On the dual carbs and fuel mileage, in the early days here there were several guys running dual Rochester B carbs on 235's and reporting better fuel mileage. two names I remember is Cosmo and Barry Weeks.There were a few others ,the guy with the 261 in a 37 truck.They don't use this site any longer but Tim Lederman is still here and might remember the actual stories.The fuel distribution of a single carb on a long log intake is terrible. GM actually tested it found the center cylinders are over rich, end cylinders lean.Two carbs can give better fuel/distribution and increase efficiency...........Some stuff sounds unlikely but unless you have actually tried it, it not always fair to say it can't be.....