I appreciate your frankness, frank.
But if your nova was getting 20-24mpg then there's hope for my apollo. I need to get a good timing light so I can fine tune the timing. I like redneck's suggestion of a cam swap and the transmission change. I love classic cars because they are so much easier to work on than modern computerized cars, and in my experience, more reliable. There are many times when I wish I still had my grandmother's '83 chevy impala. I'm not sure what it's mileage was, but it was a tank and rode like a caddy.