Is it or not a sandman

[HK1837]

You can't tell if it was a 253 or 308. But you should be able to pick if it was a 3spd or 4spd by inspection to see if it has a factory shifter hole and reverse switch wiring hole in the tunnel. If it was a 3spd it has to be a 253, 4spd could be either.
HQ 253 manual are almost always 3.08:1 diff. 308 manual are almost always 3.36. But you could option 3.36 on 253 manual and 3.55 or 3.08 on 308 manual.

[Russell]

Thanks are the belmonts rare