91sleeperRS

hi everyone. i would like to hear people's most memorable moment with a thirdgen. i'll start with my story.
im a young guy (im only 20 years old). I was born in 1985. my dad had a like new '84 trans am. he drove my mom to the hospital in it when she was in labor, and after i was born, my dad drove us home in it. so my first car ride EVER was in a thirdgen.

Willie

iTrader: (1)

....after i was born, my dad drove us home in it....

I'm an old guy, probably about your dad's age. My daughter was born in 1994. I drove my wife and daughter home from the hospital a couple of days after she was born in our 1987 IROC-Z convertible. It was super easy to get my daughter in her car seat into the back seat. Just popped the rear of the top and dropped her in!!

superGMman

Well, I was little kid, probably in Kindergarten, I knew what a thirdgen was, my favorite car was an RS+ that someone around my neighbor hood had.

So anyways, I remember going to the local liquer store by my house with my friends, and in the parking lot was this beautiful Black on Black Z28. Me and my friends are drooling all over this car, and the guy comes out and says "Wanna see somethin' ".

We say "uh huh", and he makes a U and roasts the tires all the way down this busy street. It was then that I was hooked and probably the reason that I am here now.

MNformula350

iTrader: (2)

Smokin' a Late 90's early 00's Mustang Cobra that did not even have plates on it yet, and seeing the owners face.

MikeDirntRulez

The kid up the street from me had one. I was about 8 and he was just starting to drive. It looked like an 88 RS and it had a v6. I remember he would go up the street and I would think "wow, how can somebody like him have such a cool car"?

Every day I would be playing basketball in my driveway and I would see him go up and down the street. He would go kinda fast and I thought "WHOA THAT CAR SOUNDED COOL" even though it was a v6 (hey I was 8).

So I told my friend "I'm going to get one of those when I can drive". I never really meant it because back then, something like that seems so far out of reach.

So finally, I had first gotten a Corsica to drive around in. That thing was a piece of junk and I had fixed it too much to keep it so I got rid of it. Then I was thinking of cars and I remembered the infamous third gen!

I had looked for almost 6 months before I found mine. I got even so desperate as to looking for firebirds (it's not what I really wanted) and I also settled for a couple v6's a couple of times (also not what I wanted).

Finally I saw one on eBay that was close to me in Los Angeles. It was like a calling, it was everything I wanted: Automatic, white, v8, and a Camaro! it looked so beautiful sitting there all dirty and with misc broken pieces on it. So I watched it like a hawk for a week. Every time I was at a computer I was checking the auction.

I promised myself I wouldn't go over $1500, because that's all I had to spend on a car. Well, the last 30 minutes of the auction it got up to $1700, and I got really bummed. Finally my dad said "hell with it, go up to $2000 and i'll give you the rest". So I did the last minute bidding thing. I was the last bidder at 8 seconds and won it for $1800! My heart dropped and I got chills. I couldn't believe it was mine!

So we drove down there the day I was supposed to pick it up. I had eaten some McDonalds on the way and had gotten really sick with diarreah. My stomach was gurgling the whole way there but we couldn't stop because the place was about to close. Finally we got there and the second I saw my 1990 RS the diarreah stopped and I felt better. It was like it healed me. I jumped inside and saw how low it was to the ground and thought it was the best thing on earth.

I started it up and heard that L03 through the rusted out stock exhaust and I almost wet myself, it was the first time I had heard a v8 that was MINE!!!!! (i kid you not, the car would rumble "mine mine mine mine" )

Then I drove it home and punched it on the freeway. I know TBI's aren't fast, but when you are 18 and have never been in anything like that, it seems fast! it pushed me against my seat and I got the chills. This baby was mine! And I remember the song that was playing when I was on the way home with it was Thrice's "The melting point of wax" on the radio and that's the significance of the quote in my sig.

And the rest is just history. I actually kept the eBay auction and all the pictures, I will post them up later. I hope you enjoyed my long story and if you made it this far and haven't fallen asleep, then congratulations

stroker_SS

Sitting in a local walmart parking lot I hear this car, and it sounds mean, so i get to looking and see this crappy white berlinetta with red z28 bumpers on it parked a few spaces over. Once the owner got out and walked away i run up to it and say to my little bro, i would hate to own that piece of JUNK.

That was a year ago.

I was looking for a project car and sitting in a bar late one night my friend tells me of a camaro with a blown engine for $400 dollars and before i knew it i was annoying the owner with questions about the car he tells me it's clean and very little rust is on it, he tells me its an auto(i'll admit i was a little bummed) and he says it has a 350 in it (i thought he was lying). Before you know it i go to his house with that same buddy one day and i look the car over top to bottem, i get in kick the floor boards as hard as i can with the owners permission(c'mon it's michigan, that's how ya tell if its good or not) solid as a rock. I say hey good deal, i'll give ya a call when the funds allow me purchasing it(i was a broke 16 yo at the time).

Later that month i give him a call and he promptly has it flat bedded over and i pay him his 400 plus 65 for shipping it, and i'll tell ya i've never seen a white berlinetta with red z28 bumpers look so good in my life. Yes you read it right, that piece of junk sitting in the walmart parking lot, is now officially mine. A

And i don't hate it as much as i said i would, although i'd like it alot more if he didn't blow the engine before i bought it.

tyrvidar

My uncle had just stolen a Iroc, black, red pin stripes I believe, this was in the 80s. Within an hour of him stopping by our house, and showing it off, then high tailing it away. The police came around the corner looking for him.

hmmurdock_00

Jumping my Camaro off a railroad crossing, i went 2 (at max) feet high and 5 feet in length. First time being airborn in a car i thought for sure i screwed it up.

Besides that, the first time i drove it.

88KARRV6

iTrader: (1)

My favorite moment was when I first picked up my car, it was one summer evening. and I had just called the seller to go see it, me and a friend drove over to the guy's house, as we drove up, I saw it parked out front, it was pretty faded, But I don't think I ever saw such a beautiful sight in my life. As soon as the guy came out to meet us and he let me fire it up, I knew I was taking it home. I paid the man and hopped in.
It was in need of gas pretty bad so we stopped at a station nearby and filled it up, my buddy said "it's a clear night, why don't you pop the T tops?" I liked his suggestion so I did.
I turned on the radio and Ozzy Osbourne's song Hellraiser came on, I got to tell you, I felt like a kid with the hottest toy around.

I have alot of work left ahead of me on the car, but whenever I get discouraged at the time the project is taking, I remember that night and those feelings come rolling back.

Derek The Great

Well my first and most memerable story about third gens was way back in the summer of '95 I was living with my mom at the time and my dad showed up to pick me up for the week end In this blue firebird, i had no clue what a firebird was but i raced up to see my dad and the first thing i looked at was the speedometer lol 120, and to me this was big as i was used to 85s lol. Well he took me for a spin in it and i jus said "i want it!" well the rest is history...

White93z34

iTrader: (1)

well i have been riding in a thirdgen all my life for the most part, when i was born in 1984 my dad had a brown 83' sport coupe with a LG4, from what i remember of that car is was prety base, with a brown interior, base gauges and aftermarket t tops that he had installed.

1994 rolled around and my uncle put his 87' sport coupe up for sale, and my dad sold the 83' for the 87' which was far better optioned, power windows, t tops, power locks, full gauges, and a LG4. it was the car that my uncle kept in the garage under a car cover when it was new, i remebmer picking up the cover to see what was underneith it.

i still remember my dad driving it around erie and all the kids playing outside would stop and look at it. it was a prety cool feeling.

now all these years later she is mine, and has faded a long ways from the car-cover glory it once enjoyed.

tiresmoke

One lucky day I was working at a car parts store where I had my 85 Iroc H.O.(smb 400) parked out front for sale. Some guy called and said he wanted to take a test drive. I told him come buy at 3pm and Id let him drive it.
After I hung up the phone I realized that the car was on empty and needed to get some gas at the local pump an 1/8 of a mile from my work.
This was the first time I drove it in a month so I was a kinda pumped to drive it. I went down the street for a U turn and mashed it coming out of the turn. The car was fish tailing in 2nd with a fair amount of smoke, thats when I saw those terrible blue lights behind me.
I pulled into a Dunkys parking lot and shut it off. The Officer must have had a busy day ahead of him because after I informed him that the plates were from a different car and it was uninsured he only screamed at me an told me to get it towed home. He also said NICE SHOW.
One of my Coworkers had a car trailer.
That was the end of a long day.

demetri

crashing and tottaling my 91 rs into a tree 3 months before i got my liscense, now i gotta wait another year

gray89vert

iTrader: (3)

getting picked up from b-ball practice in 7th grade, i went into the parking lot looking for my sisters sunfire and couldn't find it... THan an 89 camaro rs vert pulls up with my sister driving...(her boyfriends car)...that was the 1st time i saw that car and that night i said to my friend no matter what i am gonna find a way to get that car. so now i got it 2 years later!!!!!!!!!

David M

My most memorable third-gen moment was on the evening of June 19, 1987.
The now defunct United States Camaro Club (USCC) was holding their 3rd annual nationals in Norwood, OH right across the street from the assembly plant. I was fortunate enough to hook up with two guys from New Jersey, one had a brand new '87 IROC 350 in bt. red. He drove us to dinner, then at 7:30 our tour of the assembly plant began. It was absolutely overwhelming to see our cars being made. We made it to powertrain and body marriage and the line was down for union break. I was leaned way over the railing looking at the underside of a Dk. Red IROC, and one of the workers invited me to climb over and he showed me exactly what he and his fellow workers did to install the powertrain as it was installed from underneath as the body was about eight feet in the air.
Then it was on to the "blue building" where we were served refreshments. Brand new Camaros and Firebirds were gliding by us on their way out the door and on to the holding lot. We hung out there for awhile just watching in amazement. This is also where I saw my first Yellow Z28 with the gold rocker panels. Something I will never forget for as long as I live!!!

ad356

it all started back when i was a freshman in high school. my stepfather was always into GM performance cars. he was already looking for a camaro, he looked at many different cars, third gens and second gens. we lived in a leased home that was getting repainted and somehow i ended up in conversation about camaros, i was about 15 at the time. he said his brother was selling a 1984 z28 he showed me a picture i thought it looking good. i told my stepfather about it and we went and looked at it. he bought the car on the spot. it had a 305 HO L69, t-tops, fully optioned and very clean. i got to ride in that car when he picked it up. i fell more and more in love with the car as time passed. i loved the sound it made and when he took the t-tops out i loved it even more. i decided to make a promise to myself. I will buy myself my very own camaro when i turned 25. i figured by the time i turned 25 the insurance would be cheap enough for me to own a car classified as a "performance car". well i turned 25 in march and when spring came around i started "car shopping". i looked at a 1981 second gen that was up for sale up the street. second gens are also very cool. guy was asking 3000 for it, it had a 350 300 HP. it was a very fast car, he even took me for a ride. i was almost ready to buy and i was driving out near my parents house. there was a 89 RS for sale at an impound lot it had 305 TBI and the guy wanted 2200. well i bought the 89, i decided that i reminded me "more" of my stepfathers car. i also decided that the 800 dollar difference was more money i had to spend on repairs, i dont have much money to work with. i also decided that 350 carb engine in the 81 wouldnt deliver very good fuel economy and the 305 TBI would deliver excellent gas millage. at 3 dolllars/gal it is a factor. the 89 also had T-tops. 2 months later i am still thrilled with my purchase and i "brag" that my v8 gets excellent gas millage, handles like a vette, and gets all of the stares. im happy with the performance "mostly". i would like a little more performance, exhuast, cam. but none of those thing will sevrely take away from my gas millage. long story short i love third gens they have been a part of my life for a very long time and will continue to be. my stepfather still has is 84. he is currently involved in a T56 swap from a 700, very very cool.

Daniel U

Mine's kinda dirty, but it involves my highschool sweet heart and the hood of my 84 Z/28..........

Oddball

I've said this before and I'll stick by my story. My most memorable experience in a third gen:

Every fricking day I take the T-tops off and drive it the 40 miles to and from work.

'Nouf Said

Guest

Pushing my 85TA home on my birthday at about 1AM.

I was heading home from work, stopped for a red light. 600W stereo was cranked, hell it was my birthday and I was enjoying myself. I accelerated from the light at about 1/4 throttle or so and the RPM's climbed up in 1st and over the sound of the stereo (no, cant remember what song) at about 3k RPM, I hear *click* *CLACK* *BOOM*

Of course by the time my fingers hit the key to turn off the motor it was way too late. The last thing to happen after the tach dropped to 0, the oil pressure went to nothing, was the check engine light came on. Duh. So the key is in accessory position and the tach is randomly jumping up to 2-3k RPM and then dropping back to 0. There's a HUGE cloud of smoke behind the car. I put the trans in neutral and the tach stops bouncing around. I flip the hazards on and check traffic (none). I roll down the slight grade I'm on and think about the best path home. I turn at the next light, and continue coasting down that street. I get about 1/2 way to the next turn and for the next 1000' I'm walking with the car pushing against the a-pillar. I take the t-top out and throw it on the back seat. Stereo is still cranked up. I get to the next turn, get a good run going, and jump back in the car. I coast down to the next turn, get about 1/2 way down that street, and I'm back to walking and pushing. 500' later I make the next turn and have a slight uphill push before the street goes downhill again. I end up walking with the car down that street, its not very steep. Someone comes out of their house and screams at me to turn that @#$% down. I impolitely tell him to stuff it and if he wants to help push he can. I make my second to last turn to home and walk with the car down the street. I know my street is uphill so I try to gain some speed before the next turn 300' down. I make the last turn onto my street and due to the incline I only make it about 50' before I give up.

I walked the next 300' to my house, got my dads truck, tow chain, and walked down to my car. I hooked up the chain to the radiator support (I didnt really care much at this point) and dragged the car up the street. My mom came out and helped and I started to take a look under the hood. Oil was everywhere. I look under the car, cant see much. Mom gives me a flashlight, I see something so I grab it. I know what it is. I hand it to my mom while I'm still laying down and she says "Well, thats not good."

I still have that piece of connecting rod.

What happened? Well... the car was a problem child. It lived a pampered life. At 44k miles, for whatever reason, a wrist pin sheared... both sides. This is a bone stock 305TPI. The dealer 'fixed' the car. Knowing what I know today, I think they took it out, sans coolant, and overheated the car. The technician must have tried to drive back to the dealership and they threw a rod. The dealer covered this up. They had to 'send the heads out for a valve job because it overheated'. Sure. What happened is the #3 rod broke, chipped the bottom of the #4 cylinder wall, both pan rails, and there was a mark next to the camshaft and as it turns out, the camshaft as well. It didnt break it, but it cracked it. Ever since they 'completed' the 'repair', I had a tick from the motor. They insisted it was a lifter, and refused to tear it down to fix it. I had a representative from Pontiac look at the car and they still refused to fix it. 2 years later, at 70k miles, that cam finally broke. A piece fell down *click*, got wedged between the block and rod *clack*, and you know what happened next. I patched up the engine and sold the car.

Daniel U

Quote:
What happened? Well... the car was a problem child. It lived a pampered life. At 44k miles, for whatever reason, a wrist pin sheared... both sides. This is a bone stock 305TPI. The dealer 'fixed' the car.

Madmax, Not to take any sides, but I've heard the 305's are notorious for weak wrist pins.

Guest

I can attest to that I guess.

TPI

Dont Laugh to hard, lol

I drove from NY to Florida with my cat "Gilligan"

We relocated to Ft.Lauderdale for a year or so, and I had
the responsibility of transporting the cat, rofl ..

He was out of his kennel, and laying on the flat dash of my
first third-gen.. a 1987 T/A LG4 car


anyway, It was cool !!

Irockz

iTrader: (1)

That's more along the lines of my most memorable moment.
April of 93',Prom night.In my case,it was the passengers seat.Wonder what ever happened to her?

Dubkor

My story is a bit of a commedy of errors.

When I was younger, I was only vaugely aware of third gens. I didn't really know anyone who had one. I had never really seen too many. I had always liked 2nd Gen Trans Ams, ever since my uncle bought one for parts. So one day, after getting my first vehicle, a 1992 Ford Bronco, I'm driving by a local car lot. Locally, it's called Corvette Corner, because the lot's always full of Corvettes of all different years (right now it has about six, plus two El Camino SS, two 1980s Cutlass Supreme 442s, a Turbo Regal, three first gen Camaros a Dodge Challenger, a Belair) and I see this great looking white car sitting there. It's a 1988 Firebird, V6. I look the car over and I fall in love. I get all built up to buy this car, so one day, I go in there and I manage to convince the guy to consider a trade, my Bronco for that Firebird. I take it out for a test drive. Now, I know it's not a fast car, but I fell in love with the handling.

So I go back, and the guy accepts the trade. I'm extatic.

Over the next week I begin to notice things like a quick and sloppy body job. Also, there is some massive short in the headlights. Having my headlights on for more than about thirty minutes will kill the battery stone dead, and about the last ten minutes of that I have really no headlights to speak of. So what do I do? I quit driving at night. I'm still head over heels in love with the car. So I go in to get my safety. I have to fix a few things, nothing major, just some work. I take it in for it's e-test, it fails with flying colours. I actually spend the whole winter tinkering and playing around to get it to pass it's e-test.

Finally, I get it back on the road in the spring. I start work (working for a stone mason). I go to turn in to the jobsite one day and BOOM. This fool in a Silverado pick up behind me was adjusting the clock on his radio. I had been stopped for at least a full 30 seconds waiting for traffic to clear to make a left hand turn and he smokes me doing around 90KPH. My gas tank bursts, my drive shaft drops off, my exhaust just hits the ground and drags. my car was pushed forward around fifty yards. The trunk is pushed up to the back seat. I had it on the road nearly two full weeks...

So, after driving a KIA Spectra rental for nearly a month, I answer an add for a 1986 Firebird. The minute I rolled up to that fellows house, and saw that 1986, black and gold, just like The Bandit, with the huge gold eagle spread across the hood... I was in love all over again.


Other than that, all I remember about either of those cars is in the white one, driving around the local small town with Judas Priest and Boys in the Bright White Sports Car by Trooper blaring, making a general *** of myself and feeling like the king of the world. With the black one, I just remember cruising the paved back roads with my friends, with the windows rolled all the way down, no matter how cold the car got, listening to Phil Collins, In The Air Tonight.

MikeDirntRulez

You'll meet up in 5 years when little Timmy is 18 and she'll demand that you pay all 18 years worth of child support.

Irockz

iTrader: (1)

Aw,dude,don't even JOKE about that sh*t!The worst thing is that with today's forensics,there's probably still DNA in my car!

John in RI

iTrader: (167)

I've owned my 84 Berlinetta since 91 and have owned another 22 along the way. Many of them were cars I ended up parting out but more then half were driven before selling or stripping them.

There are MANY - MANY - MANY memorable moments in my rides and it's very hard to choose just one.

Best "Crash" was some *sshole pulling out in front of me while driving at about 40MPH in the winter. I cut the wheel to avoid him thinking " I got it"...... as the rear end tried to pass the nose,....cut the wheel the other way thinking " I got it",..... cut the wheel again and clipping the snow bank on the sidewalk. The car spun 180 degrees and ended up with the *ss end on the snow bank. Scrapped up the paint on the nose and the rear bumper - but no real damage other than a rear flat.

best "Cool" moment, My First REAL donut with POSI traction.

best "Dumb" moment was separating the engine and tranny with a crowbar from up top then getting under the car and having the crowbar fall and smash me in the face.

best "Dirty" moment was a BJ at 80MPH, when we stopped we got on the hood, then the hatch, then the roof.

best "Close call" moment was taking an off ramp to fast and overcorrecting my steer into the corner. The tires were crappy 14 inch all seasons and when they broke loose I spun the car around but never crashed. When the car stopped spinning I was pointed in the wrong direction looking at head-on traffic on the off ramp.

best "lucky" moment was taking my Berlinetta out for it's first ride of the season after installing 355 of the generals finest horses and loosing about a thousand miles of rubber at the last stop sign before my house. As soon as I started rolling I watched a patrol car creep through smoke. ( he was hidden and I didn't see him pull right behind me due to the burn out! ) He pulled out and hit the horns & lights just as I pulled into my yard. He gave me a lecture but couldn't tow the car and didn't even write out a ticket !

best "proud" moment was wining 3rd place at the first THIRDGEN Nationals in MD a few years ago. I had worked my knuckles raw getting the T56 installed in time to make it to the show.

Like I said - being a Thirdgen owner for the last 15 years has provided me with more stories than I can possibly share in this forum,..... And probably shouldn't!!



John in RI

hwcoll95

iTrader: (6)

since women drivers(not to offend anybody)seem to pick on me and my red 3rds,ever since i got my X77 body 1969 camaro,I knew that a 3rd was going to be my daily driver,first was an 88 bird TBI 5spd car


lady hit me in driver door,spinning me into drain tile tearing rear wheel off car

hunted for a while for replacement andafter almost giving up(V8 5spd)cars not that easy to find stumbled on my 89 IROC,that I still love dearly,another lady in the passenger door this round

spinning me into a van going other direction


after the shock wore down alittle,I agressively pursued the 92 heritage Z,hopefully with full coverage insurance on her it will be like having a force field surrounding the car to keep ladies from introducing themselves

Mr. TurboTA

Wow!
Good luck with your third one!
I would pick a different color!

George

Xophertony

ohh... i remember when that first happened and you posted thoise pictures still hurts to see....


my most memorable thirdgen moment so far.....
when i put headers on my GTA. before headers the car was a real dog. it dynoed 172HP. not good for a 350. theni put headers on it, i was totally dismayed at how badly they made the car run. it was rough as hell, almost like one or two cylindars were not firing. so i parked it and got new wires, plugs and adjusted the timing, well, that fixed the "roughness". upon removing one of the plugs it had NO gap. i must have smashed it during the header install (removed all the plugs). and i know some of the wires got butchered in the install. upon a check of the timing i was 8 degrees retarded instead of 8* advanced, so i readjusted that as well. then i drove a few blocks slowly, on purpose, as to not test the acceleration, i was saving that for the freeway onramp. so i pull onto the onramp and PUNCH IT, i was absolutly BLOWN AWAY by how fast it took off... i actualy began laughing uncontrolably, like an evil laugh.. it was weird. i actualy said outloud "this is the fastest car EVER! *victorious laughter*"

since then the novelty has worn down somwhat... but i still find myself smiling for no reason whenever i look at it, ride in it, think about it, or see people looking at me while i am in it.

i am sure that story will be ousted the first time i uhh.... properly break in the car... you know.. with help from a special lady.

Cadillac

Mike D... great story! How long ago was that? I'm pretty sure that if I got my car when I was 18, it would be long gone and way past the crusher at this point.

Most memorable moment with my Third Gen? Easy.

Getting it out of paint after it looked like this:



Then there was a second place showing in my class at a small "All Pontiac" show:



Good times.

Jason E

These cars are like family to me, so I have a few favorite, memorable moments...I can't call just one the best...

1) I was 5 years old (1985), on vacation with the family in Newport, RI. We went and visited the Coast Guard Academy there. A black with gold accent (good memory, eh?? ) brand new IROC with t-tops rolled through the lot, with a cadet in dress whites behind the wheel. He pulled up to us, saw me drooling at his car, saluted me, and drove away I was hooked then.

2) September 4, 1989...my parents bought my old 1989 RS brand new. It was about 90 degrees that day, and I INSISTED on sitting in the car while they signed the paperwork In its medium grey metallic, brand new splendor, I didn't care it was a 2.8

3) June 10, 1998. That same car, with 56,000 miles on it, became my high school graduation gift

4) June 21, 2006. 4 1/2 years after the RS was sold, and 4 years after I sold off my aborted-project-'89 Formula, I took in on trade here at work (I'm a Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep dealer sales manager) a '91 RS. I knew the second the guy pulled it around for me to assess the trade that it would be mine before the end of the week. It was With the V8 and 5 speed my old RS was missing, I will make this car exactly what I wanted back when I got my original RS...a fun 5 speed terror, mostly stock, rolling on American Racing Torq Thrust IIs

I've owned my beloved Z28 for over 5 years, and will never, EVER sell it. But it isn't the same as a third gen. Even my girlfriend says the RS is more attractive! I bought it for $1,000 last week, and will have $2,500 in it by the end of next week, with a full tune up, shocks & struts, A/C repair, repaint of the nose and driver's seat repair...when I'm all done with it, I'll probably have $7-9k in it with a full respray and all new interior.

Ask me if I care I'll never sell this one, ever, either For the first time since I sold the '89, I no longer long for it...I have a better one now