I am thinking about purchasing a 1990 z that has a 5 spd trans but ary the 5 spd trannys good or bad? do they hold up?

 

NO...go T56 or tremec or richmond, or auto.

 

T5's arent as bad as people make them out to be.
Don't speed shift it excessively and you'll be fine.
A T56 WILL be better though long term, but the T5 will last you until then if you're not a dolt.

 

My T5 has held up behind my 305 for 137,xxx miles w/ no problems (as far as I know). But if money isn't a problem then yup, T56 is the way to go.
-Rippin

 

That's because your 305 makes no torque.

 

Well, it held up behind my LB9 GTA for 140k miles (and still going strong), and my LB9 makes plenty of torque. The T5 is nowhere near as strong as a T56, but it's more than adequate for a 305 or even a mild 350 if you don't pound the **** out of it. My IROC has a modded 350 and a T5 and I haven't killed it yet.

 

I've also been thinking about swapping to a T5 if I don't sell the car. I want to know if it will hold up to a mild cam, headers and intake mods. I don't plan on driving it like a rental car or anything so it will only get beat on on the weekends mostly.

I know that a T56 is the way to go but I am going to go T5 due to cost constraints for now and work my way up to the T56 when the T5 grenades