Glad to see a young rodder on here with us old guys.
The little six can be made into a nice little hot rod and still get decent mileage. Here is a good thread on the I6 with a T5 trans...:
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=604166
Sharps40 has other good threads that he walks thru the tuning of a carb swap on a little 6.
Lots of good info on here...