HEI may really be the short route to what you're looking for in an ignition system.No maintainance and very dependable. Probably cost about the same as the Ig II setup. If you're going for an aftermarket carb I'm guessing that originality is not a high priority. If you don't want to hassle with tuning, a new out of the box Eldo might be what you need. I've heard that most are ready to run that way. As far as chokes...you'll be after an electric on you non-stock carb. Sounds like you have your mind set on your motor work but another way would be to buy a low milage motor off craig's list. Sometimes you can get a killer deal. Then all you're looking at is a motor swap, and you still have your original to mothball in the event of resale, for half the price of a rebuild. Redding sounds like a long haul, at least twice, to me.
