Really how great these cars are and the feeling you get while driving em. I came to this conclusion sunday, one of the thirdgenners from coloradof-body hosted a club party at his house. THe party was great and i hope someone from there took some pics we only had about 4 thirdgens show up but it was the drive up there. The weather was gorgeous out i got onto 1-70 and there was little traffic. got her up to about 110 before i came up behind a state trooper and let off for awhile to keep him happy. But its liek between work, school, my girlfreind and everythign else going on rarely do i really get to go out and just go ya know. After all the money and time spent i was like damn why dont i do this every week. I think sometimes we get wrapped up in everything else and really forget how great it is to get out and just go, windows down no worries, i recently havent gotten to have the experience where its just you the car and the road no worries your minds just clear from all the other crap going on. It really is what these cars are all about the open road and just enjoying them.

 

Well great is highly subjective for everyone. Drive my car and you wouldn't be saying so. 10 grand will make my car great. Don't get me wrong, I like my car, but its a long way from being great.

 

Yeah, but your car is great to you right? I think thats the whole point of this hobby, and what makes us excited about having a warm day to go drive the car!

 

Ha, its not as great as it could be. Right now I see my car as a block of clay thats dry and falling apart and I'm trying to sculpt into some work of art. I was ready to completely abandon it until I saw the Crazy Horse Bronco buildup on Power Block (Spike TV) and the 56 Chevy Hot Rod on the Amercian Hot Rod series (Discovery Channel). Those cars literally started from junk and turned into show peices. So I have a new motivation now.

 

irocbirdbuilder, you make a good point... i am always caught up with trying the make my car not such a dog at the track . i can't whait untill spring to drive around with the windows down and the t-tops off, and rocken out to 70's and 80's rock. :rockon:

 

that's what inspires many during their sunday drives and as you'll get older you'll understand why you see so many hot rods out to breakfast on early sunday mornings...

it is nice to get away from everything even if it is for just an hour.

 

I will say this, you really have to love these cars to pour so much time, money, sweat, and tears on them. I can't imagine not having a thirdgen at all.


I do like cruising in my v6 thirdgen, I often forget anything thats going on in my life once I get into my car. Somedays I just leave, gas up the Kiwi and just go for a long drive. Its always a blast on a warm sunny day with the windows down and engine humming.

 

Windows dwn, t-tops out, music up. Nothing better in the world. Even though I always have to add water to my dried up clay project. Crazy Horse was cool, but that really didn't motivate me. I think its the people here, always getting their cool new stuff that keeps me going.

 

what motivates me is my brother and his friends all have 4th gens that will dust me every day of the week . so i keep saveing and modding.

 

I honestly love driving my car.......

I used to enjoy driving with friends when I had the 305TBI/Auto combo on the car.......

With the new LS1/T56.....I may just not leave the car......

 

i love my car and its a blast to drive, i'd never give up my thirdgen,and i'd never get an auto

standard all the way

 

I know what you mean! Today was the last day that i'm driving my car. Gonna start tearing it down! And the fact that insurance is killing me! So I bought a truck today and the 'ole camaro is getting stripped apart next weekend! And the worst part about it, is that nice weather is finally coming!

Sean

 

Yeah, if I were you, I think I'd sleep in it the first night she's home after the swap. :hail:

 

Yeah it looked like fun, mr. lous posted some pics of the f-bodies on anti-r ice

 

Yea i havent been on anti-**** for awhile mines the teal one behind the 67 and the red one in the first pic. Talk about a sleeper i dont believe he's on thirdgen i think his names kelly if i remember right its got like a 355 and laid down quite a good amount of white smoke in front of the house when he left

 

nice looking car, that 67 looks bad as hell

 

You know now that i bought a new daily driver i never drive the camaro much nemore stays undercover. Today i got it out for the first time in like 2 months . WHat really sux about that tho is after drivin the new car all the time it made all the interior noises kill me in the camaro. Then the sloppy steering box just wasnt cutting it. The sound of the engine and the power tho is what i love. After drivin the lil protege the 305 feels like a beast punchin it in first and 2nd and breakin loose is fun .

 

The 67 was built by 3r racing and is staright as can be its black cherry with cherry being 15% red in with teh black and you cant see but there are two black z28 stripes. But it isnt a regular 67 its got an lt1-t56 combo under the hood but has only been into low 14's. I'll try to find out if any of the other guys took pics.

 

i dont mean to be the rain on peoples parade but third gens arent that great , their heavy , slow , and handle ok. i can tell you i never looked at a thirdgen until i had one. I wanted a 69 firebird but this came up. ill never get rid of it . But these cars are fun to just cruze in but they are slow.

 

Do what nolan third gen's handle great and there only slow with a stock 305. Another thing 4th gens r heavier if yours has a ton of miles yeh it will have some worn out parts. The only thing im hatin about mine right now is the interior but it can all be fixed its just about the love for the car.

 

Well whos stoping you from making em fast or a bit of suspention work? I admit mine isnt all that fast but I still love it and do plan on getting some more power for her down the road.

 

Even the cars with the 350's are slow, im a fan of modding and i will, and allready started, no worn out parts , im just telling the truth that they arent that good stock.It takes time and money.

 

Yea but for an 18 year old who cant afford whatever i guess your thinking of fast is this is what has to do it spanks rustangs and walks away from **** and although there are some cars out there that will hand my **** to me i cant afford what they can. Its definately the fastest of all my buddies cars.

 

well i would agree with that model car not being the fastest of the thirdgens but you can't compare an 80's car with a 00' car and expect it to hold it's own without modifications. now my stock L98 car that i bought was great......after modifications its more fun to drive then newer cars but it does take time and the rest.


as far as slow and the rest..........the car doesn't know what you mean, its either parked or showing its tail lights.

 

just an old guys .02 the whole point of mine was to drive ive had show cars,street racers,sport racers & bikes i got tired of trying to find correct moldings,or looking over my sholder for the cops
i like loading judy in my firebird or her camaro taking the tops out and just riding one or two nights a week in the summer we take a weeks vacation and just drive looking for nice roads (last year 4822 mi in her camaro) no there not the fastest or best handling but DEFINATLY my favorites

 

My car IS great. The problem is not your car, it's your attitude. We all have thirdgens, we all know how they perform. No need to come into a postive thread and be cranky.

Your bird looks pretty sweet to me.

-----------

I've retired my Iroc from daily driving, and now I only drive it every few weeks......(more in the summer). I miss driving it every day. Funny thing is I actually forget just how much I like it until I take her out for a spin. I actually crack a smile when I punch it!:rockon:

 

if tradeoff money wasnt a factor, i really cant see myself trading my car for any other car.. its just not the same.. ive wanted an iroc since i was 7 and after owning an rs i finally go tmy chance to have one.. im so tired of not driving my iroc while we're swapping engines and such, but the more you wait the better things get.. just give it time, she'll be a prize

 

good topic irocbirdbuilder


I too feel "free" when I am in my thirdgen. Despite the not so good body work and maaco paint, no headliner, and smoke on start up, It is nice to me. Even though It is not fast, it still feels great to cruise with the t tops off.

Just another way to escape from the grasp of everyday life.



Spring needs to be here FAST.

 

I tightened up the steering box and fixed the exhaust rattle today . Took her back out much betterrrrrrrrr . Woo hoo i was smilin the whole time. This old guy was goin real slow when the road switched to two lanes i floored it and went around him goin side ways cause of the posi lol. I bet he thought i was nutz

 

This thread makes me wish that my car was still insured. Cruising in the Blazer is just not as fun as in the trans am.

~Matt

 

the day i got my car i got in it with the tops off with a smile on my face, when i go to the first stop light and the idle was jumping from 500 to 1000 and the car was shaking, i started frowning, when it would barely acclerate though the light i frowned more. By the time i got home i was dissapointed with what i bought and felt i wasted my $1700, that i got from selling my nice 4th gen, to go buy a piece of junk. But i look at it in the driveway and think "man thats a nice looking car" I sit in line at a fast food place, or at a light, and the car starts to idle bad and shake and i sit and think "man i wish i had never bought this car" Either way, maybe one day it will run decent, until then i let it sit in the driveway and i smile at it, rarely drive it, and frown at it.

 

I prefer cold days (sunny, dry) cold days. The car LOVES cold air! Adds a little more power to the table!

 

My car loves the cold yours prob even more with the ram air.

 

I'vedriven all kinds of cars. New ones are too quiet. I roll around in my fathers 2004 dodge quad cab....total silence. I HATE silence! Give me an open exhaust, give me road noise, give me a lopey idle. The new cars on the market, no matter how "sporty" just don't promote the same feeling as ours do. Just today I was driven down a road about 7 cars behind an RX-8, there were two people walking facing in the direction we were coming from. The people didn't look twice at the "new" RX-8, but when I passed heir heads snapped like a switchblade. You can't do burnouts in a honda either, front wheel drive cars are no fun to drive.

 

i race during the fall at tracks which are about 3 hours away. there is nothing better then driving home after racing, driving on the open highway for 3 hours and hearing the exhaust tone rumble. its the best feeling in the world to know that i am driving a car that i've built. One of the main reasons why i decided to keep my car

 

im lovin this tread guys pretty much all this stuff happend to me....

after i bought my car for 3800$can. i took it to the gas station and went to start it it wouldnt turn over...i was thinking this things getting sold fast!!! Got it home ended up aways spending $ on it, some nessecary and some optional. Im only 25 and ive owned 8 different cars now so as you can see i dont keep em very long maybe a yr or so then i get bored. Well this car is staying with me for a while now (had it sence '01)... and i never forget the smile it gives me...sometimes i find myself trying not to hid my smile while at stop lights thinking ppl are looking at me like im a nut with a big grin on my face and me in the car by myself.
I love the feeling of takin corners fast and having no bodyroll i love ripin tru the gears and opening up thoes 4 barrels....ahhh man i wanna go get her out right now but the car says no thanks to the salt and snow.
I also love thoes long drives for just the point of driveing (like to see me do that in my saturn haha yah right). My car may not be the fastest thing on the road but it performs pretty sweet for its age and thats good enoght for me. Ive goten the stering and suspension all tightend up and a nice short shifter and the driveing feel from my car is something i wouldnt get from any other. Rattles dont bug me cause i got the tunes cranked and love to listen to good old rock! Lets face it 80s SUCKED for cars, after our cars all you got left is GN and a vette. I always get looks and thumbs up from just about every kid cause of my nice loud exhaust and for a 16yr old car thats pretty cool. Dont get me wrong i dont care what others think of my car...I love it..seems these cars eather ppl love em or hate em! anyhow...

Im am one proud owner of this ****** mobile if you will!!!!
Later guys and safe and happy crusin'!!

 

i love my car, sure i have my bad times and good times with it but it all pays out in the end, even though the car is rotting away (must get welding very soon). today after gettin out of work at 4pm, got home installed my panhard bar from BMR (took alittle longer then the 30 mins they say). greased the bushings and then warmed her up (carbed and been sittin for about a week or so). me and my friend jumped in and took off for about 15-30 mins. windows down about 30* outside at night goin about 55-60mph at almost 3k rpms and then just letting off the throttle to hear the popping from the exuast just sounds soo damn sweet, that and the torque of a v8. so much fun, cant wait till spring.

 

Im going to drive mine for the first time since August on spring break at the end of March, and I'll see it for the first time since then with door locks. After driving a 1991 Cavalier during that time even the 305 tbi will feel like a top fuel dragster. Im excited.

 

Why is everyone always sayin how slow these cars are? What is fast to you people. In my entire town, Minus mommy and daddys car. For kids my age (19) I have one of the most fastest cars. I hate when people say thirdgens are slow. I've seen cars modding exactly the same as mine run low 12's...

 

I got ripped off on my car, paying $3100 for it with it's crappy paint job and 90,000 miles but I didn't care. I've put more money into the car just to keep it running than my mom wants me to (coolege coming up) but it's a hobby. Some kids add to their computers, some build up their stereo in their room, some play painball and own $1100 guns, others do drugs, but my hobby, it's my car. I can't wait another 3-4 months and i get to put on my new hood, open-element, headers, and muffler (removing cat). And i'm going to love it.

My friend drives around hiw 03 RSX tpye S and knows he can rip me apart any day of the week but I wouldn't trade his car for mine. I love the camaro, love the lines of it, love the power, love the feel. It may need a little work....just a little ....but I love it none the less.

Since I started looking at Camaros (about 3 years ago), I wanted a 90 Iroc or 92 Z28 becuase they were rare but since i got my RS, i have changed my mind. I want the car too look my way so why destroy that collector car when i can make my RS may way and be happy? Some people gladly throw aside an RS for a Z28, but I love mine. It's who I am.

 

Life for me was not normal while my Bird was in the shop for 10 months last year. The body shop screw up the engine controls and it has taken me 4 months to get it streighten out.

After failing emission testing earlier this week, I've been studying this forum and reserching to determine the possible causes of the failed testing. Today I found a hole in the vapor return line from the gas tank to the canister. I replace the hose and install another O2 sensor. She now going into Close-Loop

So on today's drive the Bird is beginning to come back to her glory. Power is back and with the complete new front end, she handles great. It just felt real good to take a short blast down US1 at over 80 and not beath hard.

 

Absolutely bro. I know how you feel. I've missed mine so much over the winter, but just in time for spring, I'm almost ready to start putting things back together. And as far as these cars being slow and whatnot, depends on what you call slow or fast. My car went 14.65 before I ever turned a bolt, is this slow I felt pretty good bout it myself. I love my thirdgen, and wouldn't trade it for the world. They are the most underrated sports/muscle car of all time as far as I'm concerned. They are just as easy to build as anything else, they just don't get the credit. Oh well, their loss, our gain.

 

And none of us will EVER be able to buy a brand new Camaro or Firebird. I've had mine for 17 years. I'll have it forever!

Mountain roads... the t-tops out, the stereo off, just the sound of the engine and the wind... in a world of my own.

 

I often get crap from my mom because i spend so much time and money into my car just to keep it running and my hard work never seems to show but it's what i love. I couldn't go get a new car, it's not the same.

I was thinking about it the other day. If you ask half the people driving around their newer cars how the engine runs, you'd get or a blank stare. But most of us here on the boards could tell you how it all runs. You point to something under a newer car's hood and ask what it is, the owner rarely knows. Us, we'll open the hood for you and point out every last details, the last time it was worked on, how it's running, what we've added around it, everything. It's a hobby.

 

I couldn't have said it better myself bro. But we would also tell you how fast it actually is, instead of what the manual says it's supposed to run.

 

Thats true. I talked to a guy last week who has a 99 bird. I asked how the car ran, and was he happy with it. He told me he gets 21 miles to the gallon. That was pretty much the end of the conversation.

 

Can't help but laugh at that one. you just can't beat a beater. It may be old, it may be 80s (or early 90s in my case), it may be worn, but we know it and we love it!

People can take all their talk of Japs and their "fuel economy" and take a hike. I'll drive my car with the V8 and eat up all the gas i want. I may be a high school kid who'll soon be struggling to pay college bills but i'd rather park my car and walk than pick up something with better mileage and no power. They can like what they like and we'll like what we like.

 

Your dam right I can haha jk man. but its not about whos faster its all about loving, working and learning about cars. I don’t care what kind of car you drive as long as you like it and take car of it. Every car has its own unique features that make it stand out from every other car. Even thou I Love my Rsx-s I still love other cars for there own personality especially farefires Camaro for all the work that’s gone into it and all the passion behind it. I just wish he would stop rear ending me

 

well for the last 5 months, ive been driving a 91 pontiac 6000 3.1L with 290,000kms...probly 18,000miles. ive finnally been able to drive my trans am. its got 260,000kms(150,000,miles) and it pulls like you wouldent beleive..give it some gas and shes gone...last week i took teh y pipe out cuz the cat was plugged, everywhere i went everyone looked and the teenagers we wavin there arms getting me to spin the tires...it was great it got annoying but still fun...now i got the ypipe back in and magnaflow exhaust, it sounds 10 times better and quick as hell. weve had nice sunny days (still very cold but its worth it) for the last week, so ive had the t-tops off everyday, i love the car and just driving it in general..ive always got a smile when im in it..
this is a great thread!

 

Wow whats with all the post from teh dead coming back up lol

I think i have an even better feeling of it now than when i posted this way back. Since it is no longer my daily driver i am in the truck all week and between work and crap i havent had time to drive it, i showed it like 2.5 weeks ago, put it away and havent seen it since, so the days it gets nice and i have time i get it out even for the day, get people giving the thumbs up and just staring and pointing, whether it be for the show paint, massive hood or 3" pipes with no muffler. When i'm in it i am the center of attention and it makes you feel good, i kinda wish i could drive it more often but i guess i've learned more restraint of having it put away for sometimes a month till the snow melts and it makes it all that more worth it when i can take it out and run it


Wow this was over a year ago, i didnt even realize how long it had been, the car was still in bone stock form then so just imagine how it feels now