[joedoh]

of course it works! thats how everyone shifted before syncros. I think later 3 speeds were syncro 1st, but that one is not. your problem is the 3.08 rear gear makes it work on the highway but hard to drive at low speeds.

I forgot to mention, you need to blip the throttle a bit to get the revs up before shifting into first.

you could always lug it out in second, the 292 has a ton of bottom end torque.