Looking for better fuel milage

Tony, with aluminum heads you can run much higher compression without worrying about detonation with pump gas. 10-1 would not be out of the question. Invest in a distributor with a vacuum advance, that way you can get the advance in the timing at various throttle positions. This is especially important when city driving. I'm much like you when it comes to headers, I'm not a fan. I never had them on a car that didn't need them. They are mostly noisy, built poorly, leak, rust, fit horribly, and make it hard to access anything. With that said, headers have come a long way. There are several companies that make nice headers that are high quality with 3/8" flanges, heavy gauge tubing and tuned for optimum performance. Your car could certainly benefit from a set. A spreadbore carburetor with small primaries(as the guys have mentioned) would give you a great balance of performance and economy. A multi-spark like the MSD 6 would help scavenge any unburnt fuel. Also as mentioned a fan clutch is a great way to take some load off the engine. The beauty of this is that most everything suggested here will not only increase fuel mileage, it will also build power.