"AFAIK, the Ted Williams labeled guns came later and were post-64 Winchester Model 70s and were called Model 53."
That's absolutely correct. I had one in 30-06 Had a somewhat cheap looking hardwood stock stained to look like walnut. Got it for $100 at Sears as when I was looking at it I could tell it had been fired and not cleaned, had a few beauty marks and scratches on the metal Argued with the clerk who insisted it was new. The manager of the section came over and I said this was a used gun. He said it couldn't be. I said let's check the records. He did and sure enough it was a return, "reason unknown." He asked would I take it for $100. OH YEAH! Took a bit of work to make it a decent shooter. Did I say a hardwood stock? Toughest piece of wood I'd ever worked. IIRC, it had some kind of impressed pattern that wasn't checkering but it's been at least 25 years or more since I gave the gun to a kid who wanted to hunt but couldn't afford a gun. Took him on his first hunt too. The safety as I recall as the same as the M70 but was a flat piece of metal rather than the normal M70 style. It also had a blind magazine. A bit heavy and clubby too but was a strong reliable rifle. Just way too plain to suit me.
Paul B.