engine build for reliability

Do get daughter involved
My daughter and her best friend won the tire change contest at the HS car show in the Pacer-- a real Indy style pit stop-and a Saturday of practice
340 cam - short voodoo would be better - can run a stock converter
carb in this century? in the Frozen north?
aside from that lots of good tips- especially do the electrical mods- eliminate the power through the body cavity new wire and fuzeable link from alt to relay