Steve,
A lot of us here have recently started racing SS bikes, albeit the smaller 600 engines, so a lot of our experiences are probably the kind of things you'll be up against too.
I completely stripped and rebuilt my 600SS and have kept a blog of it, along with a few pictures, here:
http://www.horrible.demon.co.uk/bikes/racing2005.htm You might find some handy info if you cut through the waffle
With a few hundred quid on top you should get yourself a really good machine sorted at the end of it.
Good luck and keep us informed of how you get on.