Well personally I think you have an EXCELLENT nostalgia performance engine there. I would not bother with coating the exhaust headers however unless your into looks. The heat on the carbs is essential and brand new Carter / Webers can be had for around $85 ea. This will give you approx. 39O CFM and is just about right for the head and exhaust setup. Linkage is available for the Webers too and man, they look fantastic on there.
These carbs were used on the old Escorts/Pinto's I think so plenty of used ones around too.
I totally agree about the lifters being replaced unless you have lobe specific info as to where they go. The Wayne cover is cast aluminum and you need only polish it to remove the paint or use a paint remover product and then polish and buff. They really add the flavor to these old inlines.
Go For It.
(p.s. - I have the same setup, can you tell
)
