[dtw]

1. Early E = Solex. You probably won't find old Solex cams anywhere but early E I believe is '67-'69.
2. You likely have 29mm intake ports; many (including myself) will argue these ports are too restrictive for hot cams. Consider 32-34 mm depending cam selection. John Luetjen prepared a great Excel worksheet for determining ideal port sizes and gas speeds, email me if you'd like a copy.
3. Yes. Oiling system upgrades, induction and exhaust tweaking, more. Get the Anderson and Dempsey books and read 'em, also hunt around in the archives of this forum for tons of good info.

-Why high 8? No reason not to go high 9 on your compression while retaining single plugs. The race/machine shop I use actually swears by 10.5:1 in 84-85mm street engines with single plugs, in fact. I'm at 9.8:1 myself on my hotrod 2.4, it is a sweet motor.