How are you going to be driving this car? Mostly city (stop and go) or highway? The reason I ask is if it's primarily city, losing weight is going to gain you a lot more than aeromods. If you're mostly highway, aeromods and narrower/taller tires will give you the most bang for your buck.
Beyond this, a carb rebuild, an HEI ignition, and a tune up will help more than anything else for money spent on the engine. Buying a vacuum gauge to help guide you on your way to becoming a better hypermiler would be a good start, too. Read the 101+ hypermiling techniques over and over. There's so much there that even after doing this for a couple months now, I'm still learning and refining my technique everytime I re-read the tips in there. The greatest difference you can make in mpg is adjusting the nut behind the wheel. Of the 50% over EPA improvement that I've seen, 90% of that is changing the way I drive with perhaps 10% going to tire pressure and grill block.
While I think 30mpg is going to be a stretch, I wouldn't say it's impossible if you focus on your technique and keep the car in perfect tune.
|