A big thank you to PJG56 and rotten ron for all the great information. And PJG56, l am interested in those high performance engine parts so please let me know how much you want for them. I guess we would initiate all that via email (but if that doesn't work I can just give you my mobile number). My only hesitation about changing the cam, piston, crank etc. is that I have zero experience building a "flattie". Truth is, I've never rebuilt any engine. With car engines, I always drop off the short block at the machine shop, do my own cylinder head porting, then drop off the heads for a performance valve grind and have them re-assemble the cylinder heads. Once the short block is done and the heads are rebuilt, I bolt everything together for a complete longblock and get a buddy to help me install the engine. I guess if I get in over my head, I could have a small engine repair shop re-assemble everything. Again, thanks for all the help so far; I'm looking forward to this process (and finding a local racing venue). BTW, about 20 years ago I did about a third of a sprint Kart racing season. I actually bought the Kart for my son but he was intimidated with mixing it up on the track so I raced it. Because of the kind of engine I had (a two stroke Italian high revving mill), I had to race against 12-16 year old kids! I thought I would do very well because they all had Briggs & Stratton engines and I thought a 2 stroke would crush a flathead 4 stroke. I was the one who got crushed and I learned to respect those B & S engines.