gatorcola

May our God bless you Jody

Jody K

thank you

Speedgraphic

Jody,

I think it's great that you are able to remember your friend this way.
I hope you get to enjoy this car for a long time.

I had a friend check out about a year ago. We had been good friends since Kindergarten (about 40 years). We did lots of stuff in our teen years like what you metion that we are glad we were not caught at! I miss his sorry ***!

Smooth roads and good times.
Speedy

Jody K

wow, thats a long time to know someone and to have lost them.

it never gets easier...

thanks

jeffyjeff06

i had been wanting a camaro for a while didnt really care wat year a guy where i lived let some people he met at autozone work on it while he wasnt even home(idiot) anyways a month later he sold it to me for 200 so a few months later after making payments it was running again with a rv cam and 30 bore i still have plenty of work to do to it though previous owner left the inside of the car looking like a trash can and the sun took it toll on the body he also had tires on it that are to tall and rubb when u turn to hard oh well thank to him i got a beatiful car or at least will be

Rich2279

iTrader: (7)

I found my Camaro by placing an add on craig's list (WTB: '86-'92 Camaro). I found one for a couple hundred with a very clean, straight body.

jackel200269

It started out with me getting a 97 rm125 that i rebuilt, then i traded for a 85 f-250 mudd truck. Then I taded that for 72 ironhead bobber which I used to get a loan for my 92 rs. I never really considered myself a barderer but with that kind of a track record I guess I am.

DWH

i've wanted a camaro since i was about 5. found one on craigslist for 1850. bought it about a week later. have had it since march 1st and i've only had to replace the alternator (just went out about a week ago). for 1850, i think i got a good deal

dasferret

I've had 2 third gens. First was a 89 T-top RS. I got the car with a blown trans and rebuilt 305, but pulled the motor and trans and dropped in a police package 350 and trans. The car had a factory posi, but had been wrecked several time. Then I got my current ride, a 92 RS in purple haze paint. Got it fom the original owner for $500. Fixed a short in the fuel pump and change the water pump. Sold it a year later for $1500 to a friend and got a little 91 geo for $500. My friend decided he wanted a/c and good gas mileage, so I swapped him even for the camaro. So, currently I have made $400 off the car and still own it. I love the car, she gets 19mpg in the city and 25 on interstate, performs well, and just needs a little love.

fallenleader

iTrader: (2)

searched within 500miles of NJ for under 1,500$. found one about 20mi from my house, on a farm in long valley. 2 owners, beautiful interior panels "important" and a bunch of weird options, including some that don't seem to be on the rpo list.

$850, nice people, just don't know much of anything about car maint. 84' with a manual, needed trans rebuild and needs a bit of engine work. but has only a few rust spots and 2 4" rot holes, in useless expected areas, nothing critical. needs a new pan under the radiator, and new doors. got em off my old 87'. basicly bought a decent car with prefect interior panels, several hundred dollars worth? if bought and found new. took a day to fix rust, another to do underbody rust. but 2 owners and a crappy radio. Trying to find a place on forum to post an entire list of the options, rpo's and the work i'm doing. Don't know where to post that stuff. shame its a V6, pain to get parts. Oh well. its a beauty.

Diamond in the rough.

kcobb1201

Bought my first base model Firebird new in 91- sold it 8 yrs later. LOVED IT but needed more room! Then a few months ago I traced the car down and found it was about an hour from my house...I went to look at it and asked the guy if I could ck the VIN to make sure it was my old one and it was but it was totally trashed so I searched out another one that looked just like it- white with gold wheels...found one on ebay in California and bought it although it was a TA and in great shape it is not a base V6 like I originally wanted to drive again... now I have listed it here for sale since I think I really want to restore an old white V6 or I am thinking about buying back my old one and making it great again! So that's my story.

panzer

I was driving around in my 69 Ford F100 looking for Mustangs or whatever I could find that was fast. I found a small car lot to look at a couple cars, then drove around the block to dodge heavy traffic then at the corner of my eye I saw the camaro with a $1,200 price tag (way underpriced) test drove it and drove it home that same day.

fallenleader

iTrader: (2)

where's the f100?

91rs5.7tpi

when i turned fourteen i had a grand in my pocket went to an auction and i found my 91 rs 5 spd and i have had it for to years

1989_IROC-Z

I acquired my 89 IROC 5.7L from my ex-girlfriend's mother about 10 years ago. She hardly ever took the car out on the highway and it always sat in the garage. She had been thinking about selling it due to them having 3 kids and they went to Myrtle Beach every summer. They had 2 other trucks, so the IROC was the only thing they had to drive down there.

She finally decided to put it up for sale but wanted to offer it to me before posting any ads. I purchased it for $6,700 and the car only had 36,000 original miles on it. I've had Lil' Red (that's her name...lol) ever since and she still runs great. Unfortunately, I have to get it repainted this summer due to GM's wonderful clearcoat that was never worth a crap from the beginning. I'll post before and after pics once the restoration is complete.

KITT1983

iTrader: (3)

I found my 1983 Pontiac Trans AM through Hemmings Motor News: the collector car bible

Carpaholic

iTrader: (1)

I got mine through a friend of a friend. Not much of an exciting story..

jaredbm

I had been looking for a few months when one saturday morning i found one on craigslist. It was listed with no motor or trans but had a harwood 4 inch cowl hood and posi with 3.73. After several misses on some nice cars, i wasted no time in contacting the owner. When i arrived the car looked straight i checked the rearend, it was not posi. Brought it home for $600.

88TransAmGuy

iTrader: (3)

Ive been dreaming of having a Trans Am since the age of 9. Every time i saw one as a kid,id Scream FIREBIRDDD or id say PHOENIX! One of the two, Ever since i was 14 ive been doing more and more research on them.Day by day. Looking on craigslist everyday hoping for a cheap one. Then my 16th birthday came along. I was just planning on using my money from my party and my savings to get a cheap trans am. Then my parents surprised me. I got a box from them and they were these nice shoes. Then there was a little jewellery box taped to the lid. So i opened it and they were 2 keys,and a Pontiac keychain. And i say "thats not even cool! Dont play me like that!" and my parents said what are ya talkin about!?then my mom said "come over here" So nervously i walked over to the side of the yard. My 2nd cousin,who is a professional DJ, started playing East bound And down and i got SOOO nervous. Shaking. THen everyone starts clapping, I look and this beautiful 1988 Triple black Trans Am pulls into the yard. It was the greatest day of my life. And i will never forget it. The road has been tough. Restoring her and fixing her up. A lot of frustration and hard work. But im here now,turning 17 in July, and i love my car more than anything. And im definitely keeping it until the day my heart stops beating. Heres a video of me getting my car. Greatest day of my life. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ciltXUO4F4
Sorry about my camera man in the video,hes extraordinarily irritating and lonely.

JMD83

Time to post about how I got my most recent Thirdgen F-Body... Black & Gold 1983 Trans Am, T-5, 305 LG4, manual locks & windows.

Won (stole?) the car on eBay (again), for $1,800.00

Drove out to Rochester, NY (upstate, almost in Canada) with the Wife in late August 2010. We took our "reliable" long distance car (daily dirver 2005 Scion xA 30+ mpg hwy) to get there.

Met the seller, saw the car, stepped in dog droppings. Loved the car and the sound. Not bad for factory 1983 exhaust. Paid the man, and we were on our way. Turns out the Trans Am was in very good shape. Only 58,000 original miles on it, all original, except for some stereo tinkering the previous owner had done in his 20+ years of owning it.

Now coincidentaly about two weeks prior to this road trip, the Mother-in-Law decided to surprise us by adding us to her AAA upon renewal. We were quite happy when we found out and it brought a little piece of mind when setting out to get the Trans Am, an almost 30 year old car making the 7 hour voyage home.

Well, I'm glad to say that the Trans Am made it without any major issues.

I wish I could say the same for the Scion...

Just under 100 miles from home on our return, the xA spun a bearing(s?) and gave up. Apparently after me driving it hard for it's 132,000+ miles of existence, it began consuming oil. Silly me never checked the oil prior or during this trek. Long story short, AAA came to the rescue, and a month later, the Wife, some friends, and I had installed a replacement motor from a boneyard with under 10,000 miles on it.

As for the Trans Am, I've been happily dirving it to work daily since April of 2011. Did a little tinkering of my own to get it more reliable and fun to drive everyday, still plenty of tinkering yet to come...

Chevy86 IROC-Z

iTrader: (17)

In 2002, my bro-n-law bought it from his friend. He fixed it up a bit and then gave it to me as a wedding gift.

Ozz1967

iTrader: (4)

That's pretty awsome man! Good looking car too! She'll take a lot of blood, sweat, and tears to keep running right but man when they do, they're awsome.

86L69IROCZ

I woke up with a hangover on my buddies couch and his 14 year old son said "remind me to get my tapes out of the Camaro before you take it" (yep, it still has the original AM/FM Casette!). I thought he was joking because the week before, we had made plans to pull the broken 305 out and throw a low hp truck motor in it for him. I talked to his dad and he told me "we're never gonna do anything with that car and after all the work you've done for my brother, you can have it". I figured that was a pretty good deal. I've spent the last 6 months building a '80 blazer for his brother. He even hauled it to my house for free! so now it sits in my driveway waiting for the Blazer to come out of the garage. And thats how I got mine!

8point

I swapped a guy a 1988 ford ranger 4x4 for mine my wife wanted it so we swapped now she says its to low to the ground . She said the car was made for me not her so she keeps driving my Ram 1500 lol.

TX T/A

iTrader: (1)

My current Firebird and Trans Am's (have 3 cars all verts) I sought and went to buy them. But my very first third gen bird (87 Firebird) I bought about 14 yrs. ago, I was at a hardware store and picked up a GreenSheet that just got delivered. I opened it up and searched the used car ads,there I saw a Firebird $1100. I called and a woman answered and told me her ex husband ( a fireman) left the bird to his 16 yr old son. She thought it was too much power for him and was afraid he would wrap it around a pole or worse. She told me I was the first caller and if I wanted it to come get it. Turned out it was in the same area as the hardware store so I went and looked at it. Love at first sight, I left my truck there paid her and took the bird home. 1987 Firebird hard top, black with grey interior and diamond lace wheels. 305 4 bbl auto. I really miss that car, I sold it a few years later and bought a 4th gen bird. After a couple of 4th gen birds I have returned to 3rd gen, they fit better for me.

Thunder1973

Well, this is kinda how the 82 T/A came about. Years ago (1989 or so) my first car was an 80 Z-28 that my father (who was a mechanic) helped me fix up. It had been sitting for about 5 years as the old owner just decided to park it one day and let it go to pot. My father was working on a 1972 Chevelle SS at the time, and so began our long history of working on cars and restoring them together. Back in the late 90's, early 2000's, we completed an 84 C-10 pickup that was totally custom from dropped into the weeds, shaved door handles, filled cab seams, welded roll pans, and a wildly built bored 350. That truck was featured in a magazine and became one of the catalog trucks (pictures) for Mar-K truck parts. At this point we'd sworn off cars and moved over to metric motorcycles and H-D bikes.
But the itch got into dad again recently. He started looking for a new car to do, but unfortunately the older cars had appreciated in value so much that financially finding a good candidate was not manageable for him or I. We couldn't see dropping $5-10K for a basket case in boxes or a big pile of rust. Really he was looking for a complete project car for something in the $1000-2000 range that was straight and solid and was a V-8 car with a limited amount of electronics and preferably no OBD. He happened to see the 82 parked in someone's yard a few towns over and it turned out the guy had three 3G Birds in his garage, this one needing the most attention and time, and having the most problems, so he decided to sell it. Dad struck a deal with the guy for cash and drove it home.

And then the project began.

The time frame for restoration is 2-3 years and when done, it will be a real head turner.

flrtin1

Factory ordered it in late 84.

sniperperforman

when i got out of the Marines. i new i wanted a camaro so i started looking for one thinking they where to much for me.
Good camaros are hard to find here in michigan. but i had been passing by my car everyday for about 1 year, It had never been moved. Finally one day i stopped by knowing for sure it had to be rotted to the bone, and asked the people that owned it what they where doing with it. come to find out the guys 83 year old mom owned it and was the 1st owner. she had 2 camaros. 1 91rs and the other a 85 sport coupe. He told me his mom owned it since it was new and lived in arizona and that was her car to drive down there. well he told me $1000 since she can drive anymore. i looked at it and it didnt have 1 spot of rust on it.

I left becouse i didnt have the money at that time and gave the guy my phone number. a week later he called me and told me that if i had $500 it was mine. so here i am today. with my camaro.

the crazy thing is here in flint michigan. if you work for GM you can custom order a car or truck. and the ladies son did. so it had some wierd option for a old lady to have. 1st off its a 1985 sport coupe. it had a 350HO engine with 3:42 rear gearsand a 700r4. no a/c. no power anything. in 85 all sport coupes had a 305. so it was a specially order. her son later comfirmed my guess. he baught it for her. technically he was the 1st owner.

yo soy el warg

What is the eighth letter or number of the Vin#???? That will verify if it is a "special" order 350 or a 305. In 1988 I special ordered a 1988 Iroc convertible with a 350. When it arrived the dealership even told me it was a 350 and had put 5.7 decals on the rocker panels. When I later found out you couldn't get a 350 in a convertible and they had delivered a 305 to me, yet led me to believe it was 350. I sued the dealership for $5,000.00 they settled with me out of court.

sniperperforman

you know what i neve checked im not sure what the vin code was lol. i do know that the motor i pulled was a 350 for sure. and with the car only having 65,000 on it im sure it the origanal.but now you got me thinking now and i going to check. thanks for the info

flrtin1

Gotta love the Stealerships....the one in Milan Il. I did the intital order from, I was there late adding the options to the base model out of the book, so they said they would have all the paperwork done the next day.....when I went in to sign it the next day they had added a random $300 into the total for nothing and must of figured I wouldnt catch it....when I pointed it out they were like oooohhh sorry hahahaha... I took my copy of the option list and walked out the door, drove across town and placed the order for the correct $ amount at Warren Chevrolet in East Moline an hour later.

cHEVy hEAVy

iTrader: (1)

i bought mine off of a friend of the family for $1,000 plus a 95' sentra that i had bought for $200. basically got it for $1,200 cleann interior and no body or frame damage at all. its a 90' RS 5.0 305 TBI. ive been in love since i saw her lol ive had it for about 4 years & dont plan on ever getting rid of her.

yo soy el warg

Well what is the 8th number or letter of your vin. It can't take too long to look at your title or the windshield vin number on your car? Or maybe your too busy to do so? Let me assure you it is not a factory 350 or I'll eat my words or you'll eat your words! The guy that sold you the car was full of B.S. Still waiting for an answer?

82_Camaro

I got my 82 z28 right after i got home from Army Basic Training. i got it from a dealership and knew i spent to much on it but i loved the car so i bought it. That was the first time i had ever seen Crossfire Injection.

KITT1983

iTrader: (3)

welcome to the crossfire club

pwdbychevy

Bought my 25th anniversary brand new in Germany in 1992 and shipped it back stateside in late 1997. Still have it.

bentup78

I found mine sitting next to a guys house. Stopped n asked about it and the guys sold it to me for $400 bucks. Carb needed work and had small crease in driver door and front fender. It had been sitting for 2yrs. After paying the man i changed the oil and drove it home.

mophat

I won some cash when I was 14, saved it till I was 16. The old man was out of town and said he found the perfect car for me. As I was just starting to drive i really wasn't even sure what a camaro was.
10 years later and a whole lot more experience with vehicles and I Love that car to death, will never sell it and will keep upgrading!

91 Camaro RS, convertible
rebuild 350, currently working on a high perf 350

RagRoc

I wasn’t looking for a car but this one happened to drop into my lap for a very reasonable price. Met a total stranger in a local bar, (guy in a bar story), and after three hours of small talk about life in general, I learned that he had an old car without a battery, and a torn convertible top that had been sitting in the parking lot behind his job for several months. He needed to get rid of it, but didn't have the time to clean it up and advertise it. This guy had Chrysler Sebring written all over him, and I was shocked to learn it was an 89 RS. Several days later I went to look at it. There were several inches of water in the interior due to the original torn top (hey the floors were good), the interior and trunk looked like a dumpster. The owner admitted to just putting gas in it, oil changes, and the absolute necessities for maintenance in the 15 years he owned it. “Everything that has fallen off over the years is either in the console or trunk, and there is a lot of stuff that doesn’t work”. He further explained that he frequently drove the car to the beach on the weekends, and when I asked where the rear spoiler was he said “Funny thing....I put my lawn chair in the trunk at home one morning and it was there, when I got to the beach and went to get the chair it was gone” (a common problem I have since found out). “Oh and one more thing, when it warms up and you come to a stop, the engine just shuts off, but it starts right back up.”
He just wanted the car to go to a good home and not be scrapped or trashed. $500 and a fresh battery later I drove the car onto the trailer, and brought it home, cleaned it up, tuned it, replaced the distributor, and began driving it to club events. That was three years ago, and have since made considerable upgrades and improvements, but the tattered paint still remains just to irritate the purists. I have put 5,000 miles on the car, and other than some ignition module issues, the car has been troublefree.

KITT1983

iTrader: (3)

Quote:

Originally Posted by RagRoc

I wasn’t looking for a car but this one happened to drop into my lap for a very reasonable price. Met a total stranger in a local bar, (guy in a bar story), and after three hours of small talk about life in general, I learned that he had an old car without a battery, and a torn convertible top that had been sitting in the parking lot behind his job for several months. He needed to get rid of it, but didn't have the time to clean it up and advertise it. This guy had Chrysler Sebring written all over him, and I was shocked to learn it was an 89 RS. Several days later I went to look at it. There were several inches of water in the interior due to the original torn top (hey the floors were good), the interior and trunk looked like a dumpster. The owner admitted to just putting gas in it, oil changes, and the absolute necessities for maintenance in the 15 years he owned it. “Everything that has fallen off over the years is either in the console or trunk, and there is a lot of stuff that doesn’t work”. He further explained that he frequently drove the car to the beach on the weekends, and when I asked where the rear spoiler was he said “Funny thing....I put my lawn chair in the trunk at home one morning and it was there, when I got to the beach and went to get the chair it was gone” (a common problem I have since found out). “Oh and one more thing, when it warms up and you come to a stop, the engine just shuts off, but it starts right back up. He just wanted the car to go to a good home and not be scrapped or trashed. $500 and a fresh battery later I drove the car onto the trailer, and brought it home, cleaned it up, tuned it, replaced the distributor, and began driving it to club events. That was three years ago, and have since made considerable upgrades and improvements, but the tattered paint still remains just to irritate the purists. I have put 5,000 miles on the car, and other than some ignition module issues, the car has been troublefree.

now i can read it

Cpt Vos Bradley

Got it from a guy on Craigslist. 89RS, 60K miles on it, excelent condition (that turned out to be a tad bit off form the truth).

As it turns out the guy got it from his aunt (who aparently never drove it in the 15 years she had it) who just let it sit around in her garage. She then gave it to him, who drove it almost every day to work across town. The only imperfection in the interior are a few carpet stains (tragic, yes...) and a cigarette burn on the back seat.

The guy was asking $2,800, got it for $2,400. I've put about 3k into it. I'm begining to think the car has somewhere near 160k miles.

sc@hms

iTrader: (1)

Bought '83 H.O. brand new before leaving for college in August 1983. It was too early to get an '84 and too late to order an '83. Found it through dealer locator system at a dealer 350 miles away. Bought a one-way airline ticket and drove it home.

Bought '85 IROC-Z new in August of 1985, pretty much same situation as with the '83. Found through locator system about 120 miles away.

Bought 1990 1LE from original owner. Car had 800 miles on it and with his business semi-struggling, he needed some immediate cash flow. The car was the easiest asset to sell that he had.

Bought 1992 Z28 Convertible in Bloomington, Ill. with 14,000 miles on it. The next day drove it from there straight home, 900 miles one way.

From '82 to present have owned six other third gens in addition to the ones I've kept. I'd buy another one right now if it is the right car. They're awesome!!!!

hellz_wings

iTrader: (2)

Bought my 86 IROC from a guy in Boston from EBAY. I live in Canada so it was quite the drive (8 hours away). So I did this when I was 20 years old (5 years ago) and it was a crazy road trip for me and my friend. We crossed the border at midnight, got lost, but ended up finding the place. Saw the car. Found that it wasn't able to drive back or even be plated to drive back (although I was so desperate at this point and already paid the guy, that I would have just driven it home without plates lol). So I didn't because I almost got into a scrap with the guy at the DMV in Boston and my friend convinced me to try to get it shipped. So instead of paying an expensive shipping company the guy who was selling me the car had a friend with a flatbed who drove it across the border into Canada, without any papers really.. I watched as the car was dropped off as I was waiting that early, cold, November morning as my new car rolled off the flatbed and scraped lol ground effects lol. But it was still sexy as hell and I didn't care because the car was beautiful. I filled out the monster amount of paperwork, left the car at the border with no plates, took the Vehicle Registration to the DMV of where I live and they gave me a temp license plate (the yellow paper type), I drove back to the border (my brother was driving me around at this point) and picked up the car and drove it home only to realize.
1) it overheated all the time because the manual fan switch didn't work properly.
2) the car wandered all over the road.. dance of death syndrome
3) it wasn't that fast and was misfiring
4) AC was not working and neither was the radio or the heat
5) a multitude of other things..

But the point is i didnt care and just drove that bastard home, stored it for the winter, and starting summer 2007 that's when I started fixing it up until present day..

maccamenzies

I bought mine while browsing a local craiglist like program on my iphone.I went around to the house and saw it with heaps of parts inside, carpets all dirty grease everwhere.Took it for a drive and it drove great.Mechanical i have been lucky.

So doing a partial restoration having replaced all the rubbers, t top middle section, complete new carpets, new stereo surround and facia.New thermo fan for radiator.Radiator re cored. Re dyed all the black and grey panels.Installed amplifier for stereo. Currently waiting for the seats to eturn from the motor trimmer. Have to bolt up the strengtening bar under neat the front end. Waiting for new flexi stainless radiator hose.

This forum has been great to nut out the little problems that comes with restoring cars. Still heaps to do on it yet but getting there.

1988 Trans Am GTA T Top

scottmoyer

Jim, you know I'm a purist with my car, but I love seeing that car driven all over the place "looking" like it won't make it. It's come a long way from when you got it. It's also different now than what I remember your original plans for it were.

tylercamaro

iTrader: (1)

the day i was released from the hospital after birth, my dad promised me the car hes had for 25+ years would be mine, then spring of 2010 after the car sat and rotted for 4 years, he gave me the title and keys and told me it was mine. but with me always looking up to my dad i told him we could share it

maccamenzies

Great story great memories I'm sure

tylercamaro

iTrader: (1)

not a doubt about it, that little 305 won a few burnout competitions in its prime, cruisin in car shows, etc. i leanred how to work on cars from her. then dad lost his job after the divorce and all was downhill for the car from there, till now my turn to care for it, and mod it how i want to, although there really is no saving the chassis/frame anymore

the solitaire

Most impressive story I read in this thread. Honestly!

So that's where all the good ones went? (just kidding) Just as with flrtin1 I have respect for people who purchased a car and stuck with it. Regardless of whether you own another car as a daily, but you put the money on the counter all these years ago with a certain pride which never left you, or at least that's how I would imagine such a thing goes.

How I came to a 1989 Camaro RS in Germany:

I so far have never purchased a new car, and since we passed 1989 and cars need stuff like airbags, computer controlled brakes and about 700 lbs of electric gadgetry that ensures the car continues driving, even if the driver falls asleep at the wheel to pass security regulations, I currently can not imagine I ever will purchase a factory new car.

I have always been a mechanically inclined person. One that likes the logic of pistons and gears if that makes sense. That quickly developed into a fascination for analog cameras and cars (never been much of a clock person though).

The last car I owned before this one was a 2nd geeration series 4 RX7 coupe. That got stolen. Insurance did not pay a lot, so I started a 2 year search for a new car.

My girlfriend kind of steered me towards US imports (Germany. US cars are imports here )

With that in mind I found a nice 1989 GTA that turned out to be not that nice after all, and way overpriced. Found the Camaro for a more then fair price at the same car dealer however, so I brought it along. That was 2 years ago now.

1o80b

I wanted Camaro since my father had one when I was 7 .

I was 25 and I was working on a little computer shop... it was goddamn boring.

One day I started to look for a Camaro just for fun on local ads. I find one that was near where I lived and not so expensive.. But I had no money...

I showed the car to my mother on MSN, they asked me how much , so I told her.

4-5 minutes later she tells me : "Look at your bank account"

The money was mine and she told me : "Go get your dream car my son"

I cried.

LULZ