[elhigh]

I've seen where a couple of enthusiasts swapped in small diesels under the hood of compact pickups, S-10s and Rangers. They picked up serious fuel economy and I don't hear too many complaints about the vehicle being terribly slow.

Since the 'Vette is starting from the position of already being terribly slow, I think you could upgrade to a much more modern diesel, gain some power, retain all or gain some fuel economy, and actually get out of your own way. A turbodiesel can be tuned to make some major grunt down low and take good advantage of a tall rear end.

This is just me but: the crude nature of the Chevette just screams for a mill from a tractor. A Kubota or Yanmar or, if you can find one, a Caterpillar C1.1 up to a C2.2. The 2.2 poops out up to 60hp and can probably be tuned up to something more, but I can totally see that mustard yellow mill peeking up out of the engine bay of a Chevette.

Plus with 60hp you'd be enjoying a nice 50% power bump.

It isn't a "go fast" forum, but it isn't a "fuel economy at the expense of safety" forum, either. Other drivers are out there and we're not trying to be jerks to them. It'd be nice if everybody slowed down for the sake of fuel economy, but since that isn't about to happen we have to take the realities of other drivers' behavior into consideration.