Not sure what to do

hunukenny said
Would cylinder heads with bigger valves

You could add heads like Speedmasters will add performance, plus leave room to grow, but not necessarily needed depending on ultimate goals. You just looking to add decent performance eg.. 250-300 hp or does 350-450+ hp sound more like future plans?

hunukenny said
and a performance cam be worth the trouble or should i save my money and buy a short block crate engine? thanks for any thoughts and ideas. i want to have fun with the car but it seems to be a money pit when it comes to making it handle and have power

You could do both or some kind of combinations of these.

You can do a basic hop up for now like 4bbl cam exhaust tune. And save up for something more serious later. Or purchase parts that may not be the best choice for the engine now, like a complete top end that you can put a better short block under at a later date.

Rear end, trans, exhaust are all things that can be modded now and used for a later engine update.

I would go with a 4bbl and mild cam swap, upgrade the rest of the drivetrain and if want more power later get a 360/408 or whatever built.