Fred,
It has the wimpy (not heavy Duty 3 spd) and all appears original, including the completely open driveline. I was planning on a 4 spd conversion eventually anyway, so now wouldn't be a horrible time. I have looked around on line a little and noticed the earlier 4 spds look to be set up for torque tube - is this easy to change over or should I look for a later model (post 55)?
The oil only appears to have a small amount (1/4 cup ?) of antifreeze in it, and I plan on doing a compression test and possibly a pressure test on the radiator before starting it. Hopefully it's only a blown gasket.
