.. they're right about determining how you want to use the car.
Looks, street racing, drag racing (track), road racing (track), canyon carving on Saturdays, ..............
For all 'round fun, make sure your front suspension is in good order. If not, for about 250 bucks,
PST has a decent re-build kit, complete.
Then go to
Ground Control for some ride height adjusters, springs and shocks. You could dump another 5 or 600 bucks here.
You got SFC's and poly bushings everywhere else, so get a set of rear gears and a complete brake rebuild with the rest of your $$$.
This will atleast keep you going until you can do an engine........ or
save what you got until you've doubled it and really go for it.
Remember: Speed = Money. How fast do you want to spend it?