SBC Mileage?????

Today I spent some money on brief phone (non-800) chats with Tech people at Crane Cams and at Speedway Motors, the main two sources of variable hydraulic lifters. The guy at Crane was really sharp on their many products, but had never heard of using their "Fast Bleed Lifters" or "High Intensity Lifters" for low rpm torque or for added mileage. The Tech guy at Speedway Motors was more open to the idea that the Rhoads lifters add low rpm torque and that it could lead to more mileage, but said that with a SBC350 it would be tough to get above 18 mpg. Well, I know I have already disagreed with some experts on this forum but for my money I am probably going to try the Rhoads lifters with a Melling MTC-1 cam which is a very close approximation of an Edelbrock Performer plus cam. If (??) the Rhoads lifters take about 12 degrees off the 0.006" lift of the MTC-1 it should be a very good torque cam in the low rpm range (nobody seems to know at what rpm the lifters will pump up fully, it depends on the oil used and the condition of the oil pump) and at higher rpm (4000 ?) I should get the full benefit of the longer duration just like a Performer Plus cam. My wife says that she will not mind the clicking of the lifters if it means more mpg so I guess I am working toward "doing the experiment" with:

SBC 350, medium valves 1.95/1.55 in 76 cc heads but with 0.015" steel shim gasket and decked block for squish/quench of about 0.035"-0.040". The cam will be a MTC-1 with Rhoads lifters. The car will be about 2500 lb. (Model-A roadster + us) with a TH350 and 2.79:1 rear from a '74 Maverick (8"). The engine will have short tubular headers and turbo mufflers.

With no intention of offending anyone here I have had to thrash out what I want, namely performance AND mileage! The Tech guy at Speedway said circle track racers use Rhoads lifters to gain low rpm torque while using long duration cams for speed on the straightaways so I think I am on the right track except that I am looking at a lower rpm range where the lifters pump up for a smaller cam. Unfortunately I probably will not know if this works until next summer since I am just assembling the chassis, but if anyone tries this before then I would like to know the results. Who knows, maybe gas will be over $3.00/gallon by then?

Best Wishes,
Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder