What am I looking at?

Thanks!

Was it common for them to have a front bench seat and a manual transmission? Or was this altered as well?

Yes, bench seat is common, the 4-speed overdrive is probably factory however the hurst pistol grip shifter was added...but it’s a nice touch. Can you get a picture of the fender tag? That will tell you what the car was born with...if you have a picture we can decode it. This looks like a nice car though...