I bought a 1990 Iroc 5.7 G92 for $1200 all original even exhaust with 80,000 miles. The factory bright red paint is shot (clear coat peeling and oxidizing). It is not my daily driver. About how much would it cost to get it repainted in original stock color. There are two small rust spots on hood at bottom of inserts and my front bumper cover has a three inch crack under the parking light. Can the crack be fixed or do i have to replace the bumper cover? The body is straight and rust free. Should I keep it original or change the engine? The stock engine ran a 14.2 at 97 mph seems like it has some life left in it but not a powerhouse. If keeping the stock engine what are the best mods to make it run better without taking away to much from the originality. Should I keep it original, modify it, or beat on it?

I would say keep it as original as is reasonable or at least in appearance. the 90-92 z28 are by many considered to be some of the the most desirable of all the third gen camaros excluding special cars like SLP, 1lE, pace cars and what not. This is especially true being a 350 and all. I dont think theres any reason that you cant put a good aftermarket exhaust or throw a cam in and stuff like that but i wouldnt stray too much from original like stripping the emmissions or going carbed or anything like that. Course thats just my opinion. The one thing i would not do though is just beat it because a car like that is desireable enough such that it would be a real tragedy to run it into the ground. Especially if its only got 80k its got to be fairly nice. If you wanted a car to just run into the ground im sure someone would be more than willing to trade you for something far more deserving to be run into the ground lol.

I agree with Rolling Thunder, if you want something to beat down, I am sure that there are more candidates out there for that purpose other than a true 80K mile 350ci car.

You only live once. Do what will make you happy. No sense in having a car you can't enjoy.

Im contemplating the exact same thing. I have an 88, g92, l98, auto, 76k, all orig. Iroc. I cant decide if i should go the perfomace route or keep it orig.

I have decided to do just bolt ons and keep all the other parts incase i wanted to return it to stock.

In the end its your decision, but personally id keep it orig. or very close to it.

Keep it original. there are so few of those... look at classic auto auctions.. which cars get the $$$? the ones that are original...

JamesC

Looks like a great find. Have any pics of car and bumper crack?

Yes the crack can be repaired. Or you can get a used one for a hundred or so $$. New aftermarket ones cost $300.

I have similar car. My plan is to restore interior and exterior to stock look. I want more performance so I will modify engine and drivetrain. Even with those mods, I will keep stock parts and store them.

What are you plans for car, driving style, etc??

I agree with keeping it original or doing mods that are "bolt-on" reversible.

As for price of a paint job, that's impossible to estimate here. Way to many variables (body work, prep, labour, paint and materials, quality, finishing, etc, etc) and even if any of us were experts we'd still have to see it. I'd take it around to get a number of quotes from reputable shops. Even with a car that's in great shape, I wouldn't expect a decent paint job for anything less than $3000, and don't be surprised if it's quit a bit higher. You might be able to cut a few corners by doing some prep yourself if you have the ability and the shop agrees with it.

Good luck.

I was happy with the price of the IROC and didn't really know much about third gens when I bought it in July 2009. When I bought it the front brakes were locked the battery was dead so I could not test drive it. The car would start with a jump but would die after a few minutes. The IROC was dirty and had sat for 5 years. After some research on third gen.org and learning more about third gens I decided to take a small gamble and scoop it up. Originally I thought it was going to cost me $2000 but it only cost me $1200. I bought it from a mechanic's estate that was willed to my son's girlfriend's father. I had the car towed home replaced the battery, front brake hoses, calipers, one fog light bulb, belt, front swaybar endlinks and hooked the emergency brake up to get it through inspection and tag it. I've put about a thousand miles on it and took it to the track once (three passes) just to establish a base time. The IROC is a great balance of everthing I would ever want in a car. I will try and keep it as original as possible and only do bolt on upgrades. I've put some 17'" torq thrust 2's on that I already had before buying this car. I still have the stock rims and tires but I think the tires have flat spots from sitting so long it's a shame because the tires that came on the car look like brand new goodyears. Thank's for the input from everyone and thanks third gen.org. My wife just asked me what I do on the computer all day this is better than porn.

I don't have any pics of the car. I don't even have a digital camera. I need to get one like 5 years ago. What do I need to do to post pics? Would like to although the paint is faded oxidized and clear coat is peeling.

I have a 71 Nova that is tagged for street that I use for the 1/4 mile so I can modify it more if I need to. I like the fuel economy, handling, and gearing of the IROC better than the Nova for the street. I plan on using the Nova more at the quarter mile and less on the street and I'll use the IROC more for street driving and not much at all at the 1/4 mile. I would like to find a road course or oval to run the IROC on. I'd like to see what it will top out at. I definitely want to keep both cars tagged.

I have a 96 honda civic 67000 miles that my mom gave me to beat down I use as my daily driver. I'm ashamed to drive it maybe i should tint the windows. It gets good gas mileage but has no testosterone and is unAmerican. Put it on the floor and the rpms go up but the speed doesn't it decelerates up hills. Perfect beater.

I also have a 90 iroc but 305, anyway my plans are to put a 383 in it and store the original motor and extras that I pull out. That way if I ever decide to go back completely original I can rebuild the 305 , after I have fun with the 383.