On the 'what if' topic...in about 1987 my dad bought an engine/transmission to replace the tired 327/TH350 in his early Ford pickup. It was a turbo 231 with a T50 5-speed that the seller claimed was out of a '79 Regal. He said his wife didn't like how it drove in the snow so he had swapped in a N/A 231 with an automatic. Several years ago I asked about the turbo 231/T50 combo here on the forum and was told it never existed. I know what I saw and judging by the grime and undisturbed paint, they had certainly been married for a long time.
When my dad did the trial fit, he found that the downpipe hit the inner fender and really didn't want to cut anything so he just freshened up the 327 instead. The Buick combo sold to a guy who put it in a 4x4 Toyota.
Whether that turbo 231/T50 was a factory option or not is still unproven, but I think something like that would be a pretty passable and interesting swap in a car like yours.