here's a pic of the two i've had. I bought the RS for $3500 when I was 17, and had that till this past January. it was a 3.1 though, and the power got really old, really quick.

i bought the iroc last august (i'm 20 now), off of ebay. had to drive 32 hours in 2 days up to massachusetts to get it and then back down to georgia. had 47,000 miles, so i didn't mind the drive to get it.

now i'm in the frustrating process of trying to decide if i want to build it up myself, or trade for an already built up camaro with higher miles. should be a straight trade, no cash involved, since my car has low mileage, but i still don't know yet if i want to go through with it (or if i can, i might be moving 45 minutes away from school and work...the iroc is bad enough on gas as it is, and the 425hp car i'm possibly trading for will be even worse...just don't know)

edit: now we all know what flyinlow looks like!

 

possible new car on left

 

Sorry guys, my pic stinks (if it will work at all) due to a low end camera.

Well, anyways, I bought my car last year, the day before I turned 18 (happy b-day to myself!) and it was in tough shape. Garbage everywhere, 2/3 primer (yes, the paint is as bad as it looks although I have block-sanded it.. it's going to be redone professionally when I have the cash), the interior pretty well worn, and a 2.8 engine on its last legs. I do know the guy I bought it from ripped me off.. he suckered me into paying $1000 for a body and V6 trans and thats about it. I have put about $2k into the car and it's still not on the road , but it was until last September when the engine decided to die ... The interior is cleaner now but it needs new carpeting and rear seat upholstery, all of which has to wait for some decent cash flow.

Luckily, I know a mechanic that has some good ties with junkyards and does swaps and a 3.1 should be under the hood (and in my driveway) by Friday.

I am leaving for auto tech school in Ohio as soon as I can get my car out of the shop. Hopefully I can get the 87 fixed and looking better by the time I leave school next June. We'll have to see what the future holds...

Oh, and the stripes on the sides WILL be replaced when the car is redone...

 

at 16 i bought my grandfathers 88 gta w/ 64,000 and 4 years lata it has 84,000 and running mid 14's.....350 tpi auto....3.45 australian borg came in it .......edelbrock tes headers, custom y-pipe, high-flowcat, raven exhaust, 3 angle valve job, holley anilolator ignition, 8.5 super conducter wires,k&n, going to be getting ram air 2 hood and ram air box, then air foil, port plenum and get slp runners


http://www.cardomain.com/id/88gtabandit

 

Got mine when I was 16, totalled... Im 19 now. The full story is on the site, I pay for everything as well gas (7 mpg) Insurance ($140 a month), And mods when I have money left over!

http://hometown.aol.com/shortyzkustomz/camaro.html

 

I am 18 now and i bought my 92 RS a little over a year ago with the money from selling my motocross bike. sold it due to an accident and I really needed a car. I love the RS but the 305 tbi was killing me. so I have been paintently wating for a 350 car. and I just got a new one a few weeks ago. It's a 91 Z28 with L98, ported SLP runners and base plate. Full SLP exhaust. RRs 52mm TB. Sportlines, LCAs and 3.42 gears. with 55,xxx miles on the odometer. a buddy of mine flew out to Nebraska with me and we drove it back to Maryland. It was a pretty fun trip. I also had another Rs inbetween. it was the exact same car as my first except it was a hard top, not a T Top.

 

I've had mine since I was 17. Didnt get to drive it to school, but oh well. Paid for every single thing for this car myself, just like alot of you guys. Heres what it looked like when I got it, 6 years ago, and 80 some thousand miles ago.

 

I got my car in september, 2 weeks after my 17th birthday. It was a green 92` 25th anniversary camaro with a 305TBI and a hard top. (5spd) Ever since January, I have been doing rust restoration work on it, such as the floorpan, wheel wells, ect. I have learned a lot of body work and great welding skills because of this car. But, it's all gonna be worth it in about a week or so since I'm sending in the gutted body to get painted metallic black. I cant wait. here are some pics:

BEFORE

 

AFTER

 

sorry for the seperate posts, but its not letting me load up 3 images to one post! GAY

 

well im only 17 and i got my 87 firebird and a parts 86 firebird when i was 15. im not 17 and have got a 85 z28 that im currently working on (in sig) and a 87 firebird formula 350 and 4 more parts cars. im addicted to thirdgens. my 87 firebird started it though. ive been driving for almost 3 years now and only one ticket in the bird for no seat belt. thats why i love living in a small town. not a lot of law enforcement

 

I'm 17, got my '86 z28 when I was 15. Built the motor, broke the transmission. Picked up a '91 RS last week so now I've got two camaros. Paid for both of them with my crappy job at pizza hut and pay insurance on both but only during the summer for the z28.

Don't have pictures of the RS yet but have a cardomain page for my z28

http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/501903

 

i got my car when I was 15. the car was my uncle's he like to buy car and fix'em then sell them. the car was in bad shape and it was yellow with red interior. i asked him to sell it to me like that and he didn't want to this was in may and the in thanksgiving night he came home and told if i still wanted it. it was just out of the paint shop and the interior was redone. at the time my parents didn't have the money for the car and he said we can pay whenever we can. i'm now 18 and still have it's an 91 305 Z28.

 

Bought the car when i was 17 yrs old ( end of junior year of highschool ). Now im 19 and going ot be a sophmore at Michigan State University. the first mods were all rust fixers. All 4 corners and some under hood nastyness. Straped on the jongbloed hood, added tint and a Viper alarm. Threw in a System, 3 Polk 10s and an Xplode 1200 watt class-D amp ( really only pushes about 900 watts... bunch of jerks). After comin into a little cash last winter i picked up a rebuilt 350, full msd ignition, 3.73's w/ an Auburn posi, t56 out of a 93 camaro and other msc parts to add some spice to life. Cash flow ran low this summer though so all my big plans of completing the install of all those parts will have to wait till next spring.

Its hard to go to college and leave your baby at home in the driveway. At least shes not gettin beat up in a student parking lot

Heres how she sits today:

 

Don't know if this has been asked, but you still got the dash pad and console? I happen need both those.

 

17 here. I was 16 when I picked it up from the Police impoud lot for $125. Came with two trannies, so I figured it was guaranteed to work. I bolted up the tranny under the car and it didnt move. So I put in the tranny I found in the back seat, and that one didnt work. Then I found a '91 RS that had been run over by a semi (the car got caught underneath the trailer) witha 305TBI and a 700r4. I bought that for $125. So I swapped in everything that was useable from it, which was the engine and transmission (ran great, only 70k miles) and most of the interior. That was mid last summer, and she's still sitting, but she'll eventually come around.

 

sorry, i needed both of those for my own cars..

 

Thats too bad. My search continues.

 

I'll just contribute my story since I don't have a digital camera to show off my car(s). I'm 17 now, but my VERY first car was a 1989 Camaro RS with a a L03, auto that I bought when I was 15. I was FASTTTTTTTTT and clueless. The mods I did to that car were TB spacer, ultimate tbi, injector spacer, open element, Mega Shifter, cat-back with no muffler, and various audio stuff. Now, I currently own a 94 Camaro and a 91 Z28 that I hope to start modding VERY soon.

 

im actually on my third f-body, I got my first when i was 17. The first one i had was an 86 Trans am with a 305 4bbl. I only had it 9 days I went without a car for about 6 months and then bought an 83 Trans Am with the same engine setup. This one is still alive and kicking. My third one was an 88 Firebird Formula 350, had it 3 days and the starter went out in 2. I crashed that one too, but the car was too much of a project and it was essentially going to be my donor car, cause it had a 350 TPI and a 9 bolt borg warner, the aluminum driveshaft and a full exhaust. Here is a picture of my 83. It has the deep dish formy wheels now though and the honeycomb tail lights

 

Hate to see your insurance!! I can barely afford comprehensive for a 19 y/o with a spotless +5 record driving a 23 year old Camaro....Just cause its considered a sports car....Wrecking 2 of them must put yours through the roof!

 

i got to ask u guys cause i'm 15 right now and i've been saving since i was 13 and out here in new jersey its really hard to get a job if ur under 16. so basically i've been saving lunch money and some other money from cutting people grass and what not. right now i'm close to $1,500. how'd u guys manage to buy cars at these young ages and how'd u get the money?

just curious, i need ideas. i mean i could by a p.o.s. camaro right now but i would really like a clean 305 tpi 5-spd

 

work your *** off and save....EVERYTHING.
A part time job @$200 a week for a kid with no bills, equals $200 a week saved. multiply that by 52 weeks in a year and you get $10,400. That's how I manged to put down $10,500 for my first car

($9,000 for car, $1,000 for 1/3 of insurance upfront (Mass sucks) and $500 sales tax)

 

I bought a POS, Then my parents froced me to drive it so I worked out the probs and as extra money came so did mods...I drove my car with primer and misaligned fenders and hood for a good 3 months...And had a weak lg4 305 for almost a year....I just spent little bits here and there with the exception of the $2000 I spent in 2 weeks on the motor swap...And recently I sold my bug and bought rims etc....My suggestion is get a nice car and spend little bits and trade stuff to make it how you want!

 

my first camaro when i was 16 is a 1984 305 v-8 auto tranny it has 154,xxx miles. its four sale email me at tebright@iw.net

 

17 now my second one is a 1990 rs ttops 350 iroc block only 92,xxx miles. auto tanny. payed $800 i fixed it

 

here it is now

 

work your *** off and save everythign is right... that's exactly what I did. My parents bought a party store when I was nine so I've worked there a lot. Also, since ur parents probably don't own a business you could start your own. I have a small detailing business I do out of my house... I've done it for funeral homes and they recommend me to ppl- that's where I've gotten most of my business. I also have another job on top of those 2.

 

i got my car about 3 months b4 i turned 17 (got it by a load from the greatest grandmother in the world and paid her back) now i'm 19, 20 in dec. in jan 04 i bought a 04 neon SXT 5sd bcuz i have an almost 20 month old daughter who can't and shouldn't be drivin around in a Trans Am, some will say i messed up but i grew up bcuz of her and got a full time job and a brand new car that i wouldn't have if she never came along. i work harder now and i enjoy life.

84 TA 54,600 miles $4k

 

had 2 camaros that i bought when i was 15 and if i did it right 2 pictures should b attached, never attached pictures before so it probably wont work. both v8's tho

 

I got my 86 firebird for four hundred dollars. Guy didn't quite know what he was selling. I'm about to put five hundred in it gettin it all runnin good.

 

Im 19 right now and have paid and installed every part on every car of mine! I have been a third gen freak since i was 15 and I am not truning back. I just love being able to say I have done everything to this car my sef and it is such a good feeling to see others shocked by a 18-19yr old doin such custom work!! Heres to all young customizers!!

When I turned 15 I bought my 87 firebird w/ 2.8 MPFI, w/ t-tops for $1000. Decnet shape w/ some rust...hey it is Minnesota! let it sit till I was 16 and then drove it everywhere...blew 2 motors and a tranny in the process. Eventually crashed it so it went to the scrap yard.

I bought a 85 parts car for a 2.8 motor when I blew the original motor outta the firebird. that was when I was 16

then I bought an 89 RS after the acciedent. That had a 2.8MPFI, hardtop picked it up for $880 drove that for about 6 months.

In the mean time while still driving the RS I bought an 84 berlinetta. Man that car was a pile, I just bought it cause it was so cheap. $200 had a 4bbl 305, auto, hardtop. My bro needed a car so I borrowed it to him and he drove it for 6 months which it then blew out the rearend. so that went to the scrap yard.

Then in august of 2002 I just stumbled upon an add in carsoup.com that had a clean rust free 86 IROC with a TPI 305 that didnt start for $800. So I basiclly went down there bought it and drug it back home here and put a starter in it and she was screamin Did a basic tune-up on it and drove it and fell in love with it! And the power was amazin goin from the weak 2.8 to a TPI 305 was awesome!

So loving the IROC so much I sold the RS to a co-worker

so I drove it till winter then parked it and gave in and bought a non thirdgen car. an 87 toyota pick-up. it was a winter beater so it was ok. durin the winter I ripped all the upper motor parts off and regasketed everything

Also bought a 87 trans am that I had intended to build as a drag car but that flopped and I sold it. Thats where my TGO name comes from...

got the IROC back out last summer and blew the motor around september and its all history from there...thats when I started droppin the bill to make this a unique custom ride that was my dream and a stand alone ***** out car!

currently it has the followin

356ci vortec headed TPI (built myself)
Custom paint...Black / Kameleon flames (body work, paint and graphics all done by me}
4th gen firebird interior {installed myself)
RAII hood and 91 GFX and spoiler package!

 

My dad bought me my first car when i was 15!! we bought it for 1200. and we put in over 4000 into it(it is easy to spend money on older cars so fast). now i am 16. and after on one ticket in 6 months i am thing of a 350!! i cant wait. so many people say that i am spoiled b/c my dad bought me a nice car. anyone eles get that??

 

Damn... can you guys imagine how some of the old farts on this board must feel after reading this stuff?

 

after 3 jobs for two summers in a row and a lot of looking i got my first car, and shes with me for good(i hope)

edit: i got it when i was 16 and am now 18 with it paid off and mods are starting finally!

 

Who waits to get the car paid off before starting mods?? I still owe 2k on my car and I think that I have put double that into it over the last year.

When I was 16 my first car was a beat up 88 Buick Century. I slowly saved money and paid cash for my 1990 Cutlass Supreme, which I planned on using for a winter car. I knew that I wanted an F-Body of some kind, but I needed to save the money and find one somewhere.

After 2 years of driving that Oldsmobile and trying to save money I went to look at a really nice Firebird Formula that an old man 2 streets over was selling. It was in good shape, and I had my heart set on restoring it until I found out the price. The guy was asking $7,000 for the car, it had 80k miles on it and he had done some towing with it. I got him down to $6200 and I was really close to buying it when I changed my mind. I was pretty upset because I really liked the car, for the next 2 days I wondered if I had made the right decision.

2 days later, one of my close friends (who has an 89 RS) called me up on the phone. He told me that there was an immaculate 1992 Anniversary Camaro with a For Sale sign in a parking lot down the street from his house. There was no phone number so I got in the Olds-man-mobile and did 90mph so that I could catch the guy.

I ended up paying $1,200 less for the Camaro than I had talked the old man with the firebird down to. The 25th anniversary had fewer miles and was in better shape than the formula too. There must have been someone upstairs pulling for me that weekend because it really couldn't have worked out much better.

[mentalnote] I really should just pay off my loan [/mentalnote]

 

Sweet notchback!!!! You don't see to many of those around... I thought I was lucky to see 2 or 3 of them in my area... they're a cool looking and unique car... too bad GM didn't make more of them...

Anyways... my very first car was an 88 Firebird with 2.8 V6 auto. I always loved 3rd gens... bought the car when I was 17... drove it til I was 21 when the engine died... bought a s10 and parked the Firebird... since it was my first car, I didn't want to get rid of it... picked up an 84 parts car with a 305.. ripped that car apart, and was in the process of swapping the v6 in my 88 to the 305... this spring I picked up an 89 GTA, so I'm working on that now... my parents want me to get rid of my other cars now that I have the GTA... but I still don't wanna get rid of my original Firebird... it was my first car and the beginning of my 3rd gen obsession... so I'm hoping I can keep my first Firebird, and in time finish the engine swap... it won't be quite as much fun to drive as the GTA tho...

 

I was 17 when I first saw my '86 Trans Am. I'm 19 now and the T/A is long gone. That was my first car, not bad at 17 with a 420HP 383 Stroker T/A eh?

 

Just turned 18 in May..

Bought it wrecked on December 3rd, 2002

I took this pic about 3 weeks ago..

 

Turned 18 in April

Had a 90 Formula bought it myself when i was 16 which made it into GMHT had a little pic and caption of me and my bud workin on it in the pits at etown in NJ

now i have a 91 RS and its all ready for paint... started on monday finished sanding/bodywork/prime on wed... next week = paint time

 

I turn 18 in october. I paid for my 91 RS in May 2003 after looking for 7 months. I have to pay for all of my mods and gas, and part of my insurance.

FLYNLOW92rs, where do you work to afford all of that?

 

Got mine about 5 months ago, its a 89 RS with the 2.8 and 5 speed. t-tops and perfect paint and perfect interior. i am the third owner, my uncle bought it when it had 6000 miles on it and he sold it to me when it had 14,000 miles on it for $4000. i paid that myself out of the bank account that i made from working for 2 years. now the car has 18,000 all original miles. i love it and i will never get rid of it, unless i find a nicer third gen of course. but i pay gas, maintenance, and cost, my parents pay insurance. but thats only because i got a full scholarship to college. kinda like a bonus. ill post pics if i can figure out how

 

I bought my Trans Am for $500 a while ago. I was looking for a 2nd gen project car but i found this one and we went to look at it and i liked it so...i bought it. and after gutting the interior, pulling the old 305, both new side windows, a new windsheild, and a rebuilt 350 it was running and legal to drive 2 days after my 16th birthday wich was may 5th 2004. and i still need to finish off the interior, get a new trans, and fix some other small stuff...but i bought it for a project and thats exactly what it is. half the fun is workin on them anyhow

 

HA, I still have the cheapest bought car, I rule.

 

My dad bought the car back when I was 14 for $2,000, and he drove it as his daily driver until I turned 16 and he gave it to me
I turned 18 last November, and since I've been driving it, I've paid for everything done to it, including the 350 I'm working on right now

 

i got my first 3rd gen in dec. of 02. that was 2 days before i turned 15. it was an 84 Z28 with the 305 in it. my parents payed 400$for it as a birthday present. it was put in the garage and i started pulling it apart and doing body work. i had the interior out of it and everything. i finally finished the body work in the summer of 03, and was waiting to get my permit, i got it and started driving my moms car because the camaro wasnt running. my dad came across the 87 camaro in october or 03. his friend's son blew the bottom end out of it, so he was giving it away. my dad gladly took the car and it went from the previos owner's house to the shop. it had the engine rebuilt and i got it in november. i had 2 3rd gens and i loved it because i could work on one, and adore the other. december of 03 my parents wanted their garage back so i had to sell one of them. my dad wanted me to sell the 87 because it had more power and he didnt trust me, i told him its in better shape so im keeping it. i ended up selling the 84 for 1000$ and gave that to my dad because i owed him for the engine rebuild on the 87. im 16 now and i have my 87 camaro. i love the car, but i would trade it for only one thing...a 91 camaro vert....a teal one. i found one, but decided that i didnt want it because it needed interoir work. my car right now is sitting in the driveway with some custom interior work (my car is sponsered by Corona Sunroof) and i have paid for everything on it. including my accident...1900$ later its on the road. i pay for my gas and any mods that are done to it. i dont pay for insurance because im buying a streetbike pretty soon and thats going to kill me. so ill be paying the motorcycle insurance, not the car.

 

I just picked up another 3rd gen, an 85 with 305 and 5 speed, for free. its not bad, but its not good. The guy was moving, and he had no place to put it. He did not want to see it in a yard, so i happend to be in the right place at the right time. Yay.

 

gladstone.. is your car on jacks or are you not telling us something about that engine

 

i am 15 and cant drive yet but ive had the car since i was 13 and me and my dad have worked on it every time he had a chance too
http://members.cardomain.com/camarors8992

check out my car domain for pictures

 

OutLaw305, no the engine is still the LO3. This is right after I installed some new springs. They were way to high, so I removed a coil. I wish it was up like that because an LS1 was there.