Wow, what a car. We had one with a 389/auto when I was a kid and my mother drove it like a professional race car driver!
My friend had the 428 M-20 4-speed 3.42 open diff. Catalina with Ventura and 2+2 package which some said was not available together. He said he was able to document both. Same color as the ebay car with white buckets, console. Worst part of the car was the horrible shifting round-handled Hurst shifter. He paid, get this...$1200 for it in about 1987, repainted it's solid body, and re-ringed the engine plus RA IV cam. He sold it while in the Coast Gaurd in 1990 for...~$4200, :ball: It went somewhere in Virginia I think.
Bet that would be a good Ford toploader 3 speed trans, too. The one Sawruk's Dad talked about. I don't think Olds used the lighter Muncie/GM 3 speeds in the big block or full size cars. Imagine Pontiac was the same. Bench seat floor shift possible? Guess then you might as well go with a 4 speed like Casey's big car.
I am not sure which 3-speed is in that car but it sounds right to me. Nothing else would hold up as well as the Ford trans. That model could be had with just about any trans combo you wanted including a bench seat Hurst shifted 4-speed. The 4-speeds were the long tail shaft muncie. M20 for axles up to 3.73 an M21 for 4.11's.
