A few years ago when I was looking for a 5-speed transmission for my 1976 280Z project, I searched and searched for photos of the early ("wide ratio") and later ("close ratio") versions side-by-side. I never really found any, but I did acquire one of each, and thought I'd post pictures of them for easy comparison. The main things to notice are all on the rear extension housing:
The wide ratio gearbox has two exhaust hanger ears on the rear extension housing, the close ratio has only one