Hello, I'm new to the site. I have a black 1998 Z-28 convertible only 383 ever made. (https://www.camaroz28.com/1998-camar...ction-numbers/)
It's a beautiful car, and i really love it.
Heres my dilema- it has a blown rear end. (it came with 273 gear ratio because its an automatic) the car is completely stock except for a slingshot tourqe converter and the stereo because of my hesitation to change it too much since it is a rare car and I do not want to loose its value.
I'm stuck between wanting my car to stay stock, and wanting it to do wheel stands.
Should I put a 273 rear back in it? Or perhaps a 411? Or somwhere in between?
Should I put twin turbos? or a procharger? or just leave it alone?
Or should i sell it?
I'm usually good at making decisions but I'm relly stumped on this one. Peoples opinions will be much apreciated. What would you do? Thanks

 

what would i do? well thats pretty personal, but i want a supercharger with a s60

just depends on how much money u want to spend and what u wanna do with it,
i mean if you want to sell it then keep it stock, but if i looked at a black z28 convertible, i wouldnt consider it rare without seeing those numbers and even then in my mind it would effect the value in my eyes.
u should decide if u wanna keep it or eventually sell it before u decide what to do

 

To be honest, I'm with that comment as well. Even though they only made 383 in that year, of a Z28 Vert, it just doesn't jump out to me as a really rare car. So that for me, unless you know someone that's willing to toss up good money for it because of that, and if it's low mileage enough, I'd probably just look into going up with it.

Definately go with different gears though. Upgrade the rear since you need to anyway, go probably 3.73s or something. After that, it just matters if you want more go power or not. Twin Turbos are less common, but obviously more work involved.

If you like the car, keep it, and really make it yours.

 

If you are undecided on what your end goal is then find a used rear from a stick car (which is a 3.42 ratio) that has the same ABS system as yours and put it in, tune it for the new ratio. This will be inexpensive and improve performance without killing you MPGs.

 

Right now the car does 96 mph in 2nd before it swithces to 3rd. Any idea what 2nd would top out at with 3.42s? Also, does the 3.42 come with ASR? And what intails "tunning" the car for 3.42s?

 

I wouldn't recommend 4.10's as that's pretty short. I don't forsee a LS1 Z28 being a collectors item (nor do I see most LS1 SS's being a collectors item, there were over 34,000 of them made) so if you want to modify it, go for it! You can very easily modify it while still being able to bring it back to stock when/if you decide to sell it. Keep your stock parts, as they don't tend to be worth very much money.

Twin Turbo? Procharger? Don't worry about that just now unless you plan on dropping $10k on making it do wheel stands tomorrow. Pick up a set of headers, some sub frame connectors and go from there. Maybe after full bolt-ons you'll be content with the performance of the car.

 

You probably won't like this, but the car is not rare by any means. Don't let that notion hold you back from modifying the car to your likings.

For a completely stock automatic vehicle, or even with a mild aftermarket torque converter, a 3.42 ratio works very well. Like Al said, you're best route is to buy a complete rear from a 6 speed car. All you will need after that is to reprogram the PCM with the new gear ratio. You can do that one of 2 ways: buy an expensive handheld programmer, or stop by a place capable of tuning late model GMs. Most places will adjust the gear ratio in the PCM for around $50 - much cheaper than a handheld.

Most 98+ 6 speed rear axles came with ASR/TCS/4 channel ABS.

 

first off I'd like to thank everyone for sharing their thoughts. It was helpful and prompt.

However, I don't see how this car is not rare and here's why-
in 1998 there were only 2,498 camaro z28 convertibles made, out of those only 383 where black, even less with automatic transmissions. I've had this car for 10 years and have only seen 1 other like it but it was a manual trans. People generally consider a 67 camaro to be a rare car but I'd bet there's a lot more of those out there now even with matching numbers. Keep in mind there were over 10,000 Lamborghini Gallardos sold. And how often do you see those? Statistically, for every one of my cars, you'll see about 30 Lamborghini Gallardos. So, if you considrer a Lambo to be a rare sighting, then you would have to agree that this car is extremely rare and hard to come by.

 

but people crap their pants when they see a lambo, they dont generally crunch numbers and then crap their pants bc they realized its actually(after justifying it) a rare camaro

 

There are a few rare 4th Gens, but all of them are some sort of anniversary/commemorative edition. I really wouldn't classify yours as rare- there's a lot of 4th Gen Camaros out there, and saying it's a black convertible isn't justification IMO. If you break it down far enough, every car is rare. You might be able to attract a buyer based on the fact that it's a black convertible, but chances are they'll only be willing to pay a slight premium for that over a different color.

You should really do what will make you enjoy it the most. Most people here consider an upgraded rearend such as a 12 bolt, 9", or S60 to be a value-adding upgrade to the vehicle anyway. I would certainly be willing to pay extra for an f-body without a time-bomb in the back. Lowering and suspension tweaks, exhaust systems, etc... might be turnoffs for some people because of their drawbacks but a stronger rearend doesn't really have any negatives.

BTW 3.42 is generally considered the best all-around street gear ratio for an auto LS1.

 

Mail order tunes aren't a bad idea either. I had mine done by Frost and was very pleased. $150 plus shipping, I sent the PCM out on a Friday and got it back on Tuesday. My car is alot more responsive now...

 

I once ran all my RPOs (vehicle options) through a decoder to determine how many cars were built like mine. Know what I came up with? 1 of 1. That's right! It's the only one like it made by GM. In the end, it's just another red Trans Am.

 

All I'm saying is that if you actually made a point to spot a 98 z28 convertible you most likely wouldn't be able to. If you look for one for sale you won't find one. Believe me I've tried. You know how when you buy a car you start noticing them everywhere? Well that didn't happen to me. Insted I notice how many camaros there are, a lot..... But none like this.

 

Do you go around checking VINs to verify they're 98s? 98-02 are the same basic car. I checked AutoTrader... there are 10 black 98-02 Z28 convertibles all located within a few hours drive from where I am.

Here's one 10 minutes away:

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.js...r_id=296243053

I don't know where you're at, but you're completely missing the point: It's not rare - don't let that stop you from modifying it.

 

Here's the thing -- the only differences between the '98 and the later LS1 cars are very minor -- a different cam, different injectors. It's basically exactly the same as a '99 or 2000.

Maybe, 30 years from now, the number built will be relevant, but unless it has <50k miles on it and you plan on keeping it covered in a garage until 2041 and never driving it, that rarity is just a number. Even in 2041, your odds are still low. Rarity alone doesn't create value; you need rarity and demand. In 2041, if there's significant demand for 4th gen Camaros, nobody is going to be clamoring for the '98.

My advice to you is to mod the car any way you want, and then enjoy the heck out of it. Put a set of 3.73 or 4.10 gears in it and have some fun; if you want more power after that, so be it.

I will say, however, that you should seriously consider upgrading from the stock rear end to a 12-bolt or a Dana 60.