I am 16 yo and got this for my first car. it is a 1982 Camaro Z-28 with t-tops and a H.O.305. its in need of work but has potential. I am goin to do major work to get it looking and running better, ive already put a th700-r4 in it. right now its my blank canvas you could say.plz give me your honest opinions on it and any sugestions about what i could do 2 it.
Thanks in Advance,
John Paul Pearce

 

Very nice. Definitely a good investment. Congrats on a third gen for your first car!!!

 

Looks nice, it is much better than my first car!

 

hey man,

nice ride. I was 16 when i first got this ride for 700 bux. Its an 84 trans am 700r4 305 lg4... i like it a lot. I dont think you will be disappointed with it. Its such a joy to drive one of these great automobiles. Please do us all a favor... Dont abuse your ride... its 21 years old and in WONDERFUL shape (as far as I can tell) take care of it... dont speed, the cops will be watching. I got picked up the other day by a bacon directing traffic. He accused me of doing a double pass, so be CAREFUL... cops dont like me, and if u get a bad record, cops wont like you. Again, enjoy the car and take care.

-Tom

:lala:

PS. email me sometime @ little_teapot74@hotmail.com

 

Looks like its in pretty good condition for how old it is, how many miles are on it?

 

Man...you guys don't know how good you got it. When I was 16, I was happy just to be driving mom's '66 Dodge Coronet 6cyl 4door.
Congrats on your ride. Enjoy it.

 

Ditto
Mom's 71 Caprice Wagon. Well at least it had a V8

Great first car, enjoy!

 

Please take my advice, fix any mechanical problem before you do anything to make her pretty.

I bought my car with my own money at 16 also.

3 Years & full time job, I'm 2 paint jobs deep & about 14k invested. I made her pretty first, biggest mistake. I should of taken care of the smoking motor before anything. Oh well, I'll know how to do it better next time

 

not bad looking, i didnt have a car untill i was almost 18 and out of high school so your better off than i was.

 

Very nice start, keep at it and one day she will be beautiful. I bought my 85 when I was 16 as well. Defantly do as Dan88IrocZ said, make the motor solid before you do anything else to the Z. I should get my 82 Z this week or next "hopefully I will" Its in my sig. I'm gonna make it a targa top z28 LOl I'm gonna do the body first, get everything squared away and fixed properly and then get a lt4 with a 4l60E tranny, and then interior. I would get a 6 speed but me and manuals dont get along too well I like to have tooooo much fun and blow the tranny

 

Thanx for all the replys. It has about 120,000 miles on it ( i think, i cant really remember right now). but as for the motor and mechanics it runs almost perfect. its in need of a new paint job and some interior work but thats expected with a car of this age. I got it from my step-dad and he is a mechanic so sll the major problems are already fixed. basicly it just needs cosmetic work now. and again, thanx for all the advice.

John Paul Pearce

 

Nice. :rockon:

 

when its ready here are my ideas.

1 91-92 gfx
2 91-92 spoiler (high rise)
3 91-92 hood
4 85-90 nose
5 tint the windows
6 2 inch drop
7 rims
8 paint job

 

Very nice, that's a pretty clean car considering its 21 years old. Do us all a favor and take good care of it. When I first got my car, it had taken a beating...now she is in good hands, and won't leave them!

 

An '82 with an HO engine? huh?

The HO wasn't released 'till late in '83.... are you sure you have an HO engine? If you do, it was swapped in later... unless you did the swap of course

 

Nice ride and a good start. Now look for insurance. You will probably have to ride your parents policy until you are 18. Watch your speed and high school parking lot "speed burns" out onto the main drag. When I was in high school alot of kids used to lose control on the burn outs and end up in the ditch out front.

My first car was a 1969 GTO with a 350 Olds Rocket.

Head on collision with a drunk Ford Bronco driver killed the car and nearly my brother. He said the last thing he remembered was seeing the chrome oil pan of the Bronco going over the windsheild of the GTO.

 

I had a 69 Cutlass Supreme. Nice 350 Rocket Only 80,000 miles on it...but there was about 2 years worth of rats nest in the the motor. I didn't even clean it out. I got her to fire up without even popping the carb...LMFAO.

I had my car painted first, then the motor that I KNEW was gonna kaboom...did exactly that. The paint job robbed all my money and my car made a nice garage ornament for a few months.

People always ribbed me because my car was pretty, but had no *****. If you are looking for any sort of respect, doesn't matter how ugly she is, as long as she's blowing the doors off other cars it doesn't matter

I laughed when I saw this beat up, rusted out Malibu wagon on the street one day. A Corvette was throwing revs and the Corvette got absolutely mutilated by the Malibu. Street legal, running 9's Little did I know, 2 years later I'd buy my motor from this guy lol.

 

Nice car! I'm 13 and got my 85 TA a month ago. paid $600 total. i paid 400 dad paid 200. NO BODY DAMAGE AT ALL.

 

PIC.

 

did the pic appear? I'll try again.

 

heres 1

 

Kind of blurry, sorry.

 

here

 

Dang! Seems like some of these kids are starting out fairly well.

Wonder what I am going to buy my 13 year old next year?

Seems that all of the old farts like myself are trying to start "Jr." out with a good appreciation for the 3rdgens.

So much for a bus pass and a new CD player.

 

im gonna give my kid this Iroc-Z as soon as i trust his driving.....


Well i guess i better have a son b 4 i start saying that...


lol

 

my first car was a 89 RS 2.8 5 spd.. some of you have seen it.. sold ti and drove up north a state and picked up my 88 iroc 305 5spd.. and now i get to burn money into that pit hole oh well its all good fun, id rather spend money to make my own car look good rather then buy a car that already looks good.

 

Nice one

Here's how my 82 looked 3 days after I bought it middle of '99. Patches of rust around the windshield, on the roof and rear decklid. Fairly straight body, paint that flaked off with the hose, replaced the front bumper cover and ground fx because they were ripped. The seats were sun rotted so those got re-done. Engine was shot and before I knew how crappy the 305 was, I rebuilt it lol. Ah well, it's a good running car now



Old picture

 

so far you guys all started out better than me, i had a 1978 mustang II with a v6 and a hole in the muffler. boy those were the days

 

very nice! this is my second camaro....im only 17 but when my money ran out i had to sell my first one but when i got money to get another car.....i refused to even look at anything that wasnt a camaro, i love them! i hope all goes well with ur car.

:lala:

-Leah

 

well, i hafta say. it wasn't as nice as my first car but i worked hard and saved 5 k to buy an 89 iroc that was almost perfect and built upo the 305 to run 13's. but, the car does have potential, just as every camaro and firebird does. it can be done. i'd rebuild the 305 or drop in a 350. if ya need any 305 help, I'm the guy to go to. i did spend way to much on mine making it fast. lol ttyl

 

My first was a 1955 Bel-Air 4 dr with the 235 straight 6 and a tree 0n the tree. wasn't pretty but got me where i wanted to go.

My current car is a 91 RS that has rust issues, not real bad but conssidering how inexpensively our cars can be purchased not really worth fixing, I am however gonna do some tuning on it.

I would have to agree a car that looks okay and really hauls is much better than a slow looker.

Take care of your car they are really nice rides and can be set up to well.
Scoty

 

My first was a 1955 Bel-Air 4 dr with the 235 straight 6 and a tree 0n the tree. wasn't pretty but got me where i wanted to go.

My current car is a 91 RS that has rust issues, not real bad but conssidering how inexpensively our cars can be purchased not really worth fixing, I am however gonna do some tuning on it.

I would have to agree a car that looks okay and really hauls is much better than a slow looker.

Take care of your car they are really nice rides and can be set up to well.
Scoty

 

add another f-body titan to the list!

Get gears and posi first! then do some bolt on exaust work..

My first car was a 72 pontiac ventura!! man this car sucked! I actually had a berlinetta first but our engine swap didnt work for some reason! So we junked it... 12 cars later.. thats right i said 12, My good friend blew the head gaskets on his 88 lo3 305 and i baught it for 500 bucks!...

He put a cowl hood on it and I always thank him for selling me his hood and throwing the car infor free lol

I love my car more than anything and it need alot of work! once i put my headders in and intake and cam and gears etc etc, I'll be Painting her to make her beautiful!

Enjoy the time with your car and be careful us third gens are becoming extinct these days and we dont need you rapping this around a tree!

check out the posts of people and their cars whats good whats bad and you'll see that you will need us and we'll need you lol good luck and have fun

 

Hey man, that camaro is pretty sweet. Congrats on your new car. Im almost 17 and also just got a Firebird a few months back as a decent fixer-upper. I have already done quite a bit of work to it with pretty much a complete interrior restoration and a decent ammount of engine mods with a complete 3" exhaust soon on its way.

Have fun and stay safe!

 

Looks like a good first car!

My first car actually wasn't my camaro....I got my '64 Impala SS resto project back when I was 12...still working on it too.....

I bought my Camaro when I was 14 for 100 bucks....and look at it now...I think it's definitely on it's way!

BTW, where is Hamilton, AL? I'm up here near Fort Payne in the northeast corner....

 

im originally from Mobile and lived in Evergreen for a long time. i MISS IT SO BAD!!!! i am stuck in Washington State in the Army (DONT JOIN!!!!). i recently purchased my baby (i can sympathize with the 12 car thing, i think i had more than that but i can't remember) for the LOW price of 1800!! i got her from a (now) good friend who parked her after she was lightly rear ended by a F250 (!) and he got a '87 350 IROC. i think she is in pretty good shape and she is an original unmolested IROC. "Alyssa" is an '89 LB9/5-speed (the quick 305's, i wouldn't have an auto 305!) and has newer paint (although a crappy job!) which i will have redone when i get the engine like i want it (383/stealth ram, upgraded T5). she will be black with all red IROC graphics. i also have already swapped out the original 10-bolt rear drum 3.08 with a blown posi for a 3.27 rear disc 9-bolt with GREAT posi. what do ya'll think of her?

keep 'er between the ditches ya'll!!
Josh




damage before cleaning out her wound and replacing taillights, albeit with the wrong style!

 

Sweet first car! My first car was an 89 Toyota PU. After driving it around for a year and half I had enough and went out and got my TA. That 4 banger was just too weak so I got a car with one of these....

 

My first Car was this Baby. Its got some minor small surface rust but I will fix that. Im still fixing up the mechanics on it first. The last owner should have never opened up the hood. sensors duct taped on on and lots of dirt. But those problems are fixed now and as soon as i put some decent tires on it it will be road worthy. Im glad I spent money on the mechanics before apperance. I suggest you do the same you have a great car there. Also is your car a 82 or a H.O. H.O. was only avalible in late 83-85

 

Heh, dude, my first car was a 3-banger Metro.

It rocked though. Got like 9283792874 miles/gal

 

I think I got you all beat

My first car was a '94 Trans Am GT.

pics right before I sold it...

My first car

 

hey i got my 86 T/A when i was 14 and im 15 now. sorry no pics im pulling the engine right now. cant wait to get her ripping.

 

I remember the day i got my GTA, dropped $2,700. I was 15 and my dad drove it home, did like 90mph on the highway. Then i got my permit, started driving, rubber costs my around $800, and other little things added up. Blew the 305, got a donor 89 GTA with a 350, swapped everything, total car cost was around $6,500 and now i'm 19 and its totalled and sold. I miss my GTA more and more everyday, after 4 months of driving the vette, i still havn't totally warmed up to it, can't compare 4 months to 4 years.

Treat the car right, and it'll treat you the same way. I beat the **** outta my car, but i gave it what it needed (i.e. motor) and it ran great.

Dave