Early A, 273, 340 manfolds dual exhaust.

The 340 manifolds will fit fine with no power steering, but it's a total waste, since the exhaust ports on the 273 are tiny compared to the 340 manifold ports. It's not going to gain you a thing. I would simply stick with the stock 273 manifolds. Simplifies things greatly.
You are probably correct, the advantage i see is, they could swap in a hotter engine or heads later,say a 340-360. Exhaust will already be there.