teach you the test, and they often times have an examiner on staff, which can help to shorten the oral/practical. However, in either case, it's up to you to study and pass. You can do that just as easily at home. I did.