This is a good topic.
1962 Chevy II (1st gen Nova, 1st year). It was a former telephone company fleet vehicle, no optns (not even backup lights, which I had to add the switch & bulbs for). It eventually had a 61 Chevy AM radio hanging under the dash by brackets.
4 cylinder (the ancestor of the Iron Duke), 3 spped on the column. It had a problem when it was cold - it was hard to pull back to the 1st & reverse gate. 2 times I pulled the lever back too lard & snapped it, so then it was just 2nd & 3rd & neutral, by grabbing the collar around where the lever mounted. I remember going home from a college class and stopping at the local Chevy dealer, to buy a new shift lever for it.
As I remember, the shifting & clutch action worked well, other than when it was cold.