A 25+ year old car needs maintenance on the regular wear and tear items. The car needs to be up to snuff for regular driving duties before you work on achieving high HP #'s.
As previously mentioned you're directing your anger to the wrong people. Ever heard the saying 'Don't shoot the messenger?'
$385 for the list of items Seb took care of is a great deal too. I'm sure they felt bad giving you the news.