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Auto Detailing and AppearanceShare tips and tricks on how to make your Third Gen shine! Get opinions on products or how something tasteful looks on your Chevrolet Camaro or Pontiac Firebird.
Hello everyone! My car is a 1988 Camaro IROC-Z convertible. It is a 220hp TPI 305, 5 speed, G92 optioned car with the 3.45 gears, posi, and 4 wheel disc brakes. It has 65k miles and is mostly original with some freshening up.
. The car has had a repaint several years ago, and 2 owners ago. The car was keyed in a parking lot, and the owner at the time took it to a shop for a teardown and repaint. The owner at the time must have really loved this car, because the work was evidently paid for out of pocket, and not turned into his insurance. Clean carfax, etc. I'm a professional painter, and I have to say that whoever painted this car did an absolutely phenomenal job. It was taken apart, painted the right way, and reassembled. The paint is glass smooth and today there is barely even a rock chip anywhere on the car, zero overspray, no tape lines, etc. The previous owner only put about 400 miles on the car in the last 7 years or so.
I bought the car about 2 months ago, and have fixed just a few small things to make it as close to perfect as possible. The steering wheel had some cracking at the top, (not worn, just like weathered looking) so it was replaced with a brand new OER replica steering wheel. The clearcoat on the factory wheels was a little pitted looking, so they got sent out to a professional wheel restoration shop for a complete makeover. They look like brand spanking new wheels. I installed new OER replica lug nuts, along with the factory wheel locks. The tires are new BF Goodrich Sport COMP-2's in the factory 245/50/16 size.
It also has a Flowmaster cat back exhaust system, and down the road I am planning on changing out the tips for a stock appearing set. I also plan on changing the plug wires back to a black set to retain a factory look.
. Absolutely everything works on the car as it should. The power antenna, tonneau release, trunk pulldown, cruise, A/C, etc. I also have the factory radio on a shelf in my garage.
. I know that it is a super hard car to come across...although I don't believe production numbers can be broke down for G92, 5 speed IROC-Z convertibles. They were only available in 1987 and 1988. So it's kind of fun to talk about with car people, etc. It made its debut at it's first car show with me about 2 weeks ago, and it got tons of attention!
. Having been a super fan of these cars since I was a kid, (I'm 44 now) it's neat to finally start seeing them get the recognition that they deserve at shows, etc!
. Ok, I'll shut up now! Here's the car! And good luck to all the other guys in this month's running! Like always, there is some really cool stuff this month!
Thank you for the nominations, and your excitement over our Gunmetal Gray 1989 Pontiac / ASC GTA 5.7L ConvertibleI was just going to take some new pictures this month, so now have an awesome reason to get on that task. Stay tuned for those, and in the meantime, here's the background:
__________
This is my 2nd 1989 Gunmetal GTA, and I have a soft spot for these cars. I bought the first one, a T-Top 5.7L car, back in the summer of 1991 and kept it until spring 2005. Always wished I had kept it...
Anyways, other vehicles came and went, but the GTA stayed on my mind. I thought, if I got another, it would be the pinnacle of 3rd Gens - a convertible.
So to get a 5.7L GTA Convertible, it had to be an 89. I was on the hunt...
I travelled over 2,200 miles to look at one, and passed on another, but this one I found and bought, was a 4 year process. Allow me to explain...
Early Beginnings:
In 1991, I bought my first GTA. A 1989 Gunmetal Gray 5.7L T-Top car. It had 52k mi, and was parked on a hill of a farm w/ a 4x8 plywood sign, listing it for sale. As the car was under warranty until 75k mi, and the original owner had it, I rolled the dice and bought it. I had a Corvette at the time, which with two seats, wasn't very practical. So the GTA filled a nice void in my life. It turned out to be a wonderful car.
That one was highly modified and ran very quick. Spent a lot of time at the track, and made a lot of friends over those years, several whom I still speak with today.
In 1993, I met the lady who would become my wife. We went on our first date in the GTA, and later in life, many more firsts... It remained a memorable car, and pretty practical, all thing considered. Fast-forward to 2005, I had just bought another Corvette, so the GTA was sold. I was pretty bummed, watching as the taillights disappeared. I haven't seen that car since...
Since selling the car, I have thought about 3rd Gens. Watched the market closely, and decided, if I got another, which would it be?
Another 1989 5.7L car, as the engines are awesome, and IMO, the best of any TPI. I figured a Convertible would be unique, and the ASC cars being legitimate in their place of Pontiac history, would be a good option. But it would have to be Gunmetal Gray.
The Search For Gray:
Finding a Gunmetal Gray GTA which isn't a roach, is a tall order. Finding an ASC Convertible, even tougher... I could find Flame Red ones and white ones, all day long, but when it came to finding Gray, forget it... None seem to be out there... I was beginning to think these cars didn't exist in Gunmetal Gray!!
I looked online, and saw the silver car in Hawaii which based on the Gunmetal emblems, must've been gray at some point. I figured, based on the low production numbers and percentages of which Gunmetal makes-up overall 1989 GTA production, it was the proverbial needle-in-the-haystack. But I was determined...
I found a Gunmetal 1989 ASC 5.7L car in Nevada, looked at it, and found it was too much of a project. While the car was okay from a distance, two of the four windows were missing, the dash was a mess, and rear quarter panel damaged and repaired in haste. It was a cloth interior car, and 1 owner. It'll be a good car for someone who has time, but for the money, I kept looking...
Found a Gunmetal 1988 ASC Convertible in Harrisburg at the Mecum Auction, but it was a 5.0L/Auto w/ woodgrain dash, and other mods. Car sold for $11.5k, and while low mileage, the small engine wasn't for me. I kept looking...
Life Happens:
As they say, life happens... About severn years ago, I had come across an ad for a Gunmetal 1989 ASC 5.7L car. I reached-out to the seller, and because of the distance (car was overseas, actually), had it inspected. All this took time, and for whatever reason, maybe I was the only one looking at the time, but things were going in my favor. Then, life happens...
Right about that time, my father had gotten sick. He had been ill for some time, but things got bad with his health. Right when I was ready to buy, I pulled back from the deal. I needed to focus on family. My dad passed away not long after.
As if that wasn't enough, as things cleared-up from that, my wife got sick. Really ill. I felt like history was repeating itself. She's fine now, thankfully. But it took two years to get to the point of relief. Life continues...
The Accident:
A little over three years ago, as I'd been riding a bike for fitness, I had my own ordeal, as the whole "health" thing tried to kill me. I had an accident. It left me a mess on the side of the road, and thankful good samaratins stopped.
If you grew up in my era, one didn't wear a bicycle helmet. That's something I wish I had considered, as I went head first into the pavement. Anyways, sometime between thinking I might never recover, to where I am today, I decided to reach-out to the seller from years ago, on the chance they might still have the GTA. I figured the car was long sold, as it had been years...
BUT, It hadn't... They not only owned the car still, but would consider selling. We struck a deal, and the rest is now history... It took about a month to get the car, including time at both shipping ports, plus a couple weeks at sea - but the car landed back in the USA just fine.
If you look closely, the red fog light is still visible under the rear fascia. That was due to the laws in the country it came from. Neat stuff!!
If you read this far, I hope you found the story of interest. It's the "Cliff notes" version, and while there is much more, it's probably a good summary of how we ended up with the car. My wife can't wait to go on a "date" in the GTA again, and wind-back the clock 25+ years.
Since buying the car, I've enjoyed every moment behind the wheel. Driving the car is like a trip down memory lane, and it's an awesome feeling. Seems everyone I encounter has a story about a GTA they had, or the one they always wanted. This car is an absolute time machine. When I take it out, people go nuts over the car - they all wish they had kept their 3rd gens, and enjoy the story of ours.
Since getting the car, I have replaced all 4 tires (from the ones which were dry and cracked from age), a few of the hard emissions lines, the fuel injectors, and then new o-rings on the fuel system. Other than that, just replace gasoline as I burn it. It's such a fun car!
The car is 100% stock, with an added alarm system only. It has some rare Pontiac options including the super-rare 1989 Factory CD Player, and is quite possibly, a One-of-One, as built.
Thank you again for the nomination, and hopefully for your vote.
Last edited by Big&BadGTA; 07-15-2020 at 04:57 PM.
I don't mean to detract from this month's beautiful nominees, but did I miss something? Do we have a Guest Host for this event, or are the duties changing hands?
I don't mean to detract from this month's beautiful nominees, but did I miss something? Do we have a Guest Host for this event, or are the duties changing hands?
88IROCvertZ is filling the gap for me this month. Needed to prioritize and shed some responsibilities for a bit.
Mine is the 1991 white/ red Camaro. I have been a GM and convertible guy all my life. A 67 Impala SS vert, a 70 Lemans Sport vert, a 63 Buick Special vert.[first car] A bunch of Corvettes. But around 2009 I realized that with all the GM cars I had owned, not one was a Camaro. So I started looking at the possibilities. Well First Gen vert I can't afford, second gen there were no verts and I didn't like the looks of the fourth gens. So I focused on third gens with leather and found this one in New Jersey and had it shipped to Wisconsin. Good body, bad paint, 305 tbi 700-r4. It needed the top replaced and that was one of my first projects on this car and the first top I ever replaced myself, Stayfast fabric with a glass window , I highly recommend the glass window by the way. Then, as my wife says , I can't leave anything alone. So I started planning the 6L80 LS swap. Found The trans first then went looking for a gen4 LS to go with it. I found an LC9 5.3 with 27 miles on it . The LC9 is aluminum block with variable valve timing and DOD or displacement on demand . I wanted to keep both of those working partly because no one else doe's, I will say that was only partially successful because I was never able to get the DOD to play nice with the cruise control. When the cruise was set and DOD would kick in the throttle pedal would be disabled . [ drive by wire]. The 5.3 dynoed at 276 HP and ran a 13.95 Quarter mile on Power Tour . It got mpgs in the high twenties to low thirties on road trips. My wife and I drove about 40,000 miles all over the country , from the east coast to Florida to Texas to Montana and most places in between. Then in the spring of 2018 when I took the car out of storage it had a ticking noise in the engine. I thought it was a failing DOD lifter ,but turns out it was a rod bearing . That lead me to a crate LS3 .I installed it and had it dyno tuned about a week before LS fest 18 and off we go on another road trip! It dyno at 368 RWHP and is a blast to drive! The MPG is now 18-25 ,but I guess you have to pay for the extra fun. There are lots of other up grades that I did a long the way, including QA1 adjustable shocks and struts. Corvette brakes front and LS f-body rear brakes . Ford 8.8 rear end 3.31 gears and a Torsen TR2 limited slip. Of course there are lots of supporting parts in between the big parts you get the Idea. Now I see what I can do for more pictures. Thanks for considering my car for this honor.
Ladies and gentlemen I present to you my 8 owner 1991 Z28 5.0 TPI convertible. I am the proud 8th owner of this FL convertible, It started by being sold late in the 91 year at Roger Holler Chevrolet in Winter Park FL. The car had title change in Windemere, a town just outside of Orlando. That was also the town of the original registration. The car then had a 2 yr. stint in Hilton Head SC. It was retitle back in Winter Garden FL, again just outside Orlando. From there it went to Haleigh FL, west Miami. Then to Titusville and ultimately in Gainesville FL and that is where I bought it a little over 5 yrs. ago. Now she resides in Jupiter, FL. The mileage is a little vague as the cluster that is in the car is not original to my car. I have a cert. from the state certified tech that swapped the cluster. It adds up to 87K. The guy I bought the car from had the cluster swapped so who knows how far the car has been driven on the broken speedo. My guess is it is closer to 100K.
When I bought the car it was nowhere near this nice, but I could see through the yrs and see that this was a solid car all the way around, she just needed a dose of me. It had enough of the original parts missing and the mileage factor that i made the decsion to not try to put it back to original, just build on what was already there. The rims and stripes were on the car, the air pump, radio and original rims were not. She is numbers matching. Original paint is still the hood, the sides. Front and rear bumpers and the trunk lid are resprays. The interior is original minus the radio and cig lighter. Original convertible top to boot! I have replaced all the exterior lighting except for the taillights. I installed LED socket bulbs in those. The headlight buckets and blister scoops I did a vinyl wrap. Same on the door handles and key locks. I am trying for the modern look to match those C6 vette wheels.
I have had a passion for these cars that goes back to the 80's and my BF who bought a 92 in 93. Black g92 hard top. That car hooked me, I already loved the IROC's but something about his car I had to have a 91 or 92 period. And let me tell you it was a major chore to find something in decent shape at the time I was looking. So when my BF would not sell me his after I basically begged him I went out and found my own.. I have done some engines mods, specifically a full intake and exhaust. I did my own port work on a intake and plenum and purchased some AS&M runners, L69 manifolds, Magniflow Y-pipe and Hooker 3" exhaust with cat delete pipe. I painted or wrapped everything including the nuts and bolts before I put it back together.
I almost did not go look at the car. When I got the Carfax and saw 7 owners I just thought to myself how good of shape could this car be. I had the PO take some specific photos and after he sent them I got a friend I have known since the early eighties, some cash and we hoped in my truck and took the 4 hr. ride north. Paid the man his money and I turned around and drove the Z the 4 hr. ride to it's new home. It ran fine even with it's vacuum leak. This was amongst other things on the engine that were issues but all have been sorted. I have added some suspension goodies like trailing arms, panhard bar, urethane bushings, shocks, struts and mounts, STB, subframe connectors, TDS wonder bar and full front brakes.
I feel like I saved this car, not from the grave but from going to the grave. The PO had no clue about the car especially on the mechanical side. The TPI scared him so he was neglecting the car. If it wasn't for you guys and this site...I may have done the same thing. Finally I tackled the paint. I had a detail customer of mine give a tutorial on paint correction. Sanding and the steps to bring it back. I was a little scared but I took my time, panel by panel and I think the result shows.
I hope you guys like her as much as I do and thanks for looking and reading!
Vinny
She also came with a 3:42 posi rearend so one of the PO's was thinking about performance. I really enjoy driving this car, I do every weekend weather permitting. It really runs and drives great now, once again thanks in big part to a bunch of you on this board. Close to what it would have in 91, just a little more power now. I will link my thread below these pics to the intake and exhaust build I did. Thanks again for looking
I had to include this one below from a few Halloweens ago.
Ok man, the Earnhardt IROC picture tops all!!! That is super awesome lol
Thanks Darin My friends have always said I look like the man, so I googled his red IROC and mocked my car up. I had the shirt from back in the day. That was a fun show!
The convertible roof adds a whole different feel to the car, and ASC performed the job nicely on the 3rd Gens.
Definitely! The only downfall that I've found is the visibility when backing out of a parking space with the top up. Other than that, they're pretty awesome.
How many miles are on that GTA? Original paint, etc? Car looks gorgeous!
I think top-up appearance is often a drawback on convertibles. Most of them in fact. The 3rd gens are one of the few convertibles that still look great with the soft top up.
I had a new 1998 4th gen Trans Am convertible. Rocket of a car. Top down, a blast to drive. But man, those blind spots were huge. It really made the car a lot less fun and occasionally a bit scary to drive with the top up, and was the primary reason I sold it after 3.5 years. I've never driven a 3rd gen convertible, but I did sit in one. It didn't seem nearly as bad.
The (convertible) top goes up? Haven’t had it up since the fall, nearly a year
Seriously, yeah, pretty large blind spots w top up.
Under 50k mi. Stock, no mods. Mostly original paint, and interior is mint.
Appreciate the compliments.
NICE! I love that car! And, having owned nice, low mile GTA's in the past, I know the precision it takes with your butt to keep those seat bolsters looking that good!
I think top-up appearance is often a drawback on convertibles. Most of them in fact. The 3rd gens are one of the few convertibles that still look great with the soft top up.
I had a new 1998 4th gen Trans Am convertible. Rocket of a car. Top down, a blast to drive. But man, those blind spots were huge. It really made the car a lot less fun and occasionally a bit scary to drive with the top up, and was the primary reason I sold it after 3.5 years. I've never driven a 3rd gen convertible, but I did sit in one. It didn't seem nearly as bad.
I agree, probably one of the top 3 in looks with the top up. I think it is due the fact that these cars were never made as a coupe. ASC's top made the hatchback into a coupe with nothing to compare it to. Most vert tops try to mimic the lines of the hard top and IMHO this is why they never look right. I took most of the pics with the top up just because of this reason, it looks great that way!
The (convertible) top goes up? Haven’t had it up since the fall, nearly a year
Seriously, yeah, pretty large blind spots w top up.
Under 50k mi. Stock, no mods. Mostly original paint, and interior is mint.
Appreciate the compliments.
I have to agree, If the top is up I am either washing the car or driving in the rain. Once in a great while on a long trip it is just to hot and you have to put the top up and turn on the AC. But it has to very hot .
I have to agree, If the top is up I am either washing the car or driving in the rain. Once in a great while on a long trip it is just to hot and you have to put the top up and turn on the AC. But it has to very hot .
Having owned a few verts, but never a thirdgen vert, I have to agree. When summer comes (I live in AZ.). The top goes up, and stays up, unless I take a late night drive.
DR.K.
Ladies and gentlemen I present to you my 8 owner 1991 Z28 5.0 TPI convertible...
... When I bought the car it was nowhere near this nice, but I could see through the yrs and see that this was a solid car all the way around, she just needed a dose of me.
was just going to take some new pictures this month, so now have an awesome reason to get on that task. Stay tuned for those, and in the meantime, here's the background:
Yes! Get us some clearer pics! Man, our recent life struggles are so similar. Mine was almost in reverse order, bike accident (no helmet), wife sick, then dad suddenly. expectantly passed.
Yes! Get us some clearer pics! Man, our recent life struggles are so similar. Mine was almost in reverse order, bike accident (no helmet), wife sick, then dad suddenly. expectantly passed.
...garage door overhead spring snapped overnight. Will replace tomorrow, then get pics.
Sorry to hear of the parallels of life. It does throw curve ***** from time to time, doesn’t it... But we persevere
Thanks for checking out the story, and hopefully for your vote. Much appreciated!!
Is it to later to enter? haha I just finished my car this weekend
Killer car! And welcome to TGO!
So what you do, is post a picture in the COTM bait thread. Your car has to be nominated and recieve a second by someone in a monthly nomination thread. Once you have a nomination followed by a second, your car will be in the monthly car of the month voting thread.
Different months have different criteria, etc. This month is convertibles.
Post up in the COTM bait thread. With an awesome looking Z like that, you will get a nomination at some point for sure!
So what you do, is post a picture in the COTM bait thread. Your car has to be nominated and recieve a second by someone in a monthly nomination thread. Once you have a nomination followed by a second, your car will be in the monthly car of the month voting thread.
Different months have different criteria, etc. This month is convertibles.
Post up in the COTM bait thread. With an awesome looking Z like that, you will get a nomination at some point for sure!
awesome thank you! I’ll wait for a non convertible month or something, figured I would join and show the community what I’ve been working on.
I removed the pictures of the extra car from this thread. Needs to stay streamlined for the folks that made it to this voting thread. Definitely welcome to be considered for nomination in a future event though.
The (convertible) top goes up? Haven’t had it up since the fall, nearly a year
I think I've had my top up maybe 2 times (very shortly I might add) in the last 4 years. I'm not even sure if the top is still there to be honest. Your car is beautiful BTW. One of my favorite combos.
Originally Posted by vinny R
I agree, probably one of the top 3 in looks with the top up. I think it is due the fact that these cars were never made as a coupe. ASC's top made the hatchback into a coupe with nothing to compare it to. Most vert tops try to mimic the lines of the hard top and IMHO this is why they never look right. I took most of the pics with the top up just because of this reason, it looks great that way!
I always thought if they made a true notchback thirdgen that followed the lines of the 'vert top it would look stellar. Kind of like the foxbodys.
I think I've had my top up maybe 2 times (very shortly I might add) in the last 4 years. I'm not even sure if the top is still there to be honest. Your car is beautiful BTW. One of my favorite combos.
Much appreciated.
It's been a wild week, and still not yet been able to replace the sporing on the garage door, so can't get the GTA out
Rained 4 evenings, and then had house issues today to deal with. Perhaps this weekend, I'll grab more pics.
Thanks for all the compliments, and for your votes. Again, much appreciated.
07-14-2020, 11:24 PM
I was just going to take some new pictures this month, so now have an awesome reason to get on that task. Stay tuned for those, and in the meantime, here's the background:
This car is an absolute time machine. When I take it out, people go nuts over the car - they all wish they had kept their 3rd gens, and enjoy the story of ours.
