1941-54 pumps are the same except for the pulley belt width.
1941-52 use a 5/8" belt
1953-54 use a 3/8" belt
You could use which ever style you like as long as the balancer and generator pulleys match.
You are correct that I would not recommend a 61 car balancer.
It shouldn't not hard to find a balancer that would work, I could even help you with that.
