The Cart Before the Horse: Spec 3 Build

[NTIman]

None of this is going to give me any power increase, but I get what y'all are saying. We'll see. I need to let money settle down if I'm going this route and maybe get through December but I drop money on head gasket and head work.

Having the head decked and rebuilt will definitely give you a bump in power.  The bigger thing from all of this is to save yourself the headache and loss of track time later.  Reliability is the key.  Also you will go faster not having the thought of what you didn't fix in the back of your head, which will rear it's head at the worst possible time and you'll be hunting for a new motor again.  

The season is basically over anyway, no need to hurry.  Do it right.

This. Kaan and I have rushed through things and done a half-hearted effort in hopes of getting him track time, and it has bit us EVERY time. We will both tell you that it's a big reason why things have gone so wrong on so many track weekends with the Civic. 

Take your time, do it right, and do it once. We all just want to see you on track and not under the hood.