Thinking about buying this 86 IROC-Z Convertible, 5sp - Third Generation F-Body Message Boards

bradley23150 · 08-02-2009, 10:03 PM

Ive wanted an Iroc convertible forever, but I could ever find a good deal, local. I found this one today for sale, and after a 20 min. conversation I've decided I want to go look at it, and possibly pick up my new convertible. He states that its a canadian version, thus the speedometer is in kilometers, and I think the fuel gauge is listed in liters?

Good (That I know of):
Newer top
Iroc-z
Original 16" Iroc rims (Comes wth 3 extra)
5-speed
Fires right up
Strong clutch
Spoiler

Bad(That I know of):
Sticky brakes
Smog pump Frozen
Sat since 1998, recently brought back to life
Tires junk
Gauges are screwy
Real dirty
Trailer hitch

Here is what his ad says:

"SUPER RARE CANADIAN VERSION!!! 144,000 original kilometers (approximately 90,000 miles!!!)

Convertible IROC black on black, newish top, 305 TBI V8 engine, manual (stick) tranny, have the hood, an extra door and three extra IROC mags (will separate), new front fenders (need paint) and other spare parts.

Runs and drives, needs TLC - very low price for a quick sale of this extremely collectible American sports car"

Here are the pics:

I know that I should look at all of the convertible-specific parts, as they can be hard to come by, but what else should i pay particular attention to?

What would YOU pay?

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tomclayborn · 08-02-2009, 10:48 PM

see if the doors are hitting on top near spoiler due to sagging of body check floorboards really good due to leaky top i found that the trunk lids are bad about rusting not under the spoiler on top but under the spoiler on bottom of trunklid i'm sure u will get more tips..... i wonder what they pulled with the hitch

quickkris2006 · 08-02-2009, 10:53 PM

i hope it had a hood on it while it was sitting for those years

bradley23150 · 08-02-2009, 11:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by quickkris2006

i hope it had a hood on it while it was sitting for those years

It comes with a hood, and I was assured its stored indoors under a cover. I dont know why the hood is off?

One other thing I am wondering about:

On the listing is said 88 camaro, but over the phone he said 86. I didnt realize this til just now. Also- I looked up the tech data on 86 camaros, and apparently, none were throttle-body injection? He said that this one was. Maybe its just a Z28, not an IROC? Im not sure, but Ill clear it up next time I talk to him, Im going to view this car wednesday.

tomclayborn · 08-02-2009, 11:11 PM

those are the 86 87 wheels if they r the single line i wonder if it was ever hit in the front slightly due to the diff fender and hood off

galletti · 08-03-2009, 09:05 AM

All IROC's are TPI, not TBI so it probably isn't. Look for the codes in the middle console sticker.

jeffwilly · 08-03-2009, 09:34 AM

I think the base irocs came with LO3 305 CID (5.0L) Throttle Body Injection (TBI) V-8.
I like how it said the Canadian Edition is rare.
It could be an 86 but look at the VIN to see if the 6th number is a 3 that will mean its a factory VERT.(87-92)

my82roc · 08-03-2009, 09:46 AM

TPI was an optional engine on the irocs.85-87 base model irocs came with the lg4 carb motor while the 88-90 base model irocs came with the lo3 tbi motor.

bradley23150 · 08-03-2009, 11:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by my82roc

TPI was an optional engine on the irocs.85-87 base model irocs came with the lg4 carb motor while the 88-90 base model irocs came with the lo3 tbi motor.

The engine has me wondering, I know that some IROC's had carb'd motors, but that was in '85? Aslong as the Vin on the title, matches the Vin on the car, Im good. Another cool thing about this car, is factory A/C delete, which I found neat. Anyhow, what do you guys think you'd pay? I think I'm getting a decent deal, I just want to make sure its a smart choice. The work it needs is no bigdeal, I can almost fix anything, its nothing but time and money.

Iroctopless · 08-03-2009, 05:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeffwilly

It could be an 86 but look at the VIN to see if the 6th number is a 3 that will mean its a factory VERT.(87-92)

Also check the VIN's 8th digit for the engine code . . .
F=LB9 305 TPI
G=L69 305 4bbl
H=LG4 305 4bbl
8=L98 350 TPI (won't likely be in almost any stock vert)
E=L03 305 TBI (offered starting in '88)

And the VIN's 10th digit for the year . . .
F='85
G='86
H='87

Also '87 was the first year Chevrolet offered the Camaro as a convertible. This was under contract with ASC. That car looks to also be an ASC conversion. If it's dated prior to '87, then it was done privately by a dealer or individual.

Here's a pic of the Canadian gauge cluster (mine) . . .

Speed is in Kms/hr with miles in small. Temp is in celcius. Gas is in regular empty / half / or full.

Note that the Canadian odometer is 6 digits (plus a tenths). American odometers are only 5 digits. This is because a km is a shorter distance than a mile and the mileage will rack up faster resulting in bigger numbers.

The comment "Rare Canadian Car" will mean mostly squat in terms of value. Condition and regular options (power options, engine, tranny, etc) are the big things.

PS; Without knowing more (Like why is the steering wheel rusty? How much water/humidity damage might be inside it? Are the floor boards rusted out? Etc, etc) I doubt if I'd offer more than $800-950, tops. There looks to be a lot of work, even with what's not related to being a vert. Just a decent paint job can run $3000 or more. And that's not including a lot of body work and prep. And then there's the interior, mechanical, undercarriage, exhaust, brakes, electrical, brakes, etc, etc which all might need anywhere from some to lots of work.
Considering a decent vert needing almost nothing can be had for $6000+ puts that car in the sub $1000 catagory . . . in my opinion.
I'd love to see it saved, but you'd need to be willing to put some effort and $$$ into it.

BlueZee28 · 08-03-2009, 05:50 PM

It kind of looks like they cut out a piece of the rear bumper to make room for the hitch?

Just by looking at the pictures, I would not pay more than $1,000 for it. Even at that price, the seller is making out like a bandit. It needs a LOT of attention. Try offering him like $800 and see where it goes.

mnorton · 08-03-2009, 06:45 PM

After sitting for 10 years, I'd bet that the fuel pump will fail pretty soon.

bradley23150 · 08-03-2009, 06:56 PM

Heres the deal, and what I discussed:
He listed the car for 1200, which he made sound like a firm price. After discussing its downfalls, such as, brakes, engine work, rust, dents, etc. I offered 800, he refused and counter offered, I offered 900, he said 950 and its yours. He removed the tank, and cleaned it out, and said that the fuel pump functions properly on its own.

He told me it had a ''bigger than a grapefruit, smaller than a basketball'' sized dent in the drivers rear quarter, both fenders, as well as the driver door have been replaced, probably because of the result of a side-swipe or wreck.

Also, he stated that its virtually rust free, good floor boards, and trunk as well. You can bet that I will be crawling under the car and personally inspecting the frame, and underbody for anything more than minor surface rust.

I'de like to have this as a daily driver, and I don't see as much work in it as some of you are seeing, I have the time and patience to work on it, as well as the dedication.

Thanks for the help guys.

mnorton · 08-03-2009, 07:42 PM

It sounds like you know what you are getting into, and that the price is right. My repair/restoration motto is "fix the worst stuff first". Have fun!

Iroctopless · 08-03-2009, 08:14 PM

It would be great to see it get some TLC. Let us now how things turn out.

Take a real close look for rust both under the car and the door frames, trunk, etc.
Canada LOVES to salt the roads in winter. Depending which part of Canada it's from and if it was ever winter driven could make a big difference on it's condition. Winter driven cars sadley do not last long here.

bradley23150 · 08-03-2009, 08:30 PM

I think that one factory option just screams "Winter driven" and thats A/C delete. nortons' right, fix the worse things first. I know what the first things I would do are, but I dont want to jump the gun. I will know wednesday night, whether or not this will be my convertible.

Iroctopless · 08-04-2009, 01:54 PM

And RPO K05 (Engine Block Heater).

Amazingly only 4% (6,945 out of 192,219) of all '86 Camaros had this little $20 option. Probably even a lower percentage in the convertibles.

See if it has one.

bradley23150 · 08-04-2009, 02:38 PM

Wow, didnt even know that was an option, that would be real neat if it had one.

I just hope the RPO's are still in it.

What was the IROC rpo again?

mnorton · 08-04-2009, 04:42 PM

IROC's are B4Z
Z28's are Z28
G80 is Positraction

bradley23150 · 08-04-2009, 05:26 PM

Thank you.

bradley23150 · 08-05-2009, 06:39 PM

I went to check it out today, and I gotta say, It was not as bad as I was expecting it to be. The center console isnt original to the car, so the RPO's didnt match.

Needless to say, I am buying it, I gave him a downpayment of $250, and 700 to be paid saturday, and he is even delivering it for me. When I get it at my house, Ill get some pics up.

Iroctopless · 08-05-2009, 06:44 PM

Congrats. Looking forward to any future updates.

bradley23150 · 08-07-2009, 05:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iroctopless

Congrats. Looking forward to any future updates.

Thanks, man.

Its being delivered tomorrow early morning, I cant wait, needless to say, I'm REAL excited.

slimwhitman · 08-08-2009, 02:40 PM

So did the car turn out to be an '86 or an '88? If it's an '86, does it appear to be an ASC car?....or by a different coach builder?

bradley23150 · 08-08-2009, 03:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slimwhitman

So did the car turn out to be an '86 or an '88? If it's an '86, does it appear to be an ASC car?....or by a different coach builder?

It is in fact an '88. Its original drivers door has been replaced, but he gave me the original, which has the ASC sticker on it. Ive already gotten pretty much the whole interior gutted, it was pretty disgusting. I am getting a deal locally for alot of parts that I need in order to fix this beauty.

There were rats inhabiting in this car for some while, as I found rat feces under that seats, and all in the trunk. All in all, Im pretty happy with my purchase, I hope to have some pics up within the next day or two.

bradley23150 · 08-08-2009, 10:54 PM

Tore the rest of the interior apart, and beneath the carpet, I found exactly what I was trying to avoid. RUST, and pretty bad, It needs a patch panel or two welded in. (If there is anyone local, here in Florida that can help me out with welding and whatnot, PLEASE Private message me, I would be grateful!) Heres a pic:

Thats the worst part of the car, I think, but atleast this car has more upsides, than downsides. Original IROC fog lights, and grill (Not pictured), and Nice hood louvers.

Heres the motor, looks rough, but it runs pretty good, doesnt need much, factory A/C delete, Im going to get a shorter belt tomorrow, and remove the Smog pump, I already measured.

Gotta love rats.

Toehead · 08-09-2009, 10:01 AM

Looks like you are on your way. Good luck man, projects are fun!

mnorton · 08-09-2009, 01:59 PM

That rusted floor board looks pretty bad. If it's the passenger side ONLY, it was probably a leaky heater core that caused it.... Oh and you can still buy the plastic Strut Tower caps new. Struts are probably shot, my 1987 Struts were toast, NO rebound at all. Looks like you'll need a case of black spray paint cans for the underside of the car (I like to use satin instead of gloss). The valve covers will probably leak oil. The water pump will probably fail. Lots of work ahead for you. Best of Luck!

bradley23150 · 08-09-2009, 04:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mnorton

That rusted floor board looks pretty bad. If it's the passenger side ONLY, it was probably a leaky heater core that caused it.... Oh and you can still buy the plastic Strut Tower caps new. Struts are probably shot, my 1987 Struts were toast, NO rebound at all. Looks like you'll need a case of black spray paint cans for the underside of the car (I like to use satin instead of gloss). The valve covers will probably leak oil. The water pump will probably fail. Lots of work ahead for you. Best of Luck!

The water pump had already failed before I bought it, I just replaced it today already though. I bought a smaller belt, and am going to remove the (frozen) smog pump, and hook it up. Also going to replace the calipers, and rubber lines, bleed the brakes, etc, and get her that much closer to road worthy.

pyrostick · 08-09-2009, 06:50 PM

hey brad, cant wait to come down and see the new vert. see ya next monday.

bradley23150 · 08-10-2009, 09:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pyrostick

hey brad, cant wait to come down and see the new vert. see ya next monday.

Yeah, hopefully it will be a bit more road worthy then.

Heres what I got done today:
Replaced the front calipers
New brake pads
New rubber brake hoses
Bled the brakes
New oil
New oil filter

Took her for a quick spin around a block or two, she ran pretty good, brakes felt nice, clutch was functioning properly, found out that the eBrake doesnt work.

When I pulled back into the garage, the engine was smoking pretty good, not from the exhaust, but from the engine itself. I guess the engine used to be covered by a tarp, that got so weathered it fell apart all over the engine, leaving plastic strands everywhere. Im hoping that the smoke was just all the years of crap that made its way into the engine bay burning off. It will get a thorough cleaning tomorrow, removing the rest of the smog stuff, and probably installing new spark plugs and wires I already bought.

Ill keep the updates coming as long as there is interest.

musclecar70sfan · 08-11-2009, 11:12 AM

That sounds really cool man. More pictures coming soon hopefully?

bradley23150 · 08-11-2009, 05:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by musclecar70sfan

That sounds really cool man. More pictures coming soon hopefully?

Yeah, more pics to come.

Didnt get much done today, degreased the engine bay, and pressure washed it out, there was a TON of garbage that didnt belong.

Heres what It looks like as of today, thats my "test driving" seat. lol

Scuffed up the air cleaner and lid, and shot it gloss black with a rattle can, turned out pretty nice, considering. Also put on a "new" crinkle tube, and scoop.

And, I pretty much gave up on cahnging the spark plugs, atleast today. I absolutely couldnt get one spark plug to even budge, its the one on the drivers side, all the way back, I hate that one, so hard to get to!

musclecar70sfan · 08-11-2009, 05:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bradley23150

Yeah, more pics to come.

Didnt get much done today, degreased the engine bay, and pressure washed it out, there was a TON of garbage that didnt belong.

Heres what It looks like as of today, thats my "test driving" seat. lol

Scuffed up the air cleaner and lid, and shot it gloss black with a rattle can, turned out pretty nice, considering. Also put on a "new" crinkle tube, and scoop.

And, I pretty much gave up on cahnging the spark plugs, atleast today. I absolutely couldnt get one spark plug to even budge, its the one on the drivers side, all the way back, I hate that one, so hard to get to!

Wow you got one hell of a project there man. Enjoy yourself and the car and provide updates!

musclecar70sfan · 08-11-2009, 06:04 PM

Oh and where was this car from?

bradley23150 · 08-11-2009, 09:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by musclecar70sfan

Oh and where was this car from?

Canada.

I usually find coins and such when I tear a car apart, most of the ones in this one were canadian.

That also explains the rust, it sure doesnt snow in florida.

musclecar70sfan · 08-12-2009, 12:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bradley23150

Canada.

I usually find coins and such when I tear a car apart, most of the ones in this one were canadian.

That also explains the rust, it sure doesnt snow in florida.

Oh wow, I assumed that the car was already in the States. You florida folks are lucky, when I get the chance, I'm moving down there or at least somewhere close. But you have a lot of guts buying a car from Canada (especially one that is obviously winter driven) since I was apprehensive about buying my 91 T/A 'vert from New Hampshire... and I live in Connecticut! But fortunately, mine's got no rot, a little surface rust yes, but no rot

And post up some overall shots of the car, I'm eager to see what the whole thing looks like!

bradley23150 · 08-12-2009, 12:07 PM

Yeah, I want to get some whole shots, when I get the fan wired up, and a new temp. gauge wired up, I dont want to blow the engine, when I drive her around.

And, This car was actually pretty local to me, about 45 mins away, but I don't know its history of how it got from canada to here, but it did.

Anyway, its not a bad little project, just gotta cut the floor out of one of my parts cars, and weld er' up into my vert, grind, and coat, so no more rust appears, of course im going to wire-wheel the entine floor and paint it as well, so this doesnt happen again.

bradley23150 · 08-16-2009, 02:11 PM

Update on the vert:

Wired up the fan to a manual switch, and hooked up a temp gauge.

Drove her to the gas station (Very close to me) and turns out, the fuel tank is FULL of old gas, so, I am going to try to siphon it all out, and put premium in her, with some fuel treatment, and see what happens. When I got back home, she was running at 250 degrees! I shut her off, let her cool down, and let her idle in the driveway, keeping a close eye on the temp gauge, and the needle actually stayed at around 210-220, until the engine just randomly cut off, as if someone turned the key off.

My diagnosis:

The alternator is fried, the gauge was reading ~8 volts, pathetic.
Injectors are clogged, spray pattern is jumbled, and random at best.
Fuel is OLD, just smelling the exhaust, and fuel itself, yeah, OLD.
When the battery lost enough power to keep the injectors firing, the engine just shut off, leaving me puzzled, as the engine wouldnt even try to kick over, but other electronics still worked. It kept acting as if my foot wasnt on the clutch when I tried to fire her up, when it was, I think that the clutch pedal is off a little, as it eventually pushed down far enough for me to hear the starter solenoid clicking, signifying a dead battery.

More updates to come.

aciddrop2804 · 08-16-2009, 07:31 PM

back 2 plugs on the drivers side are easiest to get to from under neath with a universal and some small extentions.

bradley23150 · 08-27-2009, 03:34 PM

PROGRESS:

Me, my neighbor, and my friend got alot done on this vert.

Started by cutting out the bad stuff, forming some cardboard templates to find the correct size, and shape, then shaping/cutting some sheet metal to the proper dimensions:

All welded up!

All painted up, used lots of High gloss black rustoleum, to prevent future rust problems

----

bradley23150 · 08-27-2009, 03:41 PM

Got used carpet installed, and re-dyed it in a few spots, also got the center console, and some temporary seats in.

And, an overall shot, I put the wheels on it, that I had on my formula, simply because the tires on the IROC's are shot:

musclecar70sfan · 08-27-2009, 06:49 PM

It's looking great man! Keep it up and keep us posted!

And I'm interested in seeing the other side too.
And how's the trunk? Any rot holes in it?

Kevman · 08-27-2009, 07:32 PM

It looks just like ours... Nice car! Ours is also, a Canadian car

bradley23150 · 08-28-2009, 12:32 PM

The trunk isnt bad, the lid had some rust bubbling along the lip, but I wirewheeled it off and hit it woth some paint, but it wasnt that bad.

Nice car Kevman, I hope that mine will look like that eventually.

Heres the other side:

mnorton · 08-30-2009, 08:18 PM

It looks driveable now. The air cleaner looks much better, valve covers need paint bad. You may want to get some good quality automotive primer rattle cans and start working on the fenders etc. You can get a paint store to put any automotive paint/primer in spray cans for a small fee. Just buy a gallon of good primer and reducer, and have them put some in a few cans for you. Save the rest of the bulk primer for later. Much better than using cheap primer.

musclecar70sfan · 08-30-2009, 08:24 PM

The car looks solid. Hmm I wonder what happened to that missing piece of the front ground effect on the driver's side.

bradley23150 · 08-30-2009, 09:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mnorton

It looks driveable now. The air cleaner looks much better, valve covers need paint bad. You may want to get some good quality automotive primer rattle cans and start working on the fenders etc. You can get a paint store to put any automotive paint/primer in spray cans for a small fee. Just buy a gallon of good primer and reducer, and have them put some in a few cans for you. Save the rest of the bulk primer for later. Much better than using cheap primer.

Hm, I didnt know that you could get them to put paint in rattle cans for you? Know of any specific stores that do that? When I get some extra spending cash, Im going to atleast buy myself a sander, sand all of that rust off, as well as the hood, and shoot it rattle can black.

She's definitely solid now, just goota shoot some undercoating on her belly, to prevent the new panels from rusting, and theres no telling what happened to the front lip, this whole car is a mystery. :O

mnorton · 08-30-2009, 09:39 PM

You have to go to an automotive paint store to get rattle cans filled. Call around. You could brush it on too... probably not quite as good though. You'll sand it flat before painting a top coat anyway. Get a "Primer Filler" for this, "Primer Sealers" are not meant to be sanded very much, if at all, but do seal better because they are not as porous. Primer Fillers are meant to be "Guide Coated", sanded and then be sealed with Primer Sealer or Paint.

musclecar70sfan · 08-30-2009, 09:39 PM

Sweet! Is a youtube vid a possibility perhaps...?