misteroman

Quick Intro.
I recently purchased back my 86 Iroc I had in High school after close to 12 yrs of trying to get it back and was wondering what my best option was for a restoration?Car is decent but to make show most everything will have to be replaced.Car is pretty solid but Drivers floor is weak.
This will be a no expense spared resto(with in reason) As I will 100% keep this car for the rest of my life and passed down to my Son when he is born in January.
What I'm looking to do is to have the outside look completely stock and just how I had it in the early 90's(except a show winning body) and the drivetrain/brakes/suspension be top of the line and be solid 10:50's capable with the AC on.
As for a cost option,I was wondering if I should pick up a somewhat "done up" car and just strip it or just buy new.I know alone the brakes are going to cost me $2K, rear end $3K,engine $8K, etc.I ordered a Classic industries catalog and was going to try and get a Year one catalog as well.Any other vendors I should be aware about?
Any help is greatly appreciated and I fully realize I'm probably going to spend $30-40K on a car that will be worth $20K but to me will be priceless.
Thank you for any help
Derek

Dmans85

I love hearing these type of stories. Best of luck and have fun. Go catalog crazy I say. More hassle to take stuff off and I doubt if you really want a high end parts car occupying space in your yard/residence/garage. Better piece of mind with new stuff, not to mention that unblemished look.
Gotta give my hero Bruce at Hawk's third gen a plug. Website link should be easy to find on main home page. Like moderndaymuscle for lil stuff as well,edmiller seems to be brake king(find him on the directory).
I'm sure I speak for many by saying put that digital camera to work on the rebuild/refresh

armac

Make sure you bag a label everything and I mean everything. Dont throw any thing out until you have the replacement part in hand you might need it. Dont get in a hurry you will only creat more work for yourself down the road. I have been on my resto for over 4yrs now and I just got the engine started last week. What helped kept me going was trying to set goals as you go so you can measure your progress. As far as parts make sure you check out GM partsdirect.com the parts are cheap with high s&h but you will still come out cheaper than most places and they are original GM parts.

89RS_82Z

iTrader: (2)

i have personaly seen his car !!!!!!!!!!!

RockinGTA89

misteroman,
i wish you the best of luck in the restoration of your Iroc. It's great to know you will be going the distance into your project.

I myself am planning that same feat as well..although it has been difficult money wise for the past few years to purchase the necessary restoration parts i need, however i can assure you i'm dedicated to completing my project like yourself.

Kinda, of a rule of thumb when it comes down to do a restoration project, you usually want to buy a vehicle with minimum rust as possible. For the less rust you got on a body the better and easier it is to do a resto job and less $$$ to spend...Mechanically wise it's a preference what you wanna do...be it stock or aftermarket, its your choice and expenses varies from what you buy and where you buy it from...

I too, got a year one catalog and a classic industries for my ride...unfortunately many parts that i seek aren't even avalible in these catalogs at all. These companies may have many more avaliable parts for your Camaro then the firebird, as they were more massively produced then in the 80s...

If I were you, I would do a search on Ebay for a F-body parts and illustration catalog. I just happen to win one over last weekend and plan on using it as a guide. Of course many of the parts are superseded now but i'm sure with help from local gm dealer i'm sure they can help out and get the corrected part number. Also on Ebay, from time to time you can find a Dealer Service manual for your car in case you do plan on doing the mechanics of your car.

Good luck!

Sonymaster20

iTrader: (3)

Get the manual it helps ALOT. Tells you where everything goes. Good luck on the Iroc-z Locating everything may be a challenge but can be done. Sometimes ebay can be your best friend but be careful of buying junk.

BTW Lets See some pictures :-D

gcgarner

I've heard of guys doing stripping the car completely and even putting it on a rotisserie. I think that is the most complete way to do it. Good luck!

ruberbanman126

If you are looking for new stock replacement parts, check out www.ecklerscamaro.com

detltu

iTrader: (1)

I am trying to decide how much I want to get into my car as far as a restoration goes. It doesn't have much rust. What kind of budget range are people using for these restorations.

online170

Id like to suggest 2 things after reading your post.

1) It seems you know EXACTLY how you want the exterior to look, but i would suggest a couple of "subtle" changes to give it the show car appeal. First would be to get a set of large iroc replicas, ( i think they only come polished) but paint them to look stock. If you want 10.50s theres no way itll be safe with the factory tire sizes. Go big or go home. Also for the paint, id imagine you already know what colour you want, so paint the car that colour, BUT in a candy. In my opinion, its hard to beat the "depth" and appearance of candy paint on a car, no matter how much effort you put into the paint. Go nuts with sanding, make it a frikin mirror!!! Make sure you replace all weatherstripping, and get scratch free glass to compliment the paint.

2) You know you want 10.50 capable car, but i wouldnt recommend going catalogue crazy just yet. To go 10.50s, you need to plan it out, and do your research. Most guys go with BIG power, and stopping and handling later. I suggest you go the other way. Splurge on the suspension and braking, then put in a mighty mouse (or rat) and you may end up goin faster. BUT RESEARCH THE COMBO!!!!

I say go with all new parts. Reason being, i would not recommend getting a used engine, and working off of that. If you KNOW what you want, and someone else built it their way, you'll never be happy with it.

That being said, theres not much else you can swap over from a fully done up car that will save you $$$. Theres a few suspension peices, but the SFC's are welded on for example, and you'll need new struts/shocks, and springs anyway. So if you swap over a front crossmember, a torque arm, and some panhard bars and control arms, you might not save too much, cuz the rest you'll want new anyway.

Good luck on the project, have fun!

P.S.
What are your thoughts on the interior??? I really like my factory interior, and its pretty easy to make the interior look factory and still have all the goodies.

misteroman

Thanks for all the tips and encouragement.
Online, you present some good points.As far as the candy paint,will that change the color at al?I want to keep it 1986 Iroc red.I keep debating on changing a few details on the exterior that I always wanted to do.One is a 91-92 z-28 hood and the chrome Iroc wheels but then it would change what it looked like.
As far as a used engine it would have to be close to new and almost exactly how I would want it.Brakes and suspension should be the same.
As far as the interior I wanted to keep that stock as possible with an uprade in the stereo and would like to add A/C<-- one of the reasons I wanted to pick up another car.
I found that classic industries seems to have the best prices.Is the quality comparable to the other guys?

online170

Well im not sure about a 91-92 hood, and GFX, but i definately say you should go with the iroc replica rims. You can scuff them up a little to give them a "brushed" look, and paint the centers.

As for candy, check out House of Kolor, and pick something out of there. But think of the candy as shade adder. Its basicaly a clear coat, but the more you put on, the darker the base coat appears to get. You put on as many layers as you want and stop whereever you want. You can even go so far as to have it appear black in shade, and some other colour in the light. This is why it gives the paint "depth". Go to a car show and find a car with it, you'll see what i mean. Pictures cant do it justice.

okfoz

Let me put it this way...

If no price was too much I would call Bruce hawkins... A good friend of mine and honestly he loves these cars... Let him know what you want and he will do it, he will work with a budget...

I would think $40K would go a long way and he does GREAT work, never heard anything but good things about the quality of his engine installs etc... He stands behind his work at least what he has done for me and my friends...

I would consider a LS1 Turbo conversion... Drivable, 10.5 sec quarter mile times and 20+ Mpg...

BTW, once the kiddo comes along everything changes, you will not have Time to Do it yourself...

John

www.hawksthirdgenparts.com

tuske427

I suggest you do some reading and research other people and their cars who already achieve what you want.

The reason for this is you can learn from their trials, their mistakes, what worked for them, etc.

A good example is a friend of mine back in NJ. He has a 1984 Trans Am (it was featured in HP Pontiac a few years back) He told me once he had invested about 40k into the car over the years to get it to where it was. However, to duplicate it would be almost half that. That's because he would buy something, eventually wear it out and need something stronger. Had he known up front he could have bought what he needed the first time...

I would also recommend an LS series engine. Light weight, compact, and great for power. There are enough parts and resources out there to easily get the power you want and be reliable.

Good luck on your build!