I own a 1997 AWD Brighton and my original intentions were to simply drive it till it died and proceed to buy a bugeye STi or WRX with the money I saved by not working on it. But I took off the nasty hubcaps, repainted the steelies back to flat black and that was all it took: the bug had bitten me again. I realized that I'm planning on driving this car everyday for the next 5 (please) years with the same 1.8l in it and I just couldn't hold out any longer.

However, I don't want to go turbo due to cost, reliability/life of the engine, and that I need it to be on the road. I don't know how far this engine has been pushed NA with stock internals but heres what I'm thinking as far as go-fast parts:

Borla Header (made for 2.2 and 2.5 but I was told it would bolt right up)

Stomung exhaust (dual tip muffler, intermediate pipe, KartBoy hangers)

Injen intake (the only other company that makes one is Cosmo Racing, anybody know about it?)

Some kind of piggy-back ECU (suggestions welcome, especially budget-friendly ones)

Cams (Cobb Tuning offers them for 2.5, but will they work for my 1.8?)

I don't really need it to be a street beast, just faster than it is now. I'm trying to focus on getting a more even powerband, you know just make it drive nicer. Any comments or suggestions welcome. And when the engine finally goes (please no) then maybe I'll have the dough to build up and swap in a 2.5T. I'll bore you with the chassis and cosmetic stuff later.
Peace!