newbie- recipe needed, help please

hi
indulging myself in water cooled & got myself a mk1 golf, unfortuneately i know little of modifications and engines and what makes 'em go fast

i got myself a 1.5 GL , bought because of the lack of rust


while its pokey in the low gears its not thrilling

was contemplating a gti instal however rich from crazyquiffs suggested a 1.8 DXon carbs to save the hassle of the fueling system of an injection set up

im not after anything crazy, just keen to pep up my new toy
so what would you suggest
base engines
crbs
cams??

need a bit of guidance as to where to get the bits,, eg i dont know what car would have run a dx engine in?

cheers

dx engines are found in mk1 gti and cabriolet gti's mate.

hth

Chris