the original trans he has is the Prestomatic fluid drive and is as automatic as they got for Mopars until '53.. auto trans but it uses a fluid coupling and a clutch, and a series of switches, points, solonoids and relays ( in short, an electrical nightmare ) to control fluid preassure and shifts... I have the '53 Motors manual ( actully just looked all that up ), and the only other trans option was a 3spd stick, and an optional overdrive