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Auto Detailing and AppearanceShare tips and tricks on how to make your Third Gen shine! Get opinions on products or how something tasteful looks on your Chevrolet Camaro or Pontiac Firebird.
after years of perusing eBay for '89 Formula 350s, i found a 29K original miles, Silver Blue Metallic (it isn't Maui Blue) slick top. upon delivery i realized that i had just bought a $7000.00, 3300 pound paper weight, as the car hadn't been started or driven in nearly two decades. we're talking varnished fuel, sludge in the engine, collapsed springs, and who knows what else. it wasnt long after trying to chase down every little problem that i said, **** it - its overhaul time.
Body/Exterior:
the car has never had any paint or body work. the paint was dull when it arrived, but a clay bar and waxing did wonders. this color grew on me fast because of the way it reacts in weird ways to light conditions and angles. this color always pops regardless of sun or overcast.
The interior, is the one aspect that the PO(S) didn't lie about. it is essentially perfect. i had to fix a sagging headliner that developed while the car was being overhauled. i replaced the steering wheel with a LeCarra Thick Grip Leather piece. and if you want to call it an interior accouterment, i installed modern stereo equipment (head unit with Aux and USB inputs [i keep most all my tunes on a USB drive that never skips nor requires the carrying or changing of physical CDs], aftermarket speakers, and an amplifier driven, quality sub woofer).
and Lloyd's mats.
Engine/Transmission:
stock-ish but more performance was the theme.
Fast Burn Aluminum Vortec Heads, Edelbrock TPI Vortec Intake, ZZ4 Cam, Forged I-Beam Rods, Hypereutectic Pistons, 1.5 Roller Rockers, Fluidamper, AS&M Large Tube TPI Runners, Ported Plenum, SLP CAI, Accel 24 lb Injectors, Walbro 255, Holy AFPR, Dyno Don Ceramic Coated Headers, Dyno Don Off Road Y-Pipe, Hooker Cat Back (trashed their crappy tips for some Monza double duals), probably forgot a few other little things.
Suspension/Brakes
4th Gen 17" 1996-2001 WS6 Wheels - Porsche Silver powder coat, BFG 275/40/ZR17s all the way around (big paws), 12" Baer Brakes (front) - looking to move up to 13" now that i have 17" wheels, KYB Shocks and struts, Cut Coils (front) Hotchkis 1" Drop Coils (rear), Hotchkis LCAs, Hotchkis Adjustable Pan Hard Rod, UMI Torque Arm, Global West Wonder Bar, Tubular SFCs were also purchased through Top Down Solutions (Dyno Don's Company).
Thank you for the nomination, my wife and I are honored. We are newbies returning to the Third Gen Camaro. (We have a couple of forth and fifth gens in the garage.) We were very fortunate to acquire this wonderful piece of Camaro history, when a friend of ours told us about the car for sale. Astonishing that nearly 23 years old and virtually untouched. Our boy 'Marco' is very close to 98% original including the exhaust and tires. There are a few details we are working on to correct in hopes to make him complete.
Polo Green and Gold stripes was only available on the RS in the Heritage Edition, and there are most likely less than 500 coupes built. Unique to the Polo Green Heritage, is that the lower grille was black. Polo Green is quite a color to behold in the correct light.
We are the second owners, the car was originally purchase in South Carolina, and then the owner relocated to Iowa. Sadly earlier this year, he no longer could take car of his Camaro and traded it in. We purchased it from the dealer in Iowa. Below are some fresh pics.
Our car is rolling on just under 17,000 miles and is nearly completely original down to the tires.
Have a few more details to address in the engine bay. At some point the OEM water pump must have died since it and a couple hoses have been replaced.
Unfortunately both of the original double loop seat belt guides got broken at some point, so we are running 2000 neutral loops instead. But the rest of the interior is nearly as it came off the show room floor.
We also do have the window sticker, owners manual, t-top bag and the original GM logo floor mats safely stowed away.
The underside and wheels are cleaning up really well too.
We are excited to be the custodians of this awesome piece of survivor Camaro history. We plan to bring him to quite a few events next year. Thanks for looking!
Last edited by Polo Z03; Aug 23, 2015 at 09:27 AM.
Many thanks to everyone for the nominations as well as all of the other outstanding cars on this page. I'll try to make this quick, I've always been a fan of third gens ever since they came out. Its one of the reasons why I have an early version. I've have this one going on 3 years and have done lots of things to improve it. The car itself is a 1984 Camaro Z28 with the L69 option 5.0. H.O. automatic with a 373 posi rear. Other options include power seat, PDL, PW, P-hatch, t-tops, console clock and custom cloth. Full tune up, BFG tires, carb rebuild, front and rear suspension work, shocks, springs, rear control arms, pan-hard bar, both sway bars. wonder bar all from Spohn Performance, headliner, sail panels, visors, complete brake system including all hardware and lines, every piece of weatherstripping, magnaflow cat-back, window & lock motors, all fluids and so much more.
Last edited by I'llrocya; Aug 30, 2015 at 11:23 PM.
My wife and have had this car for 16 years. It started life as the most gutless low end Iroc you could get. 305ci throttle body injected,700r4,2.73 rear end, drum brakes,15" iroc wheels no power options other than power door locks. Over the past few years it has transformed into a fun to drive heat handling auto-x and road course car. Lm7 swapped with the 4l60 behind it. Fully built 10bolt with 3.42 gears. Yes I said 10 bolt (for now). Full founders adjustable rear suspension. Ground Control weight jack/coil over set up all around. Custom GC strut housings with custom valved koni inserts. Koni single adjustable shocks. STR RACING 18X9 AND 18X10 wheels and lots of other parts. Body is still stock as w hell as the interior. Down to the O.E. uncracked dashpad. Hope you enjoy the pictures. More to come.
Wow, there are some awesome cars in here. I definitely feel out-classed, but at the very least this is a good excuse to share some photos and my Trans Am's story.
I’ve got a bad habit of cruising my local classifieds and dragging home old cars, but last year I actually had a purpose. My fiancé and I decided that we needed a second daily driver, it needed to be reliable, comfortable and cheap. We looked at all kinds of cars, but eventually I landed on what I know best; an F-body. It was listed on a frigid February day, but from the simple ad I could tell it was worthwhile. After work we made the ½ hour drive to a nearby town to see the car, the temperate hovered around -20C (-4F) and it was pitch black out. I grabbed a flashlight, and went right for the floors. The underside was spotless, and the original bodywork was also 100% rust free. I boosted the car and despite the temperature it started and idled nicely. The interior was trashed and smelt like an ashtray, and it was sitting in an old shed covered in dust, but you don’t find cars this solid around here anymore, so I handed the seller the cash and it was ours.
The car turned out to be a one-owner, original paint (except for 1 door and the front bumper) car with only 130,000kms (80,000 miles) complete with service history and dealer paperwork. The elderly lady who owned it was moving to an old-age home and couldn’t keep the car with her.
The seller delivered the car to us the next weekend, again in sub-zero temperatures, and I took it for a quick shakedown drive. While the motor and trans felt great, it needed lots of brake and suspension work before it would be ready for the road. I needed it on the road for April, so I spent the next few weekends through February and March out in the driveway (the garage was filled with other projects at the time) rebuilding the suspension and brakes. You haven’t lived until you’ve installed and bled rear calipers at -5F in a snowstorm!
Since getting it on the road in April the car has served as a daily driver on horrendous rush hour commute into the city (approx. 65 miles a day, round trip – worth about 3 hours!). It’s never failed me and I’ve continuously been working on improving the car. Fixing and restoring things along the way; I’ve redone most of the interior including the dash, headliner and seats (4th gen units), polished out the paint and fixed all sorts of little bugs. The one area I have not gotten to yet is the engine bay, as you’ll see it’s far from where it should be and would really benefit from a professional cleaning.
I like to think of this car as a time capsule back to a time where these were just common daily drivers. It certainly doesn’t look 30 years old, everything on the car works as intended (A/C included), it drives as it was intended to drive, and I use it like it was intended to be used. It’s not a garage queen, rather a survivor that still serves a purpose – My fiance and I depend on our two Birds (the red 96 visible in some of the photos is our other DD) everyday, we treat them well and they treat us well.
I wish I had time to take it somewhere to get some decent shots with a nice backdrop, but the last few days have been crazy, so my driveway will have to do. Enjoy the pics
Thanks again for the nomination. The others cars nominated this month are fantastic, as they are every month, and I feel fortunate to have my 1988 Trans Am in the mix.
After graduating from college in May of 1987 I started thinking, or really dreaming, about buying a sports car / muscle car. My dad had always been a GM guy and thus that kind of made me one by default. The Ford Mustang was really the only other option at that time in the class of cars I was considering, but it didn't do much for me and I just gravitated toward the Camaros and Firebirds. I especially liked both the IROC and the Trans Am models. I took both for test drives and spent a lot of time reading and re-reading the brochures. Both were great cars and really couldn't go wrong in my opinion.
Ultimately I think I liked the interior a little better on the Pontiacs as well as a few things on the exterior including the pop-up headlights and the rear spoiler. So after working up a budget to save enough for a down payment, I ordered the car I wanted from a local Pontiac dealer in February 1988. The anticipation over the next 8 weeks was nearly unbearable. The car arrived around the 3rd week of April and I was ecstatic.
When I finally got it home I just wanted to drive it. I never thought about how long I may have it or that I would have it now for 27+ years. That first summer I put 12,000 miles on it. When November came around I put it into storage as fortunately I still had my old 1975 Olds Delta 88 that had previously been my parents car. So needless to say the Trans Am has never seen snow or salt that come with Wisconsin winters. The next year I put on 6,000 miles, and each year after the miles diminished. My wife and I got married in 1990 and we did drive it up to the Apostle Islands on Lake Superior for our honeymoon, but after we had kids there were a number of summers where I never even took it out of storage. That was tough. Getting it back out in the spring is always a great feeling with much anticipation.
As for the car itself, it is a 305 TPI with a 5-speed manual transmission and the WS-6 suspension package. T-tops, power everything, and AM/FM with cassette. The car presently has just over 48,000 miles. Everything is still stock with the exception of the tires (which were finally replaced only two years ago), the alternator (that finally died last year), and the water pump that I just replaced two weeks ago. Paint and all interior items are original. The headliner is a still pretty decent so I don't feel I need to replace it yet. I did just order new after market speakers, but I plan to leave the head unit original. The exhaust is also original but is starting to make a little noise. I do plan to upgrade to a Flowmaster or equal cat-back. The engine bay does need some TLC.
My vote is for Nortz89, gorgeous car! however - don't take offense, please consider a different set of wheels for that car. I don't feel the current ones are doing the car the justice it deserves.
My vote is for Nortz89, gorgeous car! however - don't take offense, please consider a different set of wheels for that car. I don't feel the current ones are doing the car the justice it deserves.
None taken, but I do have to say I don't here that much at all about the wheels. I personally don't care for the universal lug holes but the forge lines I want are just a tad to expensive for me right now. One day!lol Thank you for the vote!
None taken, but I do have to say I don't here that much at all about the wheels. I personally don't care for the universal lug holes but the forge lines I want are just a tad to expensive for me right now. One day!lol Thank you for the vote!
For what it worth I like the wheels, I'd leave em.
Well, well, well... a tie.
welp... this is the reason i do not cast a vote - so that in the event of a tie (this is the first time) i will cast the deciding vote. i know, some wont like this, but it really is fair and simple.
so...now for a little bit of a speech.
congratulations to NORTz89 with his road race themed, LS equipped, very nicely built IROC; and to Polo Z03 with his rare, beautiful, all original Polo Green Heritage Edition RS. you two both finished the voting in a tie for first place.
I also want to congratulate the rest of this months nominees. for me, its been pretty damn cool to look at this thread and see my car "in the mix" with such high level Third Gens.
so lets get to it. i'm going to throw my vote behind NORTz89.
Polo Z03 - your car looks so good (and that green paint is so pretty) that this was a very difficult decision. NORTz89's car is equally clean (inside and out) and beautiful (albiet a little more common place of a color), but it has the added dimension of high performance.
for anyone who feels that the voting (or my vote) should have gone another way, please consider this: i am not passing judgement on whether Modified is better than Stock, or Blue is better than Green. i'm just one member with one vote, and i used the same criteria as i have always advocated. i picked the one that i would rather see parked in my driveway tomorrow with a bow on it.
