im an a-body guy, but it should still apply.

for a PT car o a budget, heres what i would do (and mostly did)

1. rebuild front with rubber LCA bushings (little more effective spring rate), use the moog offset UCA bushings instead of tubular (cheaper, and almost as effective), poly strut rod and leaf spring bushings. use hardened steel washers between the LBJ and spindle to build in some negative camber, and if theres a taller spindle swap (like m-body), do it for more negative camber gain.
2. weld and reinforce the K-Frame, LCA's, and add subframe connectors
3. biggest sway bars that ADDCO offers (local to me when i bought mine. great bunch of guys)
4. 1 inch t-bars, oval track or hotchkis rear leaves
5. spax or bilstein shocks
6. Power steering: use the FFI stage 3 box. good box
7. move as much weight as you can between the axle centerlines, and reduce weight as much as possible
8. 17 inch wheels with good tires
9. great brakes (im running 11.75 rotor upgrade with 11X3 rear drums, power booster, braided lines, but am contemplating going 13 inch front, 2 piston calipers and 11 inch rear, single pistons for a 4 wheel disc upgrade and less unsprung weight
10,. good seatbelts and seating. the car WILL be faster if the driver is not flopping all over the place.

im running down mini-coopers and CRX's with my duster on the autocross course, and have driven it over 1000 miles in the last month with no complaints about the livibility of the suspension or brakes on the street.

hipe that helps
Michael