Stirring up a hornets nest

If you look at toolmanmike's build it's far from a race car build. And gears don't make your car a race car just more pleasurable to drive. A deep 1st gear 904/3.23 or 500/3.55 or 3.73 is like putting 3.91-4.56 without the hassle of too much rear gear. That why newer cars went that way.