When I was 18 I found a 1" spacer for an Autolite 2-bbl carb (same flange as Holley) and bolted it to a stock iron intake by drilling 4 holes and using socket head cap screws. It didn't line up real well, so I took a grinder to the intake and laid waste to it. I got a 500 CFM Holley 2-bbl from a roundy-round racer, that hilljack setup was worth about .3 in ET over the stock 2-bbl.

Also a cheapo recurve kit for your distributor, use the lightest pair of springs and ditch the vacuum advance.

Take those J heads that you have and have them milled about .040, spend a weekend with some burrs and sandpaper rolls and clean up all the ports.

Get the cheapest set of $150 1-5/8 headers you can find, buy new and pull them off and repaint with VHT every spring.

Discard every unneccessary piece of street equipment, heater box, radio, horn, back seat, carpet, everything in the trunk. Then get underneath your car with a can of stripper, scrapers, screwdrivers, and steel wool. We took 30 lbs. of undercoating and dirt off of a guy's car once.

That should keep you busy for a few weeks, I'll try to think of a few more.