Really what they need to do with Classic Hardcore is Halls of Torment gameplay loop.
Some mechanism so select items persist. Make gold persist. You lost a level 34? It's ok you kept the 80 gold and a purple you found for all new characters. Make a few permanent bonuses you can invest in, and you get rewarded with bonus exp by playing more so it makes returning to old highs more palatable as you loop through.
This creates a gameplay loop on top of hardcore that matters, while creating a sense of meta progression that ultimately drives people to take more risks, but softens the personal impact of death by making it part of the process. In fact, you want to die at some point to retain a couple items and "sell the character" for bonuses, because if you just get full T3 on your first run, when you inevitably do die, you can only keep a fraction of it. Better to do it in waves.
This would effectively make Classic HC servers purposeful as well, making economies function more reasonably and making crafters worth something more than a temporary buff to a temporary character.
