Recently purchased another 50 chevy. The previous owner had a SM420 and a 10 bolt rear end with 2.73 gears professionally rebuilt.

I cant figure out this combination for the life of me.....just seems odd for a 250 I6 engine.

Obviously with a 7:01 first gear ratio the sm420 will push those gears just fine but does this make sense to anyone else?

I hate to just dump the transmission or the rear end but both seem odd choices. Any thoughts.