The car had 53k miles on it and although it was regularly
maintained, a couple of problems had to be fixed before
hitting the road. In addition to infamous intake leak
and a broken tranny mount, the PS pump was leaking.
The Z28 is not a rare car in the States, but you
don't see them much around here. The reason is that
our government banned the import of US spec cars in
'97. That's why only a few 4th-genners made their
way here. One can buy a brand new Euro spec Camaro
for $38k, but the few who could afford it seem to
prefer German luxury cars.
It is nice to have a somewhat rare car, but it also
means you have to figure out all your problems by
yourself. Car repair shops can't help much if you
don't have a clue yourself. Parts supply is quick
enough, but unfortunately shipping charges and taxes
often nearly double the prices compared to the States,
so modifying ain't cheap.
When I bought my Z, I knew next to nothing about
4th-gen cars. So I started to look around for information
on the Internet. It didn't take long to discover www.camaroz28.com,
f-body FAQ and Camaro axis. It took a few months to
read the stuff and learn the basics.
Initially I didn't plan to do any extensive modifications
because I thought it's too complicated and too easy
to screw up. CAI and a cat-back was the most I was
thinking about doing. But when you read the board
long enough, the unavoidable happens and you get the
mod bug bite. So in winter '99/'00 I did order a bunch
of performance goodies and the endless modfest began.
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