It was March of 1986 I was 18 and there it was, on the USED lot at the local chevy dealer. It was a 1985 IROC black with red interior and stripe, t-top, tpi car with 2k on it, and I'd do anything to have it! Seems some local lawyer "didnt like how it rode" lol. I was fortunate enough to get my dad to co-sign and the next 3 years and 55k were unforgetably fantastic. Then in Sept of 89 I got DUI (in a friends car)and reality and insurance rates smacked me in the teeth, but yes I did deserve it. So the car had to go, and I missed that car for the next 21 years untill Sept 2010 and my 90 vert iroc. AHHHHH, all is right in my little world again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

46,bought an 89 for 400.00 that needed a steer column.
replaced it and sold car for 1200.00.
then i bought a 92 v8,5-speed that i really loved.
third gear scraped so i traded it off.
still miss that one.
now i have 3.
an 89 rs 2.8 5-speed
84 z28 5-speed ho
an 88 sport coupe lo3 5-speed
i am 48 now.
anybody know where i can get a new gasket for the 88 rear spoiler?
jd

 

bought mine when i was 14 with snow shoveling money and have had it ever since only drove it for about a month but its getting to the point where im almost done im 19 now

 

my first 3rd gen was an 84 2.8L sc that i bought when i was 16. bought my first v8 when I was 18, and got my first Trans Am last year at the age of 27. I hope this'll be my last one to buy, but who knows what the future brings.

 

My first thirdgen was when I was 19. My best friend bought an 87 GTA and had it about a month when he pulled out in front of somebody and wrecked it. I bought it off of him for $200 and had it towed to the body shop and $3,500 dollars later it was a brand new car! I dumped 12K in it before it got hit twice within one month and totalled (my luck). I only got to drive it for about a year in mint condition.
All is right in the world though because now I have my 91 and I love it as almost much as the 87 and have twice as many mods on it. The only thing I miss about the first one over the 91 is the digital dash.

 

i was 17 when i got my '88 Firebird (2001). 2.8L with 145,000 miles on it. i drove it until 204,000 miles, then yanked the 2.8, replaced it with an LT1, and got a built 700R4. did every bit of the swap myself (with the help of this site). still have the car, 9 1/2 years later.

 

I was eighteen. The car was actually listed in the wrong paper (was meant for O'fallon MISSOURI, not Illinois). Anyways, went to go see it out in the middle of nowhere and I fell in love with it. 6 years later (I'm 23 now going on 24), I still have it. I took pictures that day, and I'm glad I did. Paid $2,200 for it. I went with my friend (he's in the picture, I'm the one taking them). Didn't know how to drive a 5 speed very well, but I was willing to learn just to have this car. Best decision of my life. Here's the last moments before I headed home to go get my money.

 

Hi,
I was 19 when i bought my first third gen. A 1989 gta, bought in 1991 for $13,500 (34k kms) off my boss at the time. Flame red, 5.7, t-tops, Loved it for the 4 years I had it. Sold it in 95 just before it rolled 100k kms.
I have owned 4 more over the last 15 years, but my new favorite one is my new to me and my 5th third gen! 1987 Gta with 85k kms, identical twin to my 89 axcept it has the 5L tpi, car is all orginal minus the alternator, and battery! planning on upgrading the 5L however, just not enough ***** for me. Here's a pic from a crappy blackberry camera!

 

Sweet ride! Man that takes me back to my first third gen.

 

Bought a sweet 84 iroc (near perfect condition) at 19. Thought it would be too costly to convert to fuel injected to meet emissions. sold it and got a 91 RS (not as pretty) and now they're doing away with emissions testing

 

43

 

IROCs didn't exist until 85...

 

It was a few months before I turned 25. Insurance wouldnt let me put cars on my parents plan unless they were on the title (no way, I paid for it, it's my car), and I knew I couldnt afford to pay for both a v8 and my daily driver 4th gen v6, so I had to wait till the big under-25-insurance-ripoff was behind me. Now I pay the same for two cars as I did for one, and half of the 220 I was paying at 18. And this is after sliding on some ice and totalling the 4th gen a few months after turning 25.

 

24. My current car was my first car, haha

 

I was 25 when I bought my 82 TA, in September of that year. It was red with a nice exhaust note and, compared to the 77 Firebird I traded in on it, it was fast. It was the first of three 3rd gens for me. I loved that 82 TA. I love my 87 IROC beast so much more.

 

i had just turned 17 and bought a red on red 86 iroc off of ebay. still have her and love her. however i have purchased an 89 two years later. love them both lol. best cars imo

 

Thanks I think any of us that gets one of these is a winner. I always feel great when someone else drives by that has one on campus. The paint is faded now really bad, but it's transforming into a new animal now after almost two years of sitting.

 

i was 16 when i bought a 85 iroc then my parents split up and we lost almost everything so i sold it. now im almost 19 and have a awesome job so i found a 90 rs for $850 and it runs like a champ.

 

I was 19 when I purchased my first thirdgen six years ago. I must have passed the love along to my little brother. He picked up his first thirdgen earlier this summer right before he turned 18.

 

19 in 1997. I walked 2 miles to and from work almost every day my 1st year in college to be able to buy a car the summer after my freshman year. (I bussed tables at a restaurant owned by Larry Bird in Terre Haute.) My dad found it and took me to buy it the summer of 1997 (and even chipped in financially). I loved the car and didn't care it was a V6. When people ask why I'm spending money restoring a V6 Firebird, I tell them this story and they seem to understand - somewhat. My wife recently asked me if I liked my Firebird more than our '01 Yellow Corvette convertible. I told her a sincere "yes", and she just hung her head in disbelief. Some people will never understand...

 

I think it's awesome you worked that hard for something you wanted. I understand completely as I've been there. I had ALOT going on at the time that really just wasn't going well, but every time I saw my car on the street I felt better about everything.

 

I hear you there. I was in the right place at the right time with mine. I shudder to think how much more damage the PO could or would have caused if he had more time with the car, or even if it would be in a scrap heap or shredded chunks somewhere . I'll be stuck walking to work all this winter, and already have done so for 6 months , but it will be worth it in the end.

When I get asked why, all I can say is, 1. it's better to save one from becoming scrap than watch it rust away or be turned into something like a lawn tractor; 2. it keeps me busy and teaches me new things; 3. any 3rd gen is better than none, 4. I can't really afford to fix this one, but payments and insurance on another is WAY out of my price range, and 5. I probably may never get the 81 Z/28 I want and this one is the closest I'll ever be. Oh, and for the most part, my V6 is better on gas than just about any other car we've had in the driveway other than the 2 Chevy's, both of which have/had 4 cylinder engines (twice as good on gas as the old Plymouth 4 banger!).

Got to give you a since I had pretty much the same job (dishwasher) that got me enough bank to buy mine and you're taking care of it.

 

15, I bought my 1991 Firebird for $750.00 (I had saved any money I got on Birthdays and Holidays since age 8 so I could buy a car). One of the light motors was bad, the interior was almost completely ruined, and shortly after I was able to drive it the muffler fell off. Almost 7 years later, and the car is in great shape with a brand new interior.

 

14 when I got my '87 Firebird and I still have it. Its still my daily driver

 

I got my first earlier this year, actually. 17 years old, it's exam week at school, I'm driving a s**t '92 Ford Escort Wagon (great ride, if you like 88 horsepower) and I'm at work at 10:00 at night, reading a Buy, Sell & Trade looking in the car section. I'd been looking at third-gen Camaro's before, but they were always out of my $1,500 price range.

Then I see it, staring at me in the face. $1,200. 1988. T-Tops. 2.8L. Jet black, gold trim. The only problem... She's a 5-speed. I was never good at standards, but I figure, if it means getting this car, it's worth learning. I had to have her. My dad agreed that she was in pretty good condition for the price, and we went for a test drive. Drove perfectly, apart from the disconnected sway bar on the drivers side. The headliner was falling apart, the seats needed a good shampooing, and he passenger seat belt STILL needs to be replaced. That was the night and day of the first day.

I went back the next day and found someone else looking at it, but luckily I had gone to the bank and took out $500 as a down-payment. I went up to the guy selling it and gave him the money "I'll take her. Here's $500 towards it." The interested guy looked at me, clearly he liked her as well. The seller told me he'd hold it for as long as I needed, wrote me a receipt and I got in my F-150 with my dad and drove home. That was the night and day of the second night.

Third day, I went back with the rest. Another $600 cause we talked him from 1200 to 1100, picked up insurance, went back to my new car, took my T-Tops off, climbed in through the window, then drove home the long way with my girlfriend. Now I have the fastest car at school, she's the envy of everyone, and I love it. Nobody challenges me to races anymore.

 

I wish I went to your school because even with the 350 I think there still might be people with faster cars just because their parents shelled out thousands to soup up their hondas and bought them fast cars. But one car I thought for sure was faster I raced and smoked them! Just wish that I could buy a V6 and be able to race people and get great fuel economy but I love my V8!

 

I've really been trying to hunt down a 305 TPI but they're impossible to find for a low price where I live, the 305 TPI is my dream third-gen engine. I'd be able to slay people all the more easily

 

I was 18 and my first thirdgen was a 90 IROC hardtop lb9 t5 g92 car. I really wish i wouldnt have totalled that car

10 years and 30 more thirdgens later... here i am

 

Same with my '87 GTA man. Its happened to alot of us. You can even make one exactly like it, but theyre just never the same.

 

My first is an 89 fire-bird i got it about 4 months ago right when school ended. I traded my dirt bike even up for it and now me and my dad are restoring it i just got done sanding it all today..i named her Kristine and dont plan on parting with her.. i am 15 and a half right now trying to get it done before i turn 16 and can drive!

 

Ill never forget my 82 TA. I wrecked her badly just a few months short of paying her off. I loved that car and I had big plans for her once the $334/mo payments were over. I tried to swing getting her fixed but gave up and traded her for an 84 Z28 HO. The Z had a swapped in 350 and was faster than my beloved TA but it had many issues and I ended up selling it. The Z could never replace my TA and dealing with all its problems just made me miss my TA even more. I still miss that 82 TA but not as much since I got my IROC. With each upgrade, my IROC beasty becomes more and more my absolute dream car.

 

I was 23 (in 2003). Bought it to replace my busted '73 240Z autocross car. Still got it.

 

got my first camaro in 1996 which was a 1982 z28. Got her for $525 and see needed a lot of work. Got her driving a year later all primed up... drove her for about 8 yrs then did i full restore about 2 yrs ago. Unfortunately i was taking her to a car show after completing the restore and lost her to a fire which started under the hood and ended in the back seat when the fire truck put it out. Now i got my 1991 z28 that i bought a year ago and still haven't driven her...

 

It was june of this year. i am 23 and it is my first bird but 3rd car.

First car was a 04' blue manual Saturn ion. taught many people to drive stick on it + other issues, traded it for an 06' ion manual which got totaled.

I was out of a car for 3 months searching and searching. I was on my way home from the middle of nowhereville, screaming about all the crap cars there are and how i am just going to ride a bicycle instead when out of the corner of my eye, i saw it...

Glistening in the aftersoon sun fresh after a rain, neatly tucked away behind the car lot; with a big "BUY ME" sign in the window. i knew i had found my car, i knew it was mine to be. It was fate.

 

2 weeks ago i bought an 85 z, so 29

 

I was 22yrs old When I got my bird...

 

I got my first 3rd Gen when I was 16 in 1988. It was a 1986 Yellow Camaro with t-tops and a v-8 engine. I'm a bit of a traitor though, because my second car was a 1991 ford mustang.

 

I was 16 when I bought a 82 recaro T/A (resto project). Had to sell in 07 when I was in the military.

Bought my second recaro T/A a month ago, this time a 84. I am now 24 y/o

 

lol I'm the old guy 41. got mine 8 months ago. 86 roc, nothing majorly wrong with the car. she's got 66k original miles.

 

17. I bought a 1997 2 door GMC Yukon and then as a weekend warrior I had bought a 1987 IROC.

 

I was 39 when I finally got mine in Dcember 2007, as a Christmas present to myslf. Better late than never. Best purchase I've ever made.

 

16. bought my 86 sc back in march..... drove i once so far. swapped the blown 305 for a healthy 350! cant drive it because im broke and i dont have exhaust on i. just headers. i have BIG plans for it and i do not plan on selling or getting rid of it. im 17 now. i wasnt sure what kind of car i wanted until a friend told me he was selling the 86 for $300 i swiped i up lol (^=b

 

Got my first 3rd gen when I was 31 years old. Sold it when I was 32 and bought my current IROC when I was 42 years old.

 

I'm 16 and i just got an '87 last month Still working on getting her running.... but it was cheap and I'm already in love lol

 

Hello Boys, and Girls!!

I was 20 when I got my first ride in a 1982 Z-28 that my buddy had bought brand new in April 1982.
Six years later, in April 1988 I bought a 1987 IROC-Z!!

My wife didn't know anything about it...............until I came home with it!!

She was wondering where I went, as I told her that I was just moving the car (Maroon 1987 Monte Carlo SS), 5 hours later........I parked the White 1987 IROC-Z in our parking space, I went to the door of the house, and she opened it up, and said "Who's parked in our spot?","We don't own a white car!!", and I said "We do now!!", and walked into the house!!!

You should have seen the "Fireworks", my wife is Irish/British/French/German rooted, and I'll tell you, it was a fantastic "Fireworks" display!! Put's the fourth of July to shame!!

End result, I still have the car, and I still have the wife, going on 30 years for the wife, and going on 23 years for the car!! Eventually the car will catch up to the wife!!

There's an old saying, "It's better to ask for forgiveness, than to ask for permission" I'm a firm believer in that!!

 

15 my uncle gave me a 1986 trans am but needed a car that i could drive so i foolishly sold it to a guy that junked it and bought a 1989 grand prix 2.8 v6 5 speed . am 23 now and have owned 4 third gens and 1 4th gen