Looking for a bit of direction on this project. The car is a daily driver 1964 Thunderbird. The problem was a real lack of punch off the line and very little reserve for Mountain driving (live near Denver). A compression check showed a real even reading of 135-140 pounds as compared to the manual spec of 175. Two guages were used and these reading were rechecked. There has never been an issue with oil consumption or smoking. The mill in the car is not original, and here are the details:

Block: C7ME-A
Crank: 2U
Intake: matches 1964 T-bird usage
Heads: C8AE-H with exhaust manifolds to match
Carb: Looks to be off a 1962 Galaxie, had mis-matched jets (way mis-matched)

The piston bores look clean, cross hatching still visable and only a slight carbon build up at the top, no real "ridge". Camshaft looks reasonable and the lifters also. Bottom end is clean and, prior to teardown, there was no major engine noise to note. Timing chain and gears were the beloved nylon coated variety (got stranded on a set of them in an old Pontiac once). I do have a steel replacement set in hand. What I also have is this:

Heads: C0AE-D set of two that look good, but might need new valves.

The questions are:

1.) Which heads should I use? The originals or the early 352 heads?

2.) While I have not pulled a piston yet, is there anyhting I would want to look at before I do?

3.) Carb? What would I want to put on? The old shoebox on there now is beat, beat real bad.

4.) I do not seem to be getting a bore reading that would match what the block says it is. I come up a bit short. Stroke matches the 2U crank perfectly. Is there anything here I would want to look at?

5.) Like everyone, budget is an issue. Cheaper is better and I'm not looking to make this into a 427 powerhouse....