Hi Canada, I've been following your work closely and quietly!

I'm well-versed in the 1.6 vs 1.9 head & cam differences, got a bunch of each

To settle some confusion here's the build list I'm going for with my 1.9:
Stock 1987ish 1.9 EFI HO block
Stock 1987ish 1.9 EFI HO crank
Stock rods, forged might not be necessary
Hopefully higher domed pistons for about 10.5:1 (preferably forged since I'll probably have to custom order)
Thinner performance headgasket
Ported 1.9 EFI HO head with valve job (stock valve sizes) - not shaved, yet
Custom roller cam since the EFI HO roller cam can't be found anywhere but in parts cars..... Roller crankshaft is a must because I'm tired of seeing destroyed flat lifters and cam lobes :/
Roller rockers
Stronger/double valve springs if needed
Titanium spring retainers
Maybe stainless flat-top valves
Bike carbs with custom manifold - I'm a powersports mechanic, I have many on hand and can tune any with ease
1.9 EFI HO header (or a custom replica with mandrel bends instead)
Vernier cam sprocket
Vacuum & mechanical actuated distributor - a friend just found out how to adjust the vacuum advance/retard

All and all I'd really like 150hp, and I don't foresee any issues getting there. That would get my EXP up to snuff with all the other traffic on the interstate for any periods of time.

I was never too worried about specific cam timing until recently, for custom/performance cams it's a must wether you're turbo'd or not - especially if you're shaving the head or block's deck. And for stock cams a vernier pulley/sprocket could go a long way because TRUE TDC isn't always what it aught'a be, my friend found out his 1.6 crank sprocket had a poorly-cut keyway on the crank sprocket. His cam was probably 4 degrees off just because of that, and that's not taking into the account that the head/deck heights aren't exactly "X" and then a different headgasket changes "X" too.
I haven't done the math yet but shaving the head down to the max (something like 0.100" is the max cut) retards your cam timing about 4 degrees which will limit your top-end performance, retarded any more and it will hardly run much past idle. Lucky for us if you happen to be 4 degrees retarded you can turn that into 5.5 degrees advanced by moving the sprocket forward by one whole tooth (each tooth is 9.5 degrees of timing) but that's till too far advanced for many cams so it won't idle well but will help your top-end performance, but not as much as a well-timed camshaft.
I'm not a turbo pro but retarding the cam is supposed to really help build boost, so they actually do come in handy more than we initially realize.

Compression will get you far if you have the spark and appropriate fuel to match, the naturally aspirated CVHs love it when you tweak the timing and if you can run only 91 octane or higher you can advance your spark pretty far without pinging. The 1.6 HO had more compression than the base 1.6 (9:1 instead of 8.5:1), a header, a slightly larger carb, and a slightly larger camshaft to gain 10hp more over the base 1.6 on 87 octane, with 91 octane and some more timing advance you could notice a big difference between them. I have no doubt I can produce similar results with my motors. Ford says the CVH is safe up to 11:1 with normal pump gas, they used to offer 12.3:1 pistons but race fuel would definitely be desired lol