my name is brian, i'm new to this site, i have an 87 t/a and everything is stock as of right now, this summer i'm doing a whole project on this car including getting a new 305 (its a daily driver and 350 may eat too much gas) and part of my new engine project is a whole mess of upgrades for 305's but also i was thinking of installing a manual trans, what do you guys think about that? is it worth just keeping the old 700R4 or should i go all out and get the manual trans?

 

Na. Keep your 350. A 305 will probably only get you a couple more miles per gallon. It's not worth doing that swap to give up power and only get a couple more miles per gallon. You would be better off keeping the 350 and putting a 6 speed behind it. The manual should get you the same improvement in gas mileage that a 305 would. That way you could keep the 350 and make the car more fun to drive at the same time.

I just swapped out my 700r4 for a T56 and I love it. The swap can become pricey though. I bought a used tranny to try and save money and the 2nd gear synchronizer was shot so I had to rebuild the tranny. But I was able to upgrade a lot of components while I had it apart so I ended up with a nice setup.

 

well i have a 305 in it already, i didnt mean to make it sound like it was something different, but i was thinking about building up a nice 305 and throwing that in there and giving the old workhorse a bit of a break. i was thinking about maybe even throwing a turbo on it but i'm a while away from that lol but it seems as though a manual may be the best idea in either circumstances, plus manuals are just more fun