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well the one i have now i went to the dealer, laid my money down and parked in my wife's space and she had a new car when she came home. dont think it was more than 10k brand new.
but i alaway loved camaros. bought my first one in 75 and have bough 7 of them all new.
i just like them and so does my wife, but she decided not to drive hers anymore so it is my toy car to play with.
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well, back in 1996 i joined the marines. went off to helo mech school in california. driving one day with friends and saw her on the lot. wrote a check for 1000 and financed the rest. my first creation of love for iroc/z28 was when one of my step brothers had a 90 z. well the car had been in one fender bender with the first wife and then later i ran up over a curb. i fixed the car and kept blowing trannies. 3 total. i had blown the 305 racing another camaro at 140mph. so i put in a 350. which is why the trannies broke. in 2000 i had bought a 96 mustang cobra and parked the iroc. sold to a friend who needed a car and bought it back 9 months later. fast forward to 2004, i went to iraq and started piling up parts. rear end first then tranny. second trip to iraq payed for motor (406) and suspension. then came to michigan to be a recruiter. car sat for 2 years and then in march of 09 i got her into a body shop and ordered new interior. now she is almost like i have always wanted her to be. here are a couple pics.
she looked really good when i first got her but those pics haven't been scanned yet.
I am glad someone revived this thread. Dave, you have a beautiful car. I am almost never a fan of the "wrong" OEM wheels on a car but the late model SS wheels look really good!
For an update with my life with Camaros, the 67 is still in 1,000,000 pieces, most of which are in my basement! The 89 has had a complete interior restore and looks like the day we picked her up in June 1989. I have also refurbished the wheels and done very thorough tune up. Hven't got to the plus/wires yet. I have them in the garage, just not looking forward to that job! She does still need a fresh paint job but that will have to wait as I am not done building the shop at the new house. And, most exciting... I think I am days away from placing an order for a 2010 2SS/RS Camaro in Cyber Grey Metallic with black racing stripes and a sunroof... I think I have a deal with a buyer for the C6 so as long as that moves, the order is going in!
Here is the 89 in its current condition ready for the Hot Rod Power Tour 2009.
PLEASE... Keep the stories coming
__________________
10 2SS/RS - Silver Ice LS3, M6 with hood/hockey stripe.
89 IROC - Bright Blue Met/black deluxe cloth, 350, 700R4, bone stock original - Owned 89-91 & 08-
67 Camaro - Butternut Yellow/black vinyl, 327 powerglide
NON FBody - 06 Dodge Ram 2500 Cummins, 92 Jeep Wrangler, 98 Civic
Well I have ALWAYS loved cars. For the most part Camaros being my favorite. Anyways, My Dad bought a 1986 Sport Coupe 5spd new, (got totaled in 89) and I seen a few pics of the car and always then thought the 3rd gen Camaros were cool. Then to 2000 I was 8 and my bought a 1969 SS 396 Yellow Camaro, in 2002 he bought a new 2002 z28 ls1 car. So I definatly loved Camaros, But always really liked Iroc-z's. Now to 2008 I saw this white Iroc for sale at the local party store, So I had to look, anf thought hmm prolly wants like 6000 for it, looks nice. But the price said $2,500!! I offerd $2,000 and I got it the next day. And I LOVE The car! (execpt the trouble its giving me now) But then last month I bought a 1989 RS, v6. But Im not parting it out because its a rust bucket. But I might be buying a 84 z28. IM ADDICTED! The reason for wanting the 84 z is because I want to build a motor (like a 383 or 350) but I dont wanna tare apart my iroc. But anyways My dad sold the 69 camaro back in like 04 and sold the 02 z28 in like 05. And now had a 1970 Challeger and 1970 Duster. (hes into the mopars now).
If anyone whats me to post pics of all the cars, i will.
My father is an American car nut. We had a '77 Regal when I was a kid, till he sold it because of high government taxes and gas price and usual difficulties in the city, not much parking places, but I'd loved American cars with large motors since childhood. So I decided to go for one when I had the first opportunity to buy my own ride. These are hard to come accross where I live, so without many choices, I started searching. When I found mine, I just said "That's it". Didn't even test drove it before buying, just checked around a little. Guess I was lucky, didn't have any problems at all, apart from usual wear and tear resulting from 20 years of usage. When I bought the car, I had no knowledge of anything about cars whatsoever. I decided to educate myself and create a nice hobby, so I started with a Haynes manual, searched this forum a lot, and became a DIY like most of the people here. Also, a couple of frustrating experiences with some mechanics (they are complete idiots around here, and the clever ones try to screw you all the time, got tired of watching my back I guess) led me to this. Now I do every modification or replacement to my car all by myself, and take pride in doing so.
Mines kind of a long story... not too long but anyways...
i had graduated from high scholl me and my dad made a deal, i was not passing and he said if i graduated with my diploma he would give me the nissan truck... man i loved that truck... it was an 84 s720 with a 2.4l 4 cyl... i had plans on putting a vg30dett in it and dropping it down and turniong it into a drag truck... but i just had the dream and the thought of it... i never really lookied into it... but since i had graduated i had wanted an american car... i didnt have any particular one in mind, just a few basic requirements... it had to be a stick shift (man you have no freakin idea how hard it ias to find an american car thats a stick in florida haha) and preferrably a chevy... i had seen a few 2nd gen camaros and a few older corvettes, for around 3000 (i was one of those kids that didnt have any real money but i would call and pretend i had money haha... i was 18... i started working as a security officer that next year... it was july... i had still been searching for that one car... then i came accross this 1986 camaro v6... for 1000 bucks!!! man i was excited... i instantly called the guy... it was abuy here pay here... so i went that weekend to look at the car... man it looke sweet! i always liked the old american cars like in the movies tht dont look so hot but would always embarras the rich kids haha... i went to start her up and it would start... wouldnt even click... the guy said it was the battery... we hooked it to a jump starter and still... nothing... so he said YOU guys push it and ill start it... haha... i had my doubts because it was a v6 and such... so we pushed it, and boy... when that thing fired up it sounded so powerful (i had never heard a v6 like that before... to me it sounded like a v8..) i instantly fell in love... i had to have it...i test drove it, asked the guy if i could punch the gas just to see, and he said theres barely any gas so no... ok cool... so we get back, my friend is waiting... i told him i needed this car... not want, NEED... so i borrowed 500 bucks from him to get me started (to this day i have been trying to pay him back, times are tough...) i went to put 20 bucks in the tank, turns out it was almost full, the fuel gauge didnt work... then i couldnt get it started... i told my friend ill push and you start it... this is funny... he told me he kinda knew and he had to pop the clutch and stuff, i said no you put it on start then you turn the switch amd it will start (haha stupid me...) anyways i pushed it all the way to the street and back to the pump... then there were these 2 black guys laughing at us, one of them came over and asked us if we knew what we were doing, we said... "uh... no..." so kinda stupidly i let him start the car while we pushed the car, he got it started and i was so afraid of him just driving away in my new car... but he was an honest man and he explained how to push start the car... so i was driving home... the first car i had ever actually bought... i felt so good... im sure im not the only one that had this feeling when they bought their first car... i felt like nothing could hurt me... man it was so good... so i got home... for about 2 weeks i had to be push starting the car because it wouldnt start... finally found out it was the clutch safety switch, so i bought the part... and didnt use it... i just cut the wires and put them together, now i could start my car on a lever surface and the car would just roll... then i did my first ever tune up on this car... now all id ever worked on was a 4 cylinder... maintenance was simple as hell... i was changing the spark plugs... i broke three of the new ones trying to put them in, so i had three new plugs and 3 old ones... haha, then i had a major problem... i was driving to my frinds house and the clutch pedal just kinda fell... it dangled from the bracket... man i was pissed... i had to figure out how to rev it and kinda ease it into gear, i hated doing that because i knew it was horrible for the transmission... i made it to my friends house furious... i tried to figure it out, and the master cylinder had comme off of the pedal... no biggie i put it back on and it worked for a few days... then i was gonna race a guys turbo civic (because i thought my car was fast, yeah...) and it happened again, my friend had to puull me with his 73 cutlass supreme to his house... i was furious again... i called the guy furious and told him i wanted my money back, he said no and i stilled owed him another 650 bucks for the rest of the car and the tag and such, so i put the car pn a trailer and brought it bakc to him, i was really rude... but about a month later... i really missed the feeling that i felt in the car... and i needed it back... so i swallowed my pride and called the guy... thankfully he agrred for me to just start off where i left off on the payments... so i got it back and my dad knew what it was, he was kinda mad that i gave it back, it was a 3 dollar fix... so i got the car and it has given me so much pride, now its sitting enginless waiting to be stripped down painted and be given a new stronger heart... i want to keep it as stock looking as possible... and i love it because it seems to me that i have the only third gen camaro in orlando (that ove seen...) that doesnt have the ground effects, i think it has more of a muscle look to it... but yeah that is a good long/shortened summary of how i came into my camaro...
i have learned so much about how cars work and how to fix and modify things... before this i never really had an interest on cars, i mean i loved cars... but its much deeper when you know your car how it functions... the car and i were made for each other, i mean i talk to the thing... sometimes id get mad and say im gonna sell it, and something decides to break, it gets jealous i guess... haha, cars have souls i have learned that... they are jealous creatures haha...
and yeah i hads a rude awakening when i lost to a stock civic ex... i blamed it on the suspension, sure enough i replaced a few bushings (the torque arm was being held by a u bolt, and i had NO crossmember bushings left, i mean i destroyed three trans mounts in about 6 months because the transmission would bounce...), and would beat mid 90s civics hehe...
anyways thats my story...
sorry for it being so long...haha...
A story 'bout an IROC...
As a teen, I was much too sensible. Why buy a two-door car if you plan to hold more than 2 people? Why buy a car if you can bike or walk? Why not live near your employer? Etc...
So, as a 17 year old, without a license (or car) moving into my first apartment, I made sure I was near my job. I moved directly across the street, actually. I knew how to use the county transit, and owned a functional bicycle if need be.
I also had a girlfriend that was awfully demanding. So, I needed a car (or she needed for me to have a car).
It just so happened that my boss/manager had a car he didn't want. One that I saw just sitting around for the last few weeks in our parking lot, though I never really noticed it until the opportunity to own it came about. I still didn't have a drivers license, but my boss handed to me a folder and some keys and told me a bit about the 1985 IROC. He bought it from a friend that had money troubles. The friend had put a new engine in it (receipt was in the folder along with everything else you can imagine about the car, proving roughly 40k on the motor, about 130k on body). Prior to my boss buying it, it was broken into and the stereo was stolen and brake lights no longer worked because of it.
He , the boss, pulled a few of his personal possessions out of the car, and I hit the road (test drive). Hours later, when on my way home, the car dies while in motion. I was confused, but it started right back up. Turned out to be a loose battery connection, but i got a few hundred off the price because of it.
He had paid $1500 for it just weeks before, and was selling it to me for 1200 , with only 400 down (as a christmas gift he called the debt at $900). My first day with it, while going to show the car to my sister, the driver side door is backed into by someone that didn't have the decency to stick around.
I was now motivated to get a drivers license and became inseparable from my baby. Besides that, the girlfriend loved the car.
I fixed the wiring that caused the brake light problem, and installed a stereo. Then the floor by my passenger seat was suddenly always wet, and i was constantly adding coolant... OK, bypass the heater core (eventually removing it). I learned how to "tune-up" a car, while breaking my driver side rocker panel (a crack through the Z28 logo). I was then sideswiped by a mini-van driving piano teacher, luckily only denting my driver side fender (though i would ultimately be declared at fault for failure to report an accident). Driving in a Wisconsin winter with no heater core, I suffered only one mis-hap... when my brakes locked up and i did a slow slide into a guard rail resulting in no noticeable damage.
Ultimately about a year with the car, about a dozen times getting pulled over (no tickets by the way), and countless memories and stories besides, some of my sisters friends decide to take my car street racing (without my permission, though i learned not to leave car keys hanging in my kitchen) and broke the tranny mount, and while trying to repair it (according to them) stripped one of my exhaust manifold bolts.
When i got the car back, still not fixed, I took it to a friend to repair the exhaust and tranny mount. He convinced me to "stick some money into it."
About six years later (present day) my car was pulled out of storage, running (until the fuel lines exploded). It was started somewhat regularly while stored. It has new heads & headers (the motor has ran with them,but driven less than 1 mile), and I have a collection of parts waiting to be replaced in an attempt to one day drive it again in a condition worth driving it. I actually accumulated 3 driver side doors, 1 passenger side door, 2 driver side fenders, both rocker panels, a steering column, exhaust pipes, original (used) gold 16x8 IROC rims, matching replacement driver and passenger seats, center console (actually almost all interior parts...)
Without sounding too obsessed, I do believe some of my fondest memories are going to "visit" my car in storage and hear it run for that little while... just rolling it in and out of the garage. I missed driving it so much, but couldn't convince myself to buy another because that would take money away from fixing the one I had.
So here i am now, gone from a sensible kid that didn't understand the point of a two-door car, turned into a guy that can't stand the thought of being without my IROC. (I turned down three thousand cash while i was without a job and my camaro was in pieces inside of a friends garage... believe me, the car isn't worth that even now. though i still won't sell it)
My first car was an IROC, and I have owned her for about 8 years now. Several of my friends have been inspired to buy f-bodies since... On a regular basis, I get to see an Red T-Top 89 IROC with roughly 40k original, an 85 sport coupe/IROC clone, a 95(?) Formula, and a 79 Z28. Not to mention the ones that have come and gone.
Once I am satisfied with the condition of my car, I plan to purchase another third gen... hopefully not needing work.
A request for a story! I can't resist. I have a long history with thirdgen's. The current car is number four. In the late spring of 1982 a friend and coworker was freshly divoriced, and traded the Dodge van she got in the settlement for a new 1982 Black and Gold Trans AM with t-tops. It had the bowling ball hubcaps. Knight Rider was on the tube. One day she let me drive it, and that was the beginng of my love affair with thirdgen's. September, 1982 I brought home a new 1983 WS7 Trans AM with t-tops. It was white with black trim. It listed for 15,337.00. Traded in the 79 Colony Park nine passenger wagon and 10,337.00 for it. The car was beautiful, but would have a short life. A few weeks into proud ownership, while driving to work on a back country Georgia road, there was a place where the river would flood out and flow over the highway. I was turning around go a different route, and a young deputy flagged me across. He said that the water was only a few inches deep, and it was safe. Well it was rising fast, and more like a couple of feet deep. The car floated down the river, and was sinking fast. I popped the driver's t-top off and jumped overboard. Two weeks later the water had subsided, and the car was sitting upside down in the mud. Insurance sued the county, and I get the full sticker price for the car.
New Years Day 1983, the insurance settlement had paid off the first car, and I had a little cash in hand, so I was back at the dealership. This time I bought a new 1983 Trans AM WS6, HO, silver, stick shift, t-tops. It would turn out the be the biggest lemon on the highway. The car spent more time in the shop then it did at my house. The engine ran hot, and would stall. The dealer could not find the problem, so they decided to install some kind of a resistor in the circuit on the temp guage so that the guage would read the temp lower then it was. The result if that is that the engine burned up. It got so hot that it blistered the paint on the hood. GM installed a new engine, and painted the hood. When I got the car back, I traded it that day for a new truck. Later that year, I would get a letter from GM that the factory had been mixing up the radiators, and that my car might have a four cylinder, or six cylinder radiator in it, and may cause it to overheat.
By September 1983, I couldn't stand it. I was having Trans Am withdrawals! This time I went to the dealership in the next town over. The 1984's were on the lots, but I liked the 82's and 83's the best. They had one new 1983 Trans AM, t-top, nicely optioned car, but no performance options. It was white with black trim and had the 14 inch turbo mags. It wasn't real fast, but it sure was purdy! I bought the car and kept it until 2003. It mostly decorated the garage, but got driven some on sunny warm days. It was a great little car, very trouble free for 20 years of ownership. In 2003 with only 43K original miles, still completely stock, I decided to sell it. The wife thought we were to old for a car like that, and did not want to ride in it. The evening the new owners drove it down the driveway, I knew I had made a mistake.The next post is about the current car, and then I promise to shut up.
By 2006, I had been almost three years with out a thirdgen. I started looking for one in earnest, but I am very picky. I wanted a highly optioned car in a desirable color, completely stock, with low mileage. I am also cheap, and did not want to pay museum prices for one. I honestly never thought I would find one. Back up to 2003, I had met a nice patient in the hospital where I work. She was an older lady, and had been sick for a year or two. She was also a car collector, and had a eclectic collection, which included a 1986 Trans AM WS6, TPI, T-top car, with the then new PW7 cross laced wheels. The car was her Sunday afternoon car, and had 25K original miles on it. She had purchased the car new and had all of the records. She passed away in 2004. Up to 2006, and her family was selling her collection. The car looked unused, as it had been stored in an air-conditioned basement. It also had not been started in four years. The original Gatorback tires were dry rotted, and the left front had blown, and the car was on the rim. The OEM battery was dead. I bought the car, having never heard it run, but the price was right. We had it removed by a rollback truck to a garage that I trust to check it out and get it going again. After a couple of weeks the car was running again. Lucky for me it was completely out of fuel, so the system was dry. The worst problem was that the A/C compressor was locked up. When everything was fixed and the car driveable again, it came to the house. Over the past three years, I have done some cosmetic restoration to the car, mostly minor stuff. It's still completely stock, and is original except for maintance items like tires, the battery, hoses, and belts. It runs like new, and is mechanically perfect. The original owner's family is pleased that it is being preserved. My goal is to hopefully live long enough that the car either becomes interesting enough or valuable enough to make it's preservation a near certainty. If you attended G-13 in Atlanta, you might have seen her. Its the blue and silver TA that won class winner stock 82-87 Firebird. That's my story. So far it spans 26 years. Thirdgen's Forever! I'll shut up now. Charles
Driving = pure bliss. Nothing beats crannkinn some Motley Crue with the windows down on a road wih NO STOPLITES!! Thats the way Ive always been and thats the way I intend to stay... but anyways , to the question at hand. The road from there to here has been a long one and I guess Ill begin at the beginning as they say............
Ive been thru ALOT of cars, and always loved speed, but it was my 93 Geo Storm 1.6 sohc 4cyl auto, that I completly dissected and customized that started all this madness as the missus says. And I didnt go all rice either - No fuggedup bodykit - just clean lines and lotsa GO! Man I tell you I punished the H3LL out of that car -wrung it out like a dishrag....but thats another story, but like I said its the car that started it all - I had caught the fever.
New car - '87 Fiero SE 2.8 6cyl 5sp. New lesson - theres no replacement for displacement.
Next car - 95 Mustang 3.8 6cyl 5sp. Notice a trend yet?
Then I LUCKED into this
OMFG - and I got it for a handshake (well if you count the trailer and the 12 pack you can clearly see in the passenger floor of the Dodge, about $100)
1976 L48 350ci TH350
When I got it
When I finished it
Id add more pics but it told me only 5pics per post WTF!?!
Took me less than a year to get it "running and drivable". I never got to lay the carpet....or drive it on the street.....never got tags is the only reason, and Im waaay to nervous to drive it without INSURANCE. Its a crime what happened to it and not a day goes by that I wish I could travel back and change that one moment in time - Easy Come, Easy Go they say. And thats all I have to say about that,Im getting all depressed as I write about it. And to top it off I sold my only other car (the Storm) for Vette $$. I was SOOOOOO close to finishing the Vette and planned on driving NOTHING else. Im like Monoamous like that. So now I have no car at all....I never leave the house...pulling my hair out....driving my lady NUTS.....and always in a pissy mood when I look out and dont see a C3 in my driveway. So one day my girlfriend's sister's ex-husband and his new girlfriend (we are a close family ) tells me that her 84 Trans Am got towed and if I pay to get it out I can have it clean and clear. I only saw it once - in the dark didnt even see what color it was - but that sound....Damn did it remind me of my Stingray......And only $335......SOLD. A running, driving, inspected, RED 1984 Trans Am 5spd L69 5.0 H.O. Not Bad for a 'Bird covered in bird $hit..
and here are some pics
Man, this thing has been BUBBA'd - BAD, but thats the wasy I like it ....Im gonna tear it apart anyway.....
Ive added a stereo, and now Im in the process of Doing what I do Best - Clean lines and lotsa GO! IM BACK!!! Man I FUGGIN LOVE driving this car!!
One of my earliest recurring memories from my childhood is seeing some neighbors drive up and down my street in a mid-80's Trans Am, blue with silver gfx and t-tops. It was all ratted out and probably a Pepsi can by now. Regardless of how bad it looked I still liked it, alot.
Now, my mom, in 1968, bought a new Camaro from the local Chevy dealer in town, which, sadly, has long been closed and the lot is now a Stop n Shop. Dealer was George O'Hara Chevrolet. Fathom blue, 250 inline 6, Powerglide 2 speed, aqua blue interior. The 250, Powerglide, and center console were the only options IIRC. I have pics of me sitting in that car when I was around 5 or 6 years old. My dad has pics of the rebuild he did on it in the 80s and
90s. So ever since I was a kid, I was into the whole F Body thing.
Now let's go to high school. It was getting to be the time for me to get a car, and I had no idea what I wanted. I went from wanting an Explorer, to a Neon to god knows what else. Then one day, a friend of mine pulled into school in a ratted-out 86 Firebird 6 cyl coupe. It had t-tops, and that was what sold me on the third gen cars. I went nuts doing my research on them, dad didn't want to get me a Z28 originally, wanted me to get a 6 cyl. I fought that using the argument that his 93 Silverado had a 305 TBI motor, and it was peppy, reliable, and got good gas mileage. So I set out to find a RS with a 305 TBI.
After doing some searching, I found a 1988 Camaro SC that had the gfx I liked, a 305 Tuned Port, auto, with t-tops. Me and my parents went and looked at on Veteran's Day 2001. After driving it around the block a bit, we left. I didn't think I was going to get it, but I was still excited about it.
Now we go to Christmas Eve 2001. My dad was Air National Guard at the time, and due to the Sep 11 attacks, was activated. He had to pull a shift on Christmas day, but it was OK with my family; we all knew that being in the military has its sacrafices and we still had a great Christmas, just celebrated it on the 24th. My dad bought me a cheap-o ratchet/socket set, a car cover, and some floormats, all of which I got Christmas Eve. I was wondering why I got that stuff when I didn't have a car yet; the answer would soon present itself.
My dad next gave me a box that had some novelty oversized window scraper pic on it. Inside that box was a bunch of newspaper and a small box for an oil psi sending unit. When I opened that, a set of keys fell out with an old-school Camaro key fob attached. I just looked up and asked "What are these?!? What are these for?!? Well I was led outside where on the side of the house was the 1988 Camaro SC we had looked at a month earlier. I was overjoyed to say the least.
Come to find out, my dad met the owner at the local mall a week after we looked at the car to give it one more look over and bought it on the spot. I was at school, he was on one of his days-off. He brought it to my neighbor, who had an empty garage, and stored it in there, going over to check on it and start it every now and again when I wasn't home. THAT CAR WAS 50 FEET AWAY FROM MY BEDROOM FOR ALMOST A MONTH AND I HAD NO IDEA! Heck even my sister knew it was there! Lots of good high school memories in that car; first make-out with a girl, first time I felt a "breast", if you will, lots of good times had by all.
Sadly, that car has long been gone, replaced in person but not in my heart. I have always wanted a 87-92 convertible ever since I found out they were made, sometime in 2003. Well, fast forward 4 years, 2007, and I found my dream vert. A black, 1991 Z28. I was in the USAF so I had the funds to buy it, which I did. I still have it, and it's my pride and joy.
I still always wanted to fulfill my Firebird wants, so I found a black 1987 GTA that needed some work in 2008, with a 350. I got it for $2000 and early this year, traded it to my friend for his 1988 GTA, digital dash, steering wheel radio controls, 305 TPI, 5 speed, t tops! It's my new project! BTW, the digital dash and pop-up lights never get old. I'm in the process of rebuilding the 305 and going carb in it as we speak.
I think with the thirdgen f body, I have found my true passion in life. There is nothing I like more than working on them and driving in them; even 27-ish years after the first 1982 debuted, they still attract lots of attention and are still popular cars. My 1991 Z28 vert gets so much attention whenever I take it out; the designers truley built and egineered a car that can withstand the test of time.
Sorry about the length, but there it is, quite possibly the most detailed telling of my thirdgen story I have ever told in my life.
well my story is short, im still in the middle of making it being only 18, Ha Ha! In 1989 my mom had a red 87 GTA 5.7 5spd absolutly Flawless!! Untill my moms little brother borrowed the car and threw the #2 rod. My mom didnt have the extra money to have the car fixed, so she sold it for a measly 1500 bucks! So fast forward to 1992, im 1 year old, and my dad buys a Brand new formula, and had that car till it got totaled in 01. I always said someday i would have a 3rd gen, cause it was in my blood. Anyways about this time im 10 years old, and my dad was cleaning out the garage and found a collector set of the smokey and the bandit vhs tapes, all three episodes. So we watched them all, and afterwards, i wanted a 2nd gen T/A even more. Fast forwar to 06, im 15, and wanted to buy a car from the money ive saved, detasling, mowing an what not. I had 800 bucks and was on the hunt.
I set out to find the 2nd gen of my dreams, and realised it wasnt in my price range. So i found an 86 iroc, black with gold wheels, all beat to hell. But it ran and was only 500 bucks, so i bought it, and had it sitting in the garage till the day i was 16, i backed it out and drove it to the dmv and took my test, and then drove around the rest of the day. It was love at first WOT! Ha Ha!! So i drove that car untill december 08, when it blew up on the interstate. I had saved up allot of money from working at mickey dee's, so i proceeded to buy a red 87 z28 that needed a tranny. No big deal, so i hooked up my handmade 4x7 trailer to my bicycle, and headed off to the local pick-a-part, and got a smokin deal on a 700r4, adn proceeded to put it in my car.
So i drove that car through the winter (bad idea) and still am. Two months ago i found a 1980 turbo T/A indy pace car, and bought it, and have been working on it ever since. So i guess i can say i have got both of my dream cars. P.S, i still have that black iroc sittin in my yard, someday i will restore it, when i grow a money tree.
__________________ 1984 t/a se 350 t5
1986 iroc-z 350 700 r4
Last edited by 1986 iroc z28; 07-16-2009 at 02:28 AM.
I got into camaros because of my Dad. He owned 5 iroc's and one rs. The pic of my avatar is of me when i was little on my dads new 87 yellow iroc-z. I was always around them, and loved to hear my dads car stories and how he loved those cars. When i was 16 he surprised my in the middle of the night with a white '87 iroc-z hrdtop, best day of my life. Its genetic, his passion became mine. I feel like these cars (iroc-z's) are apart of me or "made" 4 me.
My 88 SC was a christmas gift from my parents when I was in high school (needed a car for college). I got that, a chiltons manual and the infamous how to tune and modify your camaro book (still have those, too). Think they paid around $1200 dollars for the car. Its lasted 10 years, so I guess it was a good buy. Although its had multiple engines/transmissions/rear ends in it as I continually swap things in and out of it.
i was lookin for a project car,and my girl at the time picked this one.and after a few yrs of hard work it still wasnt done and that girl (now my exwife)lol asked me to sell it.and like a jack *** i did,but after i got rid of her i found the guy i sold the car to.it was in pretty rough shape but i bought it back and finshed it.haha the ex didnt like that
Well lets see I was 16 or 17 there was a car dealership that had a 82 sc v-6 auto for $2700. and a 1982 gt for 3500.00 I wanted the gt since my dad had one. well he didn't want me to get one and the camaro was mine with alittle help from him. so drove the car for about 6 months and was on my way to see my G/f and a guy backed out of his driveway about 30 ft infront of me I didn't have enough time to stop and it was totaled. a few cars later I was finallyable to get into another camaro it was a 87 sc v6- 5speed . I had it for about a year and i borrowed it out and they hit a dear with it totaled. so then I bought a body for 300 it was an 82 sc and put a 305 with a 488 292 cam in it and the true dual exhaust and headers the exhaust was two pipes that run side by side in the stock location. sounded real nice with the big cam. after awhile of beating on the car and racing it alittle the motor let loose and the body wasn't worth the effort to rebuild off the the junk yard it went. so i bought a 83 firebird repainted it cleaned it up. car was real nice I meet my first wife and she wanted a mini van and the car was gone as a trade in. about 6 months after that a friend got caugth drunk driving and he owed me money so he told me to go get the car out of impound and it was mine it was a 86 sc auto. well off to work one day and on my way home from work i see my car driving the oposite way down the road i get home and she tells me she sold the car . a few months later I bought a 83 trans am with a blown motor and trans from a long time friend for 300 I had a 86 5.7 out of a vette so in it went. and i drove it until the ex wife through a rod in it racing a mustang so i sold off all the parts to it it had alot of new parts. and junked the rest. Fast forward a 12 years i found a 90 rs for 500 bought it and did alittle rebuild on it. and someone came to me and bought it for 1500 only thing I had done to the car was clean it and put seats in it for 50 bucks. so then i found a 92 rs with no motor I put a nice 350 in it with the 700r4 and got it running but never drove it. sold it about 1 1/2 years ago. then bough my current project which is a 86 Iroc that now has a 468 BBC in it.
the 87 sc
the 90
the 92
the 86 Iroc
MY sons 85 it was a freek no radio (radio delete) 305 5 speed
my brother got this iroc and had it for about 5 years and decided to go threw it so he pulled the motor apart and painted the car (this is ware the rs body kit came in apparently the original was in bad shape)and it sat for about a year and before he could get it back together he was getting divorced, so i took advantage and told him i would give 500 for it he said it was pretty much ready to go together but when i went to his ex's SOMEONE had go through the garage, needless to say stuff was missing of course to add problems about a week after i got it the shop i was working in closed so it sat like this for about 2 years
then we bought a new house so it got moved again no motor under the hood then finally a phone call from my dad gave a ray of hope a rebuilt 350 with a mild cam and an aluminum intake for 300 bucks i said ill take it had to pull it out of a truck from a junk yard (an impound apparently truck was in good shape ) three days later i drove the camaro home from my dads
then winter came i changed the heads (bigger valves 64cc chambers ported) ported the intake in this process i found it was border 60 over had flat top piston and a gear drive (could hear the gear drive but wasn't sure) also it really was a very fresh rebuild lifters can out with my fingers over a 1000 miles and the oil was like new . the rest is history
well i do not have such a story as i know the fate of my 1986 formula firebird. back in the fall of 1986 i was in need of a new ride after my 1983 ford escort EXP blew its motor. i decided i would be damned if i ever bought another 4cyl especially a ford. the local GM dealer had a bright red t-top 305 formula firebird on the lot so i scraped the down payment together and they gave me 2800$ for my escort as trade and i drove off with my first V-8.
while going to college and working nearly 100 hour work weeks lots of 16 hour shifts and such the work and class load finally caught up to me and i fell asleep driving. rammed my baby into a telephone pole at 55mph. however that isnt the end of the car. after several weeks of memmory loss and short term memmory being totally wacked my mom informed me that i had done 10,000$ worth of damage and the car was valued at 11,000$ by the insurance company. so it was up to me if i wanted it scrapped or fixed. that was a no brainer. fix it. 6 months later i got my firebird back. about a year after that at the end of 1990 saddam invaded kuwait. and we started the military build up to go relieve that guy of his holdings. i decided i had had enough of the liberal crap in college and my new found inability to memorize things much at all and repeat it back to the communists that ran the college finally decided for me i needed a change so i joined the army and left my firebird behind.
while i was serving in the military and getting my head back together after the wreck my little brother decided it was good idea to take my firebird and tool around in it. being a kid he decided it was a cool idea to use stop lights as starting signals that you find at a drag strip. racing the lights was fun for him and he spent time just staring at the lights and waiting for the changes not paying attention to other traffic and it finally caught up to him. one day anticipating a green he sped out into traffic with looking and got plowed by a cattle truck going 55mph that failed to yield. once again the GM F-Body saved another member of my family but that was the final straw for my firebird and it was finally sold for scrap.
20 years later there was no old firebird for me to go and find and look for and the only other option was to find another firebird in good shape. so i decided i would find the car with all the goodies that i wanted in it. i spent months online looking at firebirds and finally hit on the one i wanted and there i am. i truly feel far safer in my no antilock no airbag 1989 formula than i do in my 2003 silverado. its just a shame i have to store her for the harsh winters here in wisconsin.
Not much a story here, but I saw the car under a car cover across the street from my house, and talked to the guy. He wasnt going to sell it, and planned on restoring it fully. Then one day he decided to sell it and I took it over. A lot of pics though for your viewing pleasure
Getting painted
Last edited by PowerHour84; 09-04-2009 at 07:30 AM.
Growing up my dad had a Chevy Nova(which he sold)
My mom had a Pontiac GTO(which she also sold)
i have 8 uncles on my moms side of the fam and they all had/have muscle cars.
and one of my uncles which lived with us almost my whole life has always had trans am's which is what got me into those cars and stuff.
he currently has an 88 and a 78 bandit..
and another one of my uncles has a 79 bandit.
so muscle cars have always been in my fam. and ive always wanted my uncles 78 tran. and just recently i was gonna buy it off him but hes done so much to that car and i know he wud hate to see it go.
so i decided to back out of the deal and get a car of my own which i can work on and be proud of.
i spent months looking into 3rd gen trans ams and camaro and i found nothing..
and one day i was looking up craigslists and i found this camaro for 2k
and so i went to go see it..my mom was skeptical she tried to talk me out of getting it cus she knew i would invest money into it and she said i shud focus on school. but im stubborn so i was like whatever lol. it was obvious the dealership had no idea what they had on their hands..so i worked them down to 1600 cash lol..the car need very little work really..
and my dad is excited i got it cus hes been working on it with me since last week.
so thats wer the story begins. and now that i got mine a few of my cousins are thinkin about gettin some camaros as well.. so hopefully we pass on a generation of muscle
Back in '87 I was a junior in high school. The IROC had been out a couple of years, and was the car to have, but I didn't have the income to support the insurance rates for a 17 year old. At the time I drove a '78 Camaro... nice car, but not much in the performance area. My buddies and I went to the local Chevy dealer and they let me testdrive a used '85 IROC-Z. It was blue, TPI, T-tops, and I didn't stop grinning 'till I had to give the keys back. Forward to 2007... Out looking for a GTA or T/A and I ran across a blue, TPI, IROC for sale. One spin around the block brought back lots of memories, and I knew this was the car for me. Had her now for two years... still in love and awe of such a FUN machine.
Well i've always been into cars, my best child hood memory is of my dad 69 rs/ss camaro he put an old school LS6 454, m20 muncie four speed, and a 12 bolt in it it was a sick ride. he sold it in 1999. Ever since i've been in to chevys and especially camaros.
I got into thirdgens when i say this video on you tube of a 468 bigblock camaro,SuperCharged BBC 468 Camaro Part 1, i was soo awesome. i started looking into thirdgens. I even read alot of threads and article on TGO to get info on them.
Then one day i found the perfect one on craigslist, It was about 50 miles from me and had been sitting for 8yr. it didn't run and had to be towed. I got it For $800. I got my uncles Flat bed for the day and i bought it. MY mom didn't like the idea becuase i just quit my job at the time and i thought, "with out a job i need something to take up my time". So i used some of my saved up money and i had my self a Project.
__________________ "Speed has never killed anyone, suddenly becoming stationary... that’s what gets you.”-Jeremy Clarkson ,TopGear
Well, Since im only 16 years old, I guess my story goes back to 1993. According to my family, ever since I was old enough to comprehend, Camaros and Firebirds have been my absolute favorite cars.. And well, heres where it gets cool, the first car I ever rode in was a 1984 Z/28, which belonged to my grandma =] On the way back from the Hospital . I always loved that car, Always, but when I was younger.. I didnt understand how much that car would go on to change my future. She sold the Z/28 when I was 8 years old , I remember it as a very sad day. The car had 92,000 original miles, the paint was original, not a scratch on it, completely stock, not a scratch, it was a new car.. more or less. Two weeks later we saw the car in Chico, CA with a smashed fender, covered in a layer of mud, I remember how sad everyone was. Especially me and my grandma. Just this year I started searching like crazy for a 3rd Gen, it took me months to find the right one.. At first all I would tolerate would be a Camaro, but when I saw my firebird.. My outlook changed. My Trans Am has 64,000 original miles =] Super clean body (For the most part, needs new paint), it also needs some new weather stripping. Other than that, at the age of 16 a third gen car was reintroduced to the family, my grandma couldn't believe it. =] She loves my car. Hehe.
Well thats my story. I hope it was good enough for this post. I've read some very very good stories =).
. Regardless of how bad it looked I still liked it, alot.
to god knows what else. Then one day, a friend of mine pulled into school in a ratted-out 86 Firebird 6 cyl coupe. It had t-tops, and that was what sold me on the third gen cars. I went nuts doing my research on them, dad didn't want to get me a Z28 originally, wanted me to get a 6 cyl. I fought that using the argument that his 93 Silverado had a 305 TBI motor, and it was peppy, reliable, and got good gas mileage. So I set out to find a RS with a 305 TBI.
, lots of good times had by all.
i was lookin for a project car,and my girl at the time picked this one.and after a few yrs of hard work it still wasnt done and that girl (now my exwife)lol asked me to sell it.and like a jack *** i did,but after i got rid of her i found the guy i sold the car to.it was in pretty rough shape but i bought it back and finshed it.haha the ex didnt like that 
so it sat like this for about 2 years
. I always loved that car, Always, but when I was younger.. I didnt understand how much that car would go on to change my future. She sold the Z/28 when I was 8 years old 
, I remember it as a very sad day. The car had 92,000 original miles, the paint was original, not a scratch on it, completely stock, not a scratch, it was a new car.. more or less. Two weeks later we saw the car in Chico, CA with a smashed fender, covered in a layer of mud, I remember how sad everyone was. Especially me and my grandma. Just this year I started searching like crazy for a 3rd Gen, it took me months to find the right one.. At first all I would tolerate would be a Camaro, but when I saw my firebird.. My outlook changed. My Trans Am has 64,000 original miles =] Super clean body (For the most part, needs new paint), it also needs some new weather stripping. Other than that, at the age of 16 a third gen car was reintroduced to the family, my grandma couldn't believe it. =] She loves my car. Hehe. 
