Hey everyone, My uncle has an '86 Firebird he wants to put a stock 350 in. It currently has a stock 305. The car has a T5 in it now. I read a bunch of forums and the T5 is weak, even for a 305. Is it worth taking the transmission somewhere and get it beefed up and if not, is there a direct replacement that is manual and has 5-6 speeds? The T56 swap is out of my skill and price range.

 

No.

Yup; the T-56.

Then it's time you go to work on that. Start a savings account and put like $10 or $20 in it every week. Drive the T-5 gently and do some studying (like, search this site for all the posts, and learn all you can) then by the time the T-5 pops, you'll be ready to do what has to be done.