If someone made a 70$ drop in crank that destroked the picco to .049 and had a nice prop stud I would jump on it in a second and I'm sure a few others would too. My first picco ran like a dream until I broke the crank. Venturi could be done the simple way a la CP with a nipple and a remote needle, or TOAD/galbreath with a NVA where the carb retainer usually goes.
http://www.the-printer.net/DookCat.html#picco
a 100$ engine I think would really be a sweet spot. I know it's probably tough/impossible, but if a 100$ could buy a reliable fast (30k) engine Im sure more people would get into combat/speed/half-a. I, for one, really want to get into 1/2a proto