One fun fact about a swinger 340 in 1969.
In the vast majority of the car world for decades the 3 speed manual was the "standard", what you got if you didn't pay for anything extra, the bare minimum. The 4 speed has always been an extra cost option and usually an expensive option.
The 1968 roadrunner and 69 swinger 340 were two of very rare occourances that the 4 speed was the standard equipment. If you didn't pay any extra or specify, it got a new process 4 speed. The automatic with column shift (Because they all had benches) was extra cost.