The idea reminds me of the fact that truly old-ass Intel clones are the foundation of many a microcontroller design [1]. Searching for the 8051, the most popular family, here on HN will lead you to some very deep rabbit holes [2].

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_MCS-51

[2] https://hn.algolia.com/?q=8051&utm_source=opensearch&utm_med...