About a month ago my 305tpi went to crap so now im wondering what i should do. I'm gonna need to buy a new engine so why not go to a 350? Problem is I've a stock t-5 and im afraid it wont be able to handle the 350. Just wondering what the best route is. Does anyone know anyways of having a t5 strengthend or inexpensive alternatives? Is swapping in a 350 worth it?

 

First, welcome aboard.

Now, the factory never put a T5 behind a 350. Why that was the case has been discussed ad nauseum, but the best arguement I've heard is that they didn't want Camaros to be faster than Vettes (other lines say it was an emissions thing, to which I say , or that the T5 wasn't strong enough, which sounds more viable but again, I don't believe it). There are members that have had T5's behind 400's for years with no problem, the key being no clutch dumps or speed shifting.

So, what should you do? I'd say go for the 350. After that, your choices go something like this: Be gentle with it (as stated above - no clutch dumps and no speed shifting); find a World Class T5, they are a little stronger; get a T5 upgrade kit (something like $1500, IIRC); go T56 or some aftermarket like Tremec.

This is really more of a Transmission topic than Engine Swap, so I'll move it over there so they can poke holes in what I said. . .