Thinking of pulling the motor...

Hey guys I'm thinking of pulling the motor to freshen it up a bit...this would be my first time pulling a motor, and the biggest job I've attempted. So far, most I've done was change a couple headgaskets, but nothing this deep into the motor. How hard is this? Probably really simple on these older cars. Would you reccomend pulling the tranny with it? Once its on a stand, I'm fairly certain I could freshen it up, of course with lots of reading material and help from a few friends. My time schedule would be in two weeks, I do want to get it on the road before summer ends What do you think, worth it? Its a 302 by the way, and right now it runs, but it sounds like a freaking Uhaul, the valves are ticking, its smoking a little...needs some work.

Also, I'd like to spend around 500 dollars...and throw in as much performance as possible...is that reasonable?

Yeah thats an option. Nevermind time, so what would you do to it while its out? Id like to have around 350 hp, enough to embarras some 4 bangers