That TKO belongs in a School Bus or Dump Truck. Great technology for about 1954. I put in carbon fiber synchros, new shifter, and set the clutch air gap with a feeler gauge. While it improved it a bit, it still didn't belong in a performance car. It seems to me that some get better boxes than others. That or their expectations vary greatly. Maybe a bit of both.
I've driven two cars with 56 mags and they were both a world better. Short and concise shifts. When I think of the tko, I always think of the bus driver when I was a kid. You know, when he shifts it from the floor all the way to the dash.