74HCT244 UART level translator, how would the circuit look?
Instead of the 74HCT744, you could use a chip specially made for this, such as the TI TXB0104.  SparkFun makes a convenient breakout board for this chip, priced at only $4, so you don't have to deal with as SMT part.

From the SparkFun description:

This 4-bit noninverting translator uses two separate configurable
power-supply rails. The A port is designed to track VCCA. VCCA accepts
any supply voltage from 1.2V to 3.6V. The B port is designed to track
VCCB. VCCB accepts any supply voltage from 1.65V to 5.5V. This allows
for universal low-voltage bidirectional translation between any of the
1.2-V, 1.5-V, 1.8-V, 2.5-V, 3.3-V, and 5-V voltage nodes. VCCA should not exceed VCCB. We have broken out each pin on this module for you to
easily access both the A and B ports.

So you want to supply VCCA with 3.3v and VCCB with 5v.