History / RestorationGot a question about Third Gen (1982-1992) Camaro or Firebird history? Where can I find these original parts? What is this option or RPO code? Those questions, answers, and more!
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On August 16, 2008 the Camaro Club of Kansas City held its annual CamaroFest show. We had four 1982 Z28 Pace car replicas show up. If I remember correctly we only have 15 or so third gens out of about 150 cars.
Two of these cars belong to club members. The other two just showed up. Here are a few pictures of each, along with what I know about the two club member's cars..... I am going to have to split this message over several posts, as the board limits each post to 5 images...
This one is a carbed engine with an auto transmission. So it should be an LG4 motor. From another club member I was told that this car was purchased at an auction with 69k on the clock. It had a bent valve, so the engine was rebuilt. The block was bored 30 over and had a new crank kit put in. I don't know what else was done to the motor.....
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__________________ Dave
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This one has the LU5 engine and was purchased by the current owner in early 2008. It took a little work to get it runnig again. The pervious owner had won a award at teh show in 1996, drove the car home and parked it. He never started or drove it again.
This car has drum rear brakes, A/C, curise control, power locks, power windows, deluxe interior with the Conetur seats, manual hatch. We also beleive that the car has the build sheet under the passenger's seat. The owner is not in any big hurry to recover it as he plans on redoing the interior and getting it then. He also plans on putting a 350 engine and 700R4 tranny in it.
This also belongs to a non club member. Note the amber lights on top and the close up of the window sticker.
I though this was interesting. The car has a plate for the 83 Pace Car, yet this Camaro was the Pace Car in 1982. I never did get a chance to talk to the owner about the plate.
__________________ Dave
Last edited by 82CrossFire Z28; 04-19-2009 at 01:59 AM.
Reason: Comment about the 83 plate
The last car has the updated AeroDynic light bar. The original bar had 4 rotators while the newer one has 2 rotators and 2 V-shaped reflectors. The newest style has LEDs.
The number 83 on the plate is a festival car plate and denotes the car number, not the year. If that plate is legit to this car, then it was set aside during the 82 race as a driver introduction or festival car and was number 83. I wonder if the last one belongs to Mike Rudy of Tornado Alley Camaro club. He has a nice collection of rare Camaros and he's from that area.
I see one of the cars has a 91/92 rear glass and spoiler setup. I wonder how that looks with the hatch closed.
And for anyone interested in knowing, the window sticker on the last car is a replacement from windowsticker.com. They do nice work and this is indicative of their quality.
Probably not the best place to ask this, but what would 82 Pace Car seats be worth? I have a set that was given to me from my grandfather. All the seat are mint, but the driver's seat has a hole the size of a quarter in the bottom bolster vinyl. The driver's seat also adjusts every way possible, but Im not sure if all Pace Cars did.
I have them in my 86' Trans Am right now, because they match the exterior of the car, but Im curious as to what they are worth if I would ever want to swap in 4th Gen Seats.
The number 83 on the plate is a festival car plate and denotes the car number, not the year. If that plate is legit to this car, then it was set aside during the 82 race as a driver introduction or festival car and was number 83. I wonder if the last one belongs to Mike Rudy of Tornado Alley Camaro club. He has a nice collection of rare Camaros and he's from that area.
I see one of the cars has a 91/92 rear glass and spoiler setup. I wonder how that looks with the hatch closed.
And for anyone interested in knowing, the window sticker on the last car is a replacement from windowsticker.com. They do nice work and this is indicative of their quality.
The tech report from the 82 Indianapolis 500 only shows 79 festival cars and what should be the 80'th was the prize car for the winner of the race. I'm wondering if that is a reproduction window sticker. I also have one from windowsticker.com but it did not come with a red border around the MPG info. there is however a two year difference between my car and the pace car, things may have changed.
did you know that the original 82 pace car had an all aluminum 350 ci sitting under the hood. chevy rated the car at 290 horsepower but it was later told by the guys with the know, the car actually had about 450!
That is a duplicate window sticker for 1982. My dad's Pace Car sticker looks the same. As for the plate, I can't tell if it's a real 1982 plate or a plate from a different year. The 83 denotes the car number used during the festivities. There are other vehicles used during the festivities that also get plates, so this could be from another vehicle. The plates are usually good thru the end of May of the year they are for. I have seen Suburbans, Silverados, and even tow trucks.
I've already stuck CamaroFest 09 on the calendar. Hope to see you there.
JamesC
Jim
I plan on being there. The question is will my car be ready to make an appearance also I am looking forward to meeting you some time this summer at one of the functions.
The last car has the updated AeroDynic light bar. The original bar had 4 rotators while the newer one has 2 rotators and 2 V-shaped reflectors. The newest style has LEDs.
The number 83 on the plate is a festival car plate and denotes the car number, not the year. If that plate is legit to this car, then it was set aside during the 82 race as a driver introduction or festival car and was number 83. I wonder if the last one belongs to Mike Rudy of Tornado Alley Camaro club. He has a nice collection of rare Camaros and he's from that area.
Scott
Thanks for the clarification on what the plate was used for. I will have to see if the registration records are still available to see if Mike is listed. I do remember that car arriving in an enclosed car trailer, but I have no idea where it came from.
Quote:
Originally Posted by scottmoyer
I see one of the cars has a 91/92 rear glass and spoiler setup. I wonder how that looks with the hatch closed.
Maybe he will come to the show again this year and I will see if I can get a photo with the rear hatch closed.
Only the official Pace Cars and export models had the headlight covers. The 6,360 replicas did not. many show goers are trying to replicate the originals with the flag holders, light bar and headlight covers
Theres actually one of those for sale down here in TN where i live...the paint looks horrible, haven't had a chance to look at the inside, but i hear they want a good chunk of change for it =/
my friend had a 82 pace car... vin matching and everything...the jerk who owned it before him painted it a purple/pink color (ugly) sold everything but the dash badge that would denote it at a pace car.... my friend was going to restore it but the frame/floor/quarters were just rusted through and it was too much work so it was stripped and sent to the junkyard and crushed
I think one thing that people do not understand is even if it is a "rare & or desirable" car, IF The amount to restore it is Greater than the value of the car there is nothing anyone should do but scrap it out or sell parts off of it. I find many people trying to restore a Rusted out piece and try and make it look like a show car. This applies for ANY car, even an early 70's Mopar.
Take a TTA for example, if the engine has been swapped with a SBC 350 and the color has been changed inside and out to something else (insert color here) and there is nothing left of a car that makes it unique, then the car is not worth restoring. By the time you spent your time repainting it, and hunting down the parts to make it "right" the amount of energy and time will greatly exceed the value of the car. It would be cheaper and more thrifty to save your money and buy a car done. If you want the experience of knowing how the cars go together, buy a junk yard car and start pulling parts then junk it.
The case in point the 1982 Pace car, once it is painted a Pink/Purple color it does not matter if it was a Pace car or not at that point..
I am at that point with my 2nd Formula, it is honestly in need of a complete restoration, it has been sitting for 7 years, I do not even know if it would run. To restore the car will greatly exceed the value of the car with 150K on it. I will be far ahead to find a nice car with lower miles and already done.
John
__________________ 87 FORMULA - 5.1 LB9/A4 T-tops 3.73 Modified (Yellow/Black)
87 FORMULA - 5.0 LB9/M5 T-tops 3.45 (Yellow/Gray)
89 FORMULA 350 - CONVERTIBLE 3.27 All original (Red/Gray) www.3rdgenformula.com
As long as you are restoring it to satisfy yourself and not to make money there is nothing wrong with the time and effort. But odds are no matter what you are restoring, you will NEVER get your money back! But hey! Ya gotta spend it somewhere!!
I think it would be historically significant to learn the whereabouts of the victory pace car awarded to Gordon Johncock for winning the race. I'm assuming that the ones used to actually pace the race were returned to GM or in the indy museum?
The Gordon Johncock car is owned by someone on camaropacecars.com. The last I heard, it was getting a repaint because the Arizona sun faded the paint and peeled the decals. It was repainted once with a poor paint job, but the new owner stated in 2007 that he was going to restore the car. It had 45k miles last i heard.
As long as you are restoring it to satisfy yourself and not to make money there is nothing wrong with the time and effort. But odds are no matter what you are restoring, you will NEVER get your money back! But hey! Ya gotta spend it somewhere!!
I am not sure if I made my point or if I went overboard. Basically what I was saying is nascar2496 stated that he knew of a pace car that had been changed and ultimately crushed because the changes were greater than the price it would take to return it to original.
I was trying to point out that there are times when the amount of work and the money it would take will outweigh the value of the car. I have 3 and probably a fourth car that is like this right now, they are not worth restoring, 2 are being used as parts cars, The third I am holding onto as the parts are worth more than the car, and the 4th I would love to restore, but it has so many miles and so much I would have to do to it so I would be proud of it. I should just drive the car...
I agree that the amount of experience is priceless, As I have 5 times into my Yellow formula (In sig) than what it is worth right now... BUT what I learned in the restoration and changing of the cars is invaluable.
John
__________________ 87 FORMULA - 5.1 LB9/A4 T-tops 3.73 Modified (Yellow/Black)
87 FORMULA - 5.0 LB9/M5 T-tops 3.45 (Yellow/Gray)
89 FORMULA 350 - CONVERTIBLE 3.27 All original (Red/Gray) www.3rdgenformula.com
As long as you are restoring it to satisfy yourself and not to make money there is nothing wrong with the time and effort. But odds are no matter what you are restoring, you will NEVER get your money back! But hey! Ya gotta spend it somewhere!!
Oh believe me...I worked at a restoration shop one summer as an intern, there are plenty of cars that you would make back what you spent on a restoration + a bunch more money. It depends on the car. I could probably spend 10,000 on mine and maybe in 25 years I would make it back. But with 172 thousand miles on it the best I will be able to do is make back what I spent on it. I don't see these cars with the few exceptions being worth more than 20,000 in the near future. Maybe when the 80s kids from HS make a crapload of money they will start spending ridiculous sums of money for our cars....but I think that is highly unlikely.
I fully understood your point on the restoration of some cars arent worth it. And I also know that SOME cars are worth it and will bring a return. However if you can afford to restore one of those it will either take you for ever or you have enough money you dont really need to make money on the car. Heck my back yard is a junk yard. I have an 83 Daytona 500 pace car back there and a 1975 Laguna. Anyone actually know what a Laguna is? They only made 7788 of them in 75. Its the rarest of all years (73-77) But no one wants one so............not worth much money. But me personally I like the whole "What the heck is that thing!" I even thought about painting it up like the Cale Yarbough Holly Farms car.Is it worth it? Only to me. But I am kinda wierd and have a fondness for anything 1975(year I was born) But I do understand both of your points
IIRC the Laguna was a neat Chevrolet, where they had swiveling front seats for easier entry & exit... Yes I have seen them... I want to think that they were based on another car like a Monte Carlo, but I do not remember the model...
John
__________________ 87 FORMULA - 5.1 LB9/A4 T-tops 3.73 Modified (Yellow/Black)
87 FORMULA - 5.0 LB9/M5 T-tops 3.45 (Yellow/Gray)
89 FORMULA 350 - CONVERTIBLE 3.27 All original (Red/Gray) www.3rdgenformula.com
Laguna = Malibu Classic. Only differance was side windo louvas on 75-76 and a different nose. Flat nose on the 73-74,camaro looking nose on the 75-75. Unfortunatly not all of them had swivel buckets. Mine does not BUT I do have a set to go in it with all the floor shift console and parts. Also have instrament cluster with factory tach. Mine have the next to lagest engine you could get. a whooping 180 HP 400 Small block. other options where 150Hp 400,150Hp 350,140Hp 350, or a 235Hp 454. I like it.......guess thats all that matters
I am looking forward to meeting you some time this summer at one of the functions. 
so it was stripped and sent to the junkyard and crushed 
