Teaching my son to drive in a 51 Plymouth with a three on the tree.
Going to put in an A833OD I have on the shelf, that 3.09 first gear will really help him taking off, lol.
I don't pull hole shots or tow so the A833OD works fine for me, I probably have close to 200k miles on the two I have.
As for the aluminum case counter shaft hole issue, it can be bushed to fix that. I believe both Passon and Brewer's offer that service or did.
https://www.hotrod.com/articles/mopp-0110-a-833-aluminum-case-buildup/