I've got a 96 Z28 Convertible with an Automatic tranny.
For some reason there's no first gear.
Obviously there is one.. But there isn't a spot I can put it in manually wit the shifter, though there looks like theres enough space to move it to 1st. there isn't even a "1" next to the shifter. theres just a space where the 1 should be then it goes 2 D and OD.
I don't know enough about 4th gen's, but I wouldn never have thought that there would be camaros without the option to put it in first gear. and it shows there being one there in the manual..

Maybe I haven't got the original tranny? How can I check?

Does anybody else have this?

I'd also like to put in a Transgo shift kit. Anybody done this on a 4th gen?

Thanks..

 

i dont have one either and in my manual as well it shows the car with one.. i think there is a way of accessing it though if you take the shifter console apart

 

Yeah the 4th gen auto camaro's didn't come with a selectable 1st gear. I had my gearbox changed last month however and now i can click mine into 1st gear and let me just say WOW it screams and burns that rubber better than ever before. I think there is a way to get 1st gear though, i'm sure i read somewhere that theres some sort of switch or sensor you have to disable. Sorry but i can't remember what it is though. I'm sure your dealership should know if you asked them about this.

 

Phew... At least I'm not alone (or crazy!)

I wish I could ask my chevy dealer.. Too bad there aren't any in Australia, and I have the only car in the state..

I could call my old dealer back home in Canada though.. Not sure if they would want to help since it's probabl not something that GM would recommend..

This group my only hope..

 

"Yeah the 4th gen auto camaro's didn't come with a selectable 1st gear"

incorrect...


if the 1st gear isn't selectable, that means you have factory 2.73 ratio rear end gears

if it IS selectable you have the performance 3.23 ratio gears.

some did, some didn't

and there is a way to get it to select it, search for "first gear mod"

 

The 4th gen with 2.73 rear cars have no 1st gear selection [or #1 on the shift indicator] due to meeting a gov mandated noise requirement [ that could only be met by a 2nd gear roll by..]
It is easy to rectify this though..
Take the consoo off, and cut off the black rubber block that is stopping the selector from going all the way back to 1st gear..
After that you will be able to get it..
Worth doing in my opinion[ I have..]

 

linky for thread about it

 

wow FastBlack96Z28 you have a camaro in Oz. Awesome. I'm gonna be finishing my uni studies here in around 1 year and i'm thinking of taking back a 1998-2002 Z28 back home with me. Was it hard to get it registered and complianced ????

 

zwrangler - If i were you, and you want to bring back a 4th gen, find yourself a convertible 98+ z28 or SS. You'll find one for probably under $17k and it'll probably be worth up to or even over $57,000 here, and won't lose value.

There are some problems though...
Okay, so it's cheap to actually ship one over if you find a good deal, but you have to pay duty on it. I'm not sure what it is, but it's probably 33% or more of the price you payed for it. Duty is a fed tax so it own't vary by state, but each state has diff compliance rules.. I think they are all the same in that if the car is 30 years old or older then it doesnt need to be converted to Right Hand Drive. But this would have to be. Some states (VIC for example) have just changed the laws for who and how conversions are done. Can be cheaper if you don't care what the interior looks like. Or you can get them to redesign an entire dashboard from fibreglass to look like it would if it was mirrored (this is what was done to mine). I'm not sure how much a conversion actually costs (would be cheap if it was a GTO/Monaro..), because I bought my 'maro already over here.
I could find out if you want.

Another good resource would be www.camaro-firebird.org. That's the Australian club.

Let me know if you want some more info..

Or if you want to bring a Caddy XLR back with you... Now that would be sweet over here...

L8R M8..

 

teke184 - thanks for the link..

 

Thanks for all the info FastBlack96Z28. Well if the tax is only like 33% of what i paid for it then thats really cheap since camaro's down here in the emirates are dirt cheap. I got my 1993 z28 last year in mint condition with a genuine 55000kms on it and it cost me around $6000 aussie dollars. I can get a 2000 model convertible Z28 around here in mint condition for around $17-19000 aussie. So 33% of that is no problem. Converting it to right hand drive i believe is around $6-8000 dollars. many shops specialize in this in Queensland so i don' think this would be any trouble for me.

Thanks for all the info, oh and thanks for the link too. appreciate it.

 

I have a 94' z28 and i can access the 1st gear, so this means i have 3.23? Is the 3.23 much faster than the 2.73? How big of a diff. is it? If a 97' has the 1,2,D,OD then does it have 3.23 or 2.73 becuase a friend of mine has the same 1,2,O,OD and he claims all he has is 2.73! Thanks

 

The real way to find out what it came with from the factory would be to decode the RPO codes on the sticker in the glove box. Here are the codes.

GU2 = 2.73 gears
GU4 = 3.08 gears
GU5 = 3.23 gears
GU6 = 3.42 gears

-Tony