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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.
Nah, you're still sane. The site creates the thread first and then creates the poll. Leaves it with an awkward moment when there's a thread with no poll.
Leave it to folks on Thirdgen to have an “under 20k mile” category; and what ensues?
“Here’s on with 5000 miles!”
”Here’s one with 900 miles”
”Here’s one with 600 miles”
”Here’s one with 130 miles”
These cars are so freaking nice and clean! How do you vote? This is like the world championship of Thirdgens right here! Very low miles, very well kept and with desireable and rare pedigree. Wow!
PONTIAC FANS UNITE - VOTE YOUR PONCHO PASSION THIS MONTH
This car was part of a private collection and the previous owner traded it to
Restore A Muscle Car for a 1973 Firebird Formula 455 - The guys there notified me that it was available and I decided to jump on it.
It's a beautiful, very original, example of an 1987 T/A with 10,800 miles. (Yes, I am the high mileage car in this group - LOL).
It has somewhat rare cloth / leather seats and is nicely optioned. Unfortunately, the Gatorbacks had already been removed but
other than that, it's all original. Thanks guys - this is a fun site with a bunch of great folks and awesome third gens and I'm happy to be a part of the group!!
I applaud the other cars in this months group - totally incredible cars and this T/A is the ODDBALL in the group (as is usual for a Pontiac) GOOD LUCK TO ALL !!
PS - YES, that is the factory original rear spoiler and it is in great condition - I get asked that a lot.
A few more pics to help you make your decision.......
Last edited by BizJetTech; Mar 15, 2020 at 11:48 AM.
This 1990 IROC-Z was purchased new in October 1989 with the intention of driving it. I had owned numerous cars that were kept meticulously clean, only to sell them to someone else to drive. Nonetheless, despite my intentions, I refused to drive it in the rain and I never washed it with soap and water; instead I solely used a California Duster (one reserved specifically for the IROC that I still use) and other cleaning products, such as instant detailers, etc.
The car is fully loaded. As the Window Sticker MFSR illustrates, $20K was a lot for a Camaro in 1989. It's equipped with the 5.7/350ci, 245hp engine along with the G92 package, which includes dual cats, oil cooler, and 4 wheel disc brakes, along with other options such as dual power seats, Bose Gold Series sound system, and 16" aluminum wheels, to name a few.
Shortly after buying the car, I saw an article in my local paper that said that Chevrolet was discontinuing the IROC. As most of you know, Chevrolet failed to renew their contract with the International Race of Champions and were subsequently advised that they could no longer use the name. Chevy's answer was to "bring back" the Z28--though all IROCs have the RPO Z28 option, just as did the first Z28 in 1967. The result was a short production run of only 4213 total IROC-Z coupes and 1294 convertibles. (I don't know how many of those were 5.7s, but if anyone does know, please share.)
As a result of this discontinuing, when our then-foster-child (now adopted) was returned to his biological mother--a result of a blundering court system--I parked the IROC and pledged not to drive it again until he returned. A year later, he did just that; so I decided to just keep it parked and pass it on to him.
Cars--especially Camaros--have always seemed to be in my DNA. Now it will be in his too.
Meanwhile, I hope you enjoy viewing his IROC.
BTW, I don't really expect to win, but it's nice to learn that there are other enthusiasts who are cherishing these fine automobiles.
Not as clean as it would be if I were still a young man.
Last edited by 1990IROCDon; Mar 29, 2020 at 03:51 PM.
Reason: modifying pictures
Thanks, QwkTrip, for setting this up. (This is a ridiculously difficult competition, but I'm at least honored to participate.)
Back in the 1980s, my first car was a 1982 Berlinetta. I enjoyed that car, and it was rather fun to drive with the four-speed stick, but I told myself that one day I would buy a higher performance Camaro, which at the time meant an IROC. However, I decided to go to graduate school for engineering, and third-gen production had long ended by the time I re-entered the workforce.
So when I found this car five years ago, it was like a dream come true. It seemed like I was finally ordering the new IROC I always wanted. First of all, it was "like new" -- the odometer only showed 2,991 miles. Second, it had all of the key options I would have ordered back in 1987: 305TPI, a 5-speed manual, G92 (with associated goodies), T-tops, and red paint. You can see the RPO code photo below.
Cosmetically, the car was in great condition when I got it. It's a Norwood-built car, and the original factory paint really shines. The main cosmetic improvement I made was getting the headliner professionally redone (see pictures below). The most significant repair work was restoration of the heating and A/C systems, though I also repaired the original Delco radio (my electrical engineering background helped there!) The car now operates 100% like new, and I drive it every summer. This past season the odometer hit 6,316 miles, which means I have put more mileage on it than the previous three owners combined.
I aim to keep the car stock. The only non-original items are the tires (I have the original Eagle VR tires stored in my aunt's basement, but I have BFG Sport Comp 2 tires on it for regular use), poly bushings on the rear sway bar (the previous owner installed those, which work fine), and a set of four Boston Acoustics speakers for better sound.
Finally, I'll mention that this car was shown in Hemmings Muscle Machines last year in their "Buyer's guide" on Camaro IROCs. I noticed that this article is now free without subscription, so those interested can look here: https://www.hemmings.com/blog/articl...maro-iroc-z-2/
Okay, that's enough talk. Here are some more pictures:
While others might also show underbody pictures, I'll also show an "under-roof" picture (I took this while the headliner was out at an upholstery shop). You can see the Boston Acoustics RM9 speakers here, but everything looks stock with the sailpanel covers in place.
Here is a picture with the headliner reinstalled:
The sun visors were also reupholstered. To keep the stock appearance, I took digital photos of the original labels on the driver-side visor and had reproductions made. Here is the visor with the reproduction labels:
Hey everyone! Sorry to be late to the party, it is a crazy world we live in right now.. lol... This is an absolutely amazing group of cars and i'd be more than proud to have any of them in my collection. Thanks for letting me enter with mine
My car is a 91 Z28 with 1LE, radio delete, L98, and a custom black cloth interior. The car wears it's original paint, GM floor mats, and I do have the original gatorbacks (though they are cracking between the treads now). I bought it in early 2014 after seeing photos in Hemmings and reluctantly traded my old gunmetal 87 GTA which I loved towards it, plus cash. There was an undercarriage pic of the rear end in the ad which was still bare metal and I fell in love with it. I have spent some time detailing the car up and have put about 700 miles on it over the years that I have had it and it currently has 6100 or so. I did buy a set Hawks 17" GTA replica wheels to swap on so i'd drive it more, but I haven't done enough of that... lol... I like the look of the car with these wheels, as it looks to me a bit like the heritage edition that never was. I remember seeing the motor trend video of that car as a kid and I loved it.
The car is tucked up on my double lift in storage right now so unfortunately I cannot take new pics at the moment but I have many photos of it. Here are some that I have uploaded:
ev305tpi - Yet another incredible car! I dont think I have ever seen a rear end that pristine, simply amazing!
Your 3rd gens are some of the finest in the world.
Very nice, and I'd agree that it was a rare option. I knew leather existed, but I've never seen it, and I spent decades in junkyards during 3rdgens' heydays in the yards, which has long since past. Here's the listing on the 1987 order information form showing leather available with the Custom Interior for the Trans Am and GTA, but not with the Custom Interior for the Firebird and Formula(same Custom Interior--door panels, seats, Pallex cloth, just no leather option).
This was hands down, the toughest moth I can remember for COTM. I would be absolutely thrilled to have either one of them in my garage, and to me they are all on a pretty level playing field. One car does not particularly stand out to me. I picked my vote on the one with the best story. Don got my vote with the 1990 IROC-Z that he bought new, and will someday hand down to his adopted son. That is pretty damn awesome.
Congratulations to all of you guys for having insanely amazing third gens!
