318 MAX fuel economy builds?
I had a 1988 5th Ave, converted it to TQ carb on a Performer intake, electronic distributor and old MSD box I got for free, homemade 2 1/4" duals and swapped in an 8 1/4" rear with 3.07:1 (Jeep XJ ratio) gears. MPG still averaged around 20 (got maybe 22-23 stock) but the 0-60 dropped from like 25 to 8-10 seconds and overall performance was drastically better. Heck just changing the gearing alone makes the biggest difference, mine came with the 2.24:1 or whatever and it literally couldn't keep up with modern traffic.
Those roller-cam 318s are great engines all- around; good power, good gas mileage, bulletproof.