Well, the compresison could probably be made to live with methanol and water, which is worth up to 20 points of octane:
http://www.snowperformance.net/But, if it is a really rowdy cam, living with a street engine that idles at 2500 rpm and makes your eyes burn because of the overlap will get old real fast.
Can you hear it run or inspect any internals at all? Ted does have a point that the mill is only as good as the builder and some builders aren't worth a spit.
