The 3 speed idea isn't a bad way to go. Depends how performance oriented you are. Since you stated no racing, just a cruiser, numerically low rear gears and a 3 speed gets the job done.
3.23's aren't bad, I'd be inclined to leave that be. Dad bought his 69 GTO new with 3.23's and daily drove it for 20 years and put 180,000 miles on it like that. 70 mph and 3000 rpm everywhere. That motor still ran decent when we pulled it.
Anyway, even a 3.08 setup will still buzz on the highway so it doesn't really keep things quiet and there is still wear and tear. It's nothing close to what an overdrive will do for you but it works well enough when on A budget.
You'll have to weigh how much you actually plan to drive the car too. 1,000 miles or even 2000 miles a year? I wouldn't even bother with the overdrive idea. If you're like me and put 6000 to 10,000 miles a year on the car, then yeah I'd be doing the overdrive.
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