Hey,

I own a 1986 iroc z TPI (dark blue) 129k miles. It is completely stock except for flowmaster exhaust system. How can I make it look state of the art? Example: I am getting HID headlights and LED interior lights along with floor mats and seat covers. I want it to look like a new car (sort of a "blacked out" look) but NOT GHETTO. NO CHROME RIMS. Maybe black rims

Any suggestions?

 

Could do some kind of custom LED running lights like new Audi's.
Digital Dash
Shaved Door handles
Etc...

 

How deep are your pockets ?
State of the art is pricy....

Skip the seat covers they never look good . Just get em re done. Hids ate nice but maybe you might want to look into led headlights . Also search a lot before you buy anything and read a ton so you don't waste any money

 

I have HID's & I would not consider them state of the art, all the older cars are retro-fitting them.

I installed digi-tails about a year ago & that made it more state of the arty, all new cars have LEDS, so thats the way to go.

I plan on switching to the JW LED headlamps soon.

Also upgrading your suspension with performance parts will also give a much better feel. altough its only got 129k, all those parts are 26yrs old! I would start there & the go to aesthetics.

I am aiming for the same thing.....

 

Buy a new car and slap the iroc-z stickers on it.

C'mon, someone was bound to say it sooner or later

 

HM So I think I will go with the LED headlights instead! And how many of these:
(CLICK)

Would I have to put in the gages to fully cover everything? (I know there are 11 standard lights in the gage cluster, but would I need less of those leds because they are brighter?) Thanks for the responses, Keep em coming!

 

titanium narps

 

Get some 26's get crocodile skin seats and put 3 fithteens in the back

 

Neal301 you really should write up a build list with prices ,distributors, and part numbers , quantitys ...
Once you have a solid direction and idea of what you actually want to do then your car will look better and not just throwing randome parts at it.

Also keep your invoices from the parts you buy in a folder for your records.

Since your car is 26 years you might want to fix up the parts that are not up to par.
You gotta start somewhere but be smart about it that's the difference between a nice car and a gaudy car...you know those cars that just look like someone just threw parts at it you don't want that to be your car .

 

all new (fresh) suspension, lower it, big brakes, wide low profile wheels/tires, all LED stuff, digital dash, LS-swap, quality exhaust out the back, nice interior, DOOR PANELS that dont SUCK, seats, get rid of the rattles, etc.

 

Yea i'm trying to see what exactly I want. What are 'Narps?' and I definately dont want it to look like a swagmobile (shitty car expensive rims, some mismatching chrome).

More of a look at and go "wow that cars fast"

 

ALSO what are some good websites BESIDES carid?

And what specifically should I do with the suspension?

 

What type of parts are you looking for ?
For LEDs go to superboghtled.com
Alot of people like umi performance or spohn other are bmr, hotchis.
Take a look to see If anything is broken and go from there.

Start with sub frame connectors ( weld in style ) then get a wonder bar ( if you don't have one already ) then read up on the different sub forums just read a ton

 

How are black wheels state of the art?

And when you say seat covers, you do mean reproduction replacement seat skins and not slip-on autozone style covers, right?

 

^ hehehe

 

This. Most noticeable would be fresh paint and just fix the car up if anything's broken (this includes interior, engine bay and underbody, details make the difference), tasteful 17's or 18's, lower it, professional window tint job, 4th gen black leather seats, nice steering wheel. Then move on to the more extravagant things like big brakes, LED's, custom interior, strut tower bar, engine swaps, etc.

Paint/ detailing and the stance makes the car. Everything else just adds to the wow factor, unless the car doesn't have a great finish or a good stance. Then it's just like "oh look, LED's... that's neat" and everyone just remembers the car that had a few flashy addons and not the car itself.

If you need some inspiration, the featured "car of the month" list on the main page on this site has quite a few sweet Camaro's that certainly don't look dated.

 

Avoid anything cheap.

Lower it on a good suspension. Tubuar K, control arms, ect....

Mini-tub the rear, 18"-19" wheels tucked in the rear.

Big brakes, SS lines....

Clean and crisp paint job, tailights, head lights, bumper lights...

Avoid crappy paint, anything out of a spray can, cheap over the counter wheels, colored LEDS,

 

What's the point of nice paint if its not mechanicaly sound and strong ?

 

His question was that of appearance. Doesnt make real world sense to have a car that doesnt run, or drive well, but you put money into its appearance.

But to answer his question, it doesnt need to run or drive. To satisfy modern aggressive "state of the art" tastebuds

 

All you need are some good drop in springs or weight jacks for lowering. Stock geometry is fine with the stock K-member and the a-arms are more than adequate with MOOG ball joints and Global West bushings. Aftermarket pieces are $$$$$ , not as strong and don't save enough weight to be justified. For looks, powdercoating or just a good spray job on the stock stuff will look great. I totally agree with the other stuff though!

Why not both?! Just replace the ancient, broken cheaply manufactured stock CRAP as you go with shiny new powdercoated, aluminum or stainless stuff and save weight, make the car more efficient and make it look better!

 

For me state of the art would be a turbo LS, some big brakes, and a Tremec. But since this is a question of appearance, I'd say removed side moldings, Corvette ZR1s (17" on all 4) and a set of sport lines. These cars look modern with less frills, so things like added LED lights clash with the 80s frills like the pin striping and factory decals. Less is more on these cars.

 

 

I see your fourth gen and raise you the Dodge Daytona IROC!

 

I'm doing the same thing to my car. I've always wanted a classic car that has modern touches without over doing it.

Here is a list of parts needed to make the car appear more modern. They are listed in order in importance IMO:
Nice Paint
Newer style wheels, 17"-19". POSSIBLY a staggered 19/20 setup.
Lower it. This goes hand and hand with wheel size
Big ole brakes. Slotted/drilled makes a big difference in looks
Window tint.

Then do your interior touches.

These are some cars that follow all the above, and look great.
Shawn GTR's car

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/auto...8-updated.html

Z28FAST1 's car



I think you should take a look at his car. He has a 4th gen dash and many other newer parts. Simply a great car.
His build thread
http://ls1tech.com/forums/conversion...rey-paint.html

Wheel finish is a personal preferene. Most cars that I have seen with black wheels have a more older/dated look. Not saying black wheels dont look good, because some look sweet!

 

I never understood why people want to make our cars look newer. If you want a more up to date car, then buy a newer one? Maybe it's just me... But I love it when some grandpa comes up to me being a 17 year old kid and is gawking at my car and saying how he hasn't seen a original one is so long. I don't mind stuff like lowering, different rims, but why put a buncha LED's and HID's and interior lights. To be honest, it just irritates me and makes me laugh at those audi christmas tree's.. I do not mean to offend anyone, to each his own!

 

I agree with you for the most part. I want to update my car, but that doesn't mean I want a newer car. I love my thirdgen. It's kind of cool to drive an older car, with the ammenities of the newer ones. Plus my ADHD would drive me INSANE if I drove a stock 80's era car. You can install alot of newer modifications, however there is a limit. And when you reach this limit it can look very tacky, wether its a thirdgen, or 5thgen.


Just trying to get you to see the other side of the point.

 

I understand, how about cup holders.. A Ipad/Iphone mount. Double DIN radio, subwoofer in the rear. Black out the tail lights? I'd honestly stick with the stock lights.. Anything else looks tacky. Maybe a new steering wheel, b&m mega shifter.

 

state of the art , lower it nicely and buy some nice custom rims and do some large brakes and a clean paint job . Thats all you will need to do .

 

6 to 8 cupholders and redline it. And the Daytona was a legit IROC, hp in the 220's from a 4 cyl

 

Joining the party a bit late here, but whether or not HIDs look "modern" depends on their application IMO.

If you just put HID bulbs into a stock style housing when off it either looks cheesy with most of the chrome housings that are out there or you can't tell a difference between the stock headlights with certain others like the hawks kit. Also when on there is going to be virtually no light pattern as it just gets thrown in every which direction and just looks like a really BRIGHT stock reflector. Also most people tend to go with the 8 - 10k blue as hell bulbs which personally I think look...not right.

A true retrofit on the other hand can really stand out. It gives the headlights a unique appearance, an even sweeping projection when on and looks tons better than the "fake" HID swaps. Not to mention you can see about 10x better at night. The high beams are incredible. Here are some pictures of the ones I did. Be aware though that you have to make them yourself. You cannot buy these premade ATM.

 

thats what i want.thirdgen with ls engine,t56,lsi brakes.ive got the lsi brakes but need bigger wheels before i can install them.oh and vette wheels.

 

3rd gen are never going to be considered classics but it is nice to see a mint original one. On the other hand the "hot rodding" culture is all about modifying your car to your liking. Imagine if everyone left their car stock? Talk about boring world

I could have bought a 4th gen or a C5 but I'm a true 3rd gen enthusiast at heart and wanted to modify my car to keep up with newer platforms while enjoying technological advances that make driving fun (LSx for more power/street manners/MPG, C5 Corvette brakes for safety, HID's for better vision, lumbar leather seats, Indash DVD/Navi, working A/C for ergonomics )







Me and my bro TPITERR wouldn't know what to do with ourselves if we weren't modding our 3rd gens











To answer OP's question, paint and wheels go a long way to start.

 

tpiterr is one of my fav thirdgens ftw