Going into 5th with only 4 gears

Milner coupe is over done. As much as I love the coupe I see alot of them around. Similar to the over done general Lee.

I want something different than the yawn fest small block Chevy.

I do have a 340 kicking around but it needs a rebuild. I wanted to do this half *** cheap but reliable.
The wife has already claimed this model a as hers. She loves a manual trans so that is the only requirement. She ain't very tall maybe hitting the 5 feet and maybe 110 lbs soaking wet.

I know I am planning fitech for ease of tuning.