Worth the headache?

I'd save your money, get the distributor properly curved and start buying some basic shop tools such as a floor jack, jack stands, hand tools and an air compressor.

If you want to have more power later down the road, you'll be able to spend you money on parts and save the labor cost for installing them. Its usually about a 2 to 1 ratio, labor to parts. You will still have to sub out some work, but having a decent set of shop tools will always pay for itself in the long run.