PurelyPMD

iTrader: (3)

You'll get it all sorted out Charlie - it's a good car, congratulations!

chazman

iTrader: (4)

Thanks Chris. It is a good car. I just have to scratch my head at the choices the previous owner chose for it. Once he brought it to a now defunct Miami speed shop for "running rough" that was it. They took him for over $3K.

Apparently, the factory exhaust had a leak in the I-pipe. Instead of simply fixing it, they replaced the whole cat back with a Magnaflow, and disposed of the factory exhaust .

We all know that the '89-'92 multec injectors are on their death walk even when brand new, so I'm sure the originals needed replacing. But instead of simply installing the correct 19# injectors, the shop installed 24# injectors and then charged for a $500 "dyno tune" and chip to make them work.

The car has a brand new set of Sumitomo tires. For the money he spent on those, he could have bought a set of BFG G-Force Sport Comps. I asked if he still had the factory Gatorback? Nope, threw them out.

It's just like, WTF?!?!

Anyway, I'll get it all sorted. I Can't wait to plate and insure it so I can start driving it.

BTW, those gray spots look like some sort of chemical fallout. A couple look like they've gone through the clear coat. I'll have to figure those out.

But I'm going to tell you one thing! I'm sure this car is relieved to be in my garage now. It's had a rough 3 years.

IROCgiraffe

iTrader: (3)

Looking forward to see more photos of this car.... Truly a great looking car.

chazman

iTrader: (4)

Thanks!

chazman

iTrader: (4)

Thanks, you'll be seeing plenty!

Ty92Z

iTrader: (11)

Lol, I'm one of those who like my Magnaflow tips, they're so 90s! No apology needed, we all have a right to like different things. Just out of curiosity, what will you do with this car. Will the mileage keep it parked mostly or do you throw caution to the wind and not worry about it? It's a very nice factory stock example as most of your cars seem to be. I would find it hard to not drop the top and drive it to work on Fridays.

chazman

iTrader: (4)

I plan on driving it on nice days. To work, to cruise nights, stuff like that. I really enjoyed driving my '92 with the top down last year. I'll put a few miles on it.

chazman

iTrader: (4)

As far as those Magnaflow tips which I find so offensive, I'm considering three options. Let's hear some feedback.

1) Install stock looking tips on the Magnaflow muffler/ exhaust.

2) Replace the Magnaflow muffler with one of the NOS mufflers I acquired recently and stock looking tips, but keep the Magnaflow I-pipe.

3) I have a full factory cat back from ironically, another '89, 5 speed, convertible IROC-Z. It will require a ton of detailing to make it worthy of this car, but it's an option I'm considering.


Let me know what you guys think and why...

Motown

Normally I would say #2 but I know you have the patience to do what you said in #3, so I say #3, lol.

Also, how far apart was this car on the assembly line in 89 compared to your black hardtop?

KMK454

All three are a win...

I'm not sure if the factory setup had a flange at the muffler to make it removable, but my car had one. I currently have what I believe is the original muffler and tips (though not 100% sure on the tips) sitting in a garage, while a Flowmaster muffler with hidden tips sits in its place. I'm still considering going custom GMMG style chambered with a 2OTL tip setup. That's about the only way I like seeing the exhaust on a thirdgen. Or, if I can find an SLP 2OTL, I'd put one on.

Since it's a convertible, you might get more enjoyment with louder exhaust noise... but you also might be able to hear the stock exhaust better. I always liked the stock exhaust note on the N10 LB9 car, but it just never had enough volume.

Funny hearing about the paint; my car is the same way. Photographs exceptionally well, but if you put your face near the paint, you'll see some yellowing touch-up paint spots applied by the previous owner (probably one of those Dr. Color Chip call now 1-800 infomercial things). Please let us know what you do to fix it - I'm probably just sending mine to a professional restorer to touch up and buff the original coat.

The shop experience you mentioned isn't out of the norm; if you don't do your own work, it's hard finding somebody who will work on TPIs. Then, if they do, it's even harder finding somebody who will put in the effort to retain it as stock. It doesn't help that the original parts aren't readily available. I've had luck with Corvette shops that specialize in C4s.

chazman

iTrader: (4)

Amazingly, the car still retains all four of it's original gray tire valve stem caps. How they managed to stay with the car is beyond me.

chazman

iTrader: (4)

My '83, '85 and '92 were actually exponentially worse in this regard when I got them. I was lucky and able to work some magic on the paint with those cars. Although on this car, I feel pressure to make it look perfect. I'll fiddle with it until I'm happy.

BTW, this is the first 3rd gen I've bought where the first project wasn't getting the frozen hood latch open. So that's good.

B4C5.7

iTrader: (2)

Chazman, I would have washed it at 11, burn outs at midnight and compressor on at one and wife yelling at 1:05...so funny, I fell out of my chair. that is my house to a T. Great stuff. I vote option 3 cat back OE. It is the only way you will be able to sleep at night! Thanks for the laugh.

chazman

iTrader: (4)

I think you guys are right. I may never be happy until it has a factory OEM exhaust.

PurelyPMD

iTrader: (3)

Another vote for factory exhaust.

chazman

iTrader: (4)

Welp, I'd better look into some faster techniques at cosmetic exhaust restoration.

The muffler/tailpipe assembly I did for my '85 took me a couple of weeks.

KMK454

You seem happiest when they're stock, so those two weeks will be a good investment.

chazman

iTrader: (4)

I worked late tonight but still went out to the garage to fiddle with my new toy.

What's this?


Why would you need an air freshener in a convertible? You'd think the fresh air would freshen it enough, no?

Front license plate comes off for the first time in 27 years. I took the original California plate from the front and put it on the back. If you title a car as an antique in Illinois, you are allowed to run it's original plates as long as you keep the current antique plates in the car.



I clayed some areas tonight. I polished out the scuffs on all four corners of the car, ( can you be more careful???), but these things are going to be a problem.



There are about 25-30 of these spots on the car. It looks like some kind of caustic chemical etched and in some cases burned through the clear coat. I'm going to have to treat these like stone chips and touch them up, since they seem impervious to correction unless I want to get super aggressive, which I don't. Getting paint with an EXACT color match will be key.


Check this out.


This is the original wheel lock kit from GM. Those are the regular lug nuts removed for the locking lugs, 1 per wheel. I'm the original owner of my '89 and I never saw this kit before.


Oh, BTW Brad. You asked about production date compared to my other '89. This one was produced in 12/88 and my black one was 5/89.

vinny R

I have those spots on my car also. Ironically they appear on my 2003 chevy Silverado. On both vehicles they are mainly on my upper facing surfaces. Usually the clear coat ends up popping off after time in the same shape as the spot.

chazman

iTrader: (4)

Any idea what caused them?

vinny R

I think it is the sun. I notice that the sides of the vehicles are spot free on both. Are these spots on only the upper facing surfaces on your car also?

chazman

iTrader: (4)

Mostly on the upper surfaces, like the hood, but I spotted a few lower down.

I may attempt to wet sand the ones which haven't burned through the clear coat.

eseibel67

I know nothing about paint, but could it be that the clear has separated from the paint and that it's dirt underneath?


As for the exhaust, I would keep the Magnaflow and add stock looking tips. Walker makes tips for that have a shape that is similar to stock. A good sounding exhaust is very enjoyable in a convertible. Especially so with a manual trans on overrun.

chazman

iTrader: (4)

I think for now, that's what I'm going to do. The spare OEM exhaust is in my attic in case I ever want to spend 10-20 hours cleaning it up. The factory style tips will need some modifying to fit the Magnaflow muffler.

And I just linked my iPhone to the Alpine blue tooth the previous owner installed in the car, so maybe the stock radio will stay on the shelf for a while.


In other news: The rear spoiler is a different shade of white than the rest of the car and is missing the P-seal. It's obviously been removed and repainted in it's past.

chazman

iTrader: (4)

I will say that this car is pretty fun to drive. I haven't driven it much, since it's not registered yet, but I can't wait for that perfect day, fold down the top and hit the road.

I've been asked how it drives compared to it's 5 month younger brother, '89 hardtop IROC-Z.

As a comparison, my '89 hardtop is a G92 5 speed. Dual cats vs single cat, 3.45 BW vs 3.08 10 bolt, rear discs vs rear drums, oil cooler vs no oil cooler, MK6 vs M39 trans. Okay, the nomenclature is out of the way.

I did most of the free mods on my hardtop, back in '89. Bumped timing, airfoil, opened airbox, K&Ns, Hypertech stage 2 chip with 160* t-stat, also when the multecs went south after about 7K miles, I replaced them with 19# flow matched Bosch units from TPIS, when they were still available new, and at that time ported that little wall on the plenum behind the throttle openings.

The convertible had 24# injectors installed by now defunct Torq SpeedLab of Miramar Florida, (can't figure WTF they were thinking on that), and then needed to do a $500 "dyno tune" and chip burned to make them work - and of course the Magnaflow exhaust they installed when the factory I-pipe got an exhaust leak. They also replaced most of the ignition - thankfully in a moment of clarity, with factory AC Delco parts.

So, how do they compare?

The hardtop feels faster. Maybe even by quite a bit. Don't get me wrong, the convertible is waaaay fun to drive and lays down 11s at will, it's just not as seat of the pants fast my hardtop. And the Magnaflow sounds good, just not as melodiously fetching to my ear as the factory N10, IMHO.

I'm going to have 1MeanZ read the Torq SpeedLab chip at ThirdGen Expo, just to see what they've done with it. I'll feel better once I know. At that point I'll decide if I'm going back to 19 pounders.

ev305tpi

iTrader: (3)

I'm really excited for you Charlie!! Car looks beautiful!! Don't stress too much about the marks in the paint. You may want to leave them as is. I have similar type spots in the leather seats of my 87 and some acid rain in the paint. I'm afraid to do anything to either and damage them.

Yeah, as much as I love the magnaflow muffler sound, i'd probably put a factory one back on since you have one available. Maybe a good winter project for next winter. Get that factory delco radio back in there though

B4C5.7

iTrader: (2)

The 3:45's really wake these cars up

chazman

iTrader: (4)

That they do. But I also think the entire package works well together as a whole.

I remember one night I was coming home from probably a cruise night, with my cousin driving his 4th gen Z28, (LT1/T56) next to me. We were just fooling around and did an impromptu drag race. We were both expecting the LT1 to pull away like I was standing still. But we were neck and neck the whole way

I asked him later if he lifted. He said, " no way, I literally could not pull away from you." He also said, all I could hear were your open airboxes sucking in air like a jet engine.

The factory engineers are pretty smart guys.

chazman

iTrader: (4)

I should have been mowing the lawn today, but instead I was addressing the various paint blemishes on the '89.

BTW, I posted this on the headlight bucket thread and I think I'll copy and paste it here:

I figured I'd add that and was too lazy to retype.






Above is where some idiot buffed through the paint and someone else or even the same guy, simply brushed in some touch up paint. I'm going to see if I can do a better job than that.

I fiddled with what I will call those "acid rain" spots for hours trying to find a technique to improve their looks. The gray that you see is dirt/stains embedded into the etched base coat. In the end, I found laquer thinner was the most effective way to clean them out. Of course spending 5 minutes or so scrubbing each spot mars the finish, so those areas will need to be buffed out.

You know, this car has it's flaws, but I am also amazed at how mint and well preserved this car is. In many ways, this is the most mint 3rd gen I've ever seen.

chazman

iTrader: (4)

Factory looking exhaust tips ordered. They will require some modification to fit on the Magnaflow muffler.

1MeanZ, too bad you're not closer, this is right up your alley.

Drew

iTrader: (58)

Interesting. Are the locking lugs on the car the type with the plastic beauty cap, or are they the black painted stainless capped lugs like earlier cars?

I'm pretty sure the 91s came with the locking lugnuts, key, papers and instructions in a plastic bag. I'd have to dig a bit, but I think I've got a couple of the bags and paperwork around here somewhere.

You might try toothpaste on the dark spots. Seriously. It'd be a very mild abrasive, and should clean out the crud and leave the surface clean and shiny.

chazman

iTrader: (4)

They are the black painted round ones without the beauty caps. Different than the ones on my other '89 and former '92.

Toothpaste is probably the only thing I haven't tried. I'll give it a shot later.

Drew

iTrader: (58)

Like these? Same ones I've got on my 87 Iroc. I got mine from an 88 Sportcoupe, which had the same "Metric" steel capped lugnuts as my Iroc and my old 83 SC, etc. I've always figured they came out with the threaded locking lugs that match the threaded lugnuts at the same time. The packaging pictured in this thread looks more like over the counter accessory parts, but I don't have any documentation to suggest either. Interesting...

chazman

iTrader: (4)

Yup. Those are them.

chazman

iTrader: (4)

Tried the toothpaste, Drew. I have to say it works at least as well as Megs 105 and is a lot cheaper. I found several dozen of those spots on the lower passenger door and hit them all with toothpaste last night. Not perfect yet, but big improvement.

Drew

iTrader: (58)

Good deal, I'm glad it worked well for you!

1MeanZ

iTrader: (9)

should I bring a trailer to TGE? Why don't you make a trip over here? I've been there like 4 times LOL.

Jokes aside, it is probably a job we can do in an afternoon, so bringing it over is an option.

chazman

iTrader: (4)

Right now, my plan is to bring it to TGE so you can read what's on my "dyno tuned" chip, and then we'll see what's what.

Polo Z03

iTrader: (1)

Charile the car is coming along great in a very short time . . . I know the woes wanting to get such a well preserved car, back to 99.99% OEM perfection . . . on a separate note:

By 91 / 92 . . weren't the locking lugs factory installed and manufactured by AMCOR?

On my windows sticker says 16" wheels w/ locks and I have a set that looks like this:

chazman

iTrader: (4)

Thanks Andy!

I hope you post a thread on how you have been detailing your '92! I saw this car up close last year and it looked spectacular. Since then, Andy has disassembled his Z03's interior and removed it's front bumper cover to make it spectacular +++!!!

chazman

iTrader: (4)

More touch ups and paint corrections last night.

The factory orange peel is very apparent on this car, especially compared to my black and yellow cars. It jogs my memory of what my black car looked like when new. Compared to the other two, the finish is very dull.

If 3rd gens had a Bloomington Gold Spinner award, the judges would probably be looking for a dull, orange peeled, factory finish like this to give maximum points to. If I were the "originality ****" I claim to be, I'd probably want to preserve that. But I guess what I actually am is someone who wants to make original cars look their very best. And their very best is not a dull factory orange peel.

BTW, what are those bugs in Florida? Love bugs? Aren't they the ones which will etch your paint if their guts are not removed immediately? I wonder if that's what happened to this car? I questioned the previous owner from Wisconsin about them, and these spots weren't on the car when he owned it, so they must have occurred in Florida over the past 3 years.

B4C5.7

iTrader: (2)

Love bugs are brutal on paint.

Drew

iTrader: (58)

Yes and no. From what I remember, they came in a clear plastic bag with "Locking Lugnuts" or something similar ink stamped on the side, with the instruction card, and a tri-fold perforated card with the key/lock code for ordering replacements. One of the cards was supposed to go in the owners wallet or owners manual, another in the glove box (it was peel/sticky backed), etc. I suppose I should just track down the ones from my convertible and upload some pics. I'm fairly certain the cars were delivered with 20 standard lug nuts and the locks were to be installed by the owner or the dealer.

Drew

iTrader: (58)

I dug into my file cabinet a bit, didn't find the stuff for my convertible, it's probably in the glovebox and I haven't had the doors open since 2006... However, I did find a owner's packet from an 89 Camaro I owned very briefly.







This isn't the best example, because the car was BEAT and the documentation is rough. I want to say the bag in my 91 RS has black text and is less ornate. Also the later Amcor cards are printed in blue ink on silver background. I'd have scanned the back of the cards, but that particular set is bonded to an instruction card. I've got a couple mint condition sets of the cards around, but I'd have to dig to find them. Anyway this should convey the general idea. Strangely, the plastic owner's packet bag had all the warranty info, roadside assistance, Lexan T-top care instructions, etc but the one thing missing was the owners manual.

GASPEDDLER

iTrader: (2)

Here is the factory locking wheel kit from my 5/89 Iroc.

chazman

iTrader: (4)

Exactly the same one that came with my black '89, also manufactured in 5/89.

GASPEDDLER

iTrader: (2)

Yes, I misunderstood your previous post and edited my post after reading through the thread again on my tablet. It's tough to follow the forum on my phone with the mobile version.

1988CamaroSC

iTrader: (2)

Nice car. Subscribing so i can watch the evolution of it.

chazman

iTrader: (4)

Look what came in the mail today!


These REALLY look like the factory tail pipes. The driver's side looks like a near perfect fit. The passenger side may need to be extended about 3-ish inches to work with the MF muffler.

botch1

Those are the right pipes Charlie. I have used 4 or 5 sets of them for the cars that I restored. The LEFT ( driver side pipe ) is the one you have to add 3 inches to get the pipe to mount to the hanger . I was using flowmaster mufflers that were 3 inches narrower that the factory muffler. JIM