97 Elantra Suggestions

OK so i have a 97 Elantra i didnt plan on keeping the car, was just gonna get it fix it up and resale it... but i have grown kind of attached to this car, which i have named "The Duk"

Well i doubt there was any work done to the engine, just horrible wiring thrown all about. they had put on some hideous 16" rims, but im swapping them out for some 14" rims my buddy would use for racing his saturn, just got new tires on em. the paint job is a nasty green with a little bit of that sparkly glitter crap, and the front bumper is all fubared, still cant get it to sit right.

But anyway, aside from a few cosmetic issues, and some rewiring, the car is in pretty decent condition.
Had to work the heads when i got it cause they were warped, but i have a few hooks up in the car world and got it done for pretty cheap.
So i started to see potential in my little Duk and began looking into what i could do with this car

its a 1.8 DOHC 24v manual trans
and i think the stats are about 130 hp, and 2400 curb weight
and i figured that i could work with that, see what i could sqeeze out of that engine

So what i am asking is what could i do to start... i really dont want to add a turbo or anything, im not sure that little engine could handle it...i could be wrong

my only problem is that i cant really find to many parts for that year, most of them are for the newer models

I was thinking just to start out getting an intake, header, and exhaust...
thats just for now, my friend was suggesting that i bore out my cylinder walls get some slightly larger pistons, and swap out the cam shaft.
now im no mechanical genious when it comes to engines, thats why im wanting to start off slow.

and once i have done all that i can to that engine and gained some more knowledge, i wanted to swap out to a larger more capable engine

So i was also wondering what kind of engine swaps i could do... like possibly taking a 2.0 engine and throwing it in there, or see if i might be able to get a different make engine in there, like a spoon motor or h22, something along those lines, unless thats not possible or just not cost effective.

cause as far as machining new motor mounts or cutting portions of the wheel wells out to get the motor fixed that wont be a prob, my cuz owns a machine shop. Now i remember reading something about the trans on my car was mounted on the driver side, and most engines have it mounted on the passenger side... correct me if im wrong
Im still learning so im trying to take in as much info as possible.

and while this car is being "experimented" on im trying to get a 96 3000GT, base model, but i can get a LS engine in there for cheap. just to keep me on the road, then once my Duk is finished ill pop that VR4 engine in and start work on that car =), by that time ill be more knowledged and know what im doing.

Thanx in advance