Alright, im looking into buying a third gen camaro over a 67 camaro rs. When I look at the pictures, I see ones that I really like, then I see ones that I really dont. I want to get a hard top with a 350. Some of the ones i see look thick, and low, then others look really thin and look like crap to me. I like the stock or the cowl hood, what do you think are the best years? and can you post pictures if you can?
Oh yea, last thing, how much trouble are t tops? i like the idea, but im not really sure how it works.
i like the look of this one, anyone know what the model would be or anything?

i dont like this, i dont know whether its the angle or the car..
sorry for the big pics, and does anyone have any tips for me, im going to buy this car within months

 

mine...

350 hardtop

 

pretty sure its just the angle of the pic....cuz they both look like 90-92 models....which gets the hype for being the best looking z's........other than the gfx and high-rise spoiler I dont know what makes them look so much different.....but it just does.....oh and they didnt come with 350's til 88 IIRC

 

350s started coming in '87 I believe.

Also, the 91-92 Z28s were the same, not the '90. The '91 and '92 had the hi-rise spoiler, and the aggressive sideskirts.

85-89 TPI cars used the MAF system for air metering, while the 90-92 cars used the speed-density system with a MAP sensor. This change came one year before the body style change ('90 vs. '91)

 

what about the t tops. any help?

 

I personally dislike t-tops. For one they don't look that cool, two, a hardtop has more structural integrity, three, they get stolen and/or leak and/or break, etc.

The 91-92 z28's are what it looks like you (and almost every single person out there for that matter) favors of the thirdgens. The best way to start would be with a '92 z, with a 5 speed (well if you want) and a 350. And with the money you save from a first gen you could easily lower it, drop some 18's on it, get an SS or cowl hood, and put a supercharger on it. NOW we're talking

 

I love my T-tops. Can't tell if its them or the hatch leaking though... I suppose I'll find out tomorrow when I take the hatch off to replace it with a tinted glass and new spoiler.

As for structural integrity, these cars all need sub frame connectors anyways. You just don't actually SEE the symptoms on a hardtop.

I don't have A/C and I have a black car. T-tops are nice

 

My 91 has t-tops, and I love them. One, I how cool they look is up to the person who owns the car. Two the difference that there is in structural integrity loss is not enough to matter unless you want to race the car. Three there are a lot of people who complain that they leak, but if the weather stripping is good, they won't leak,and people have car stereos stolen every day, but I never hear anyone say "don't get a car with a radio, because they get stolen."
I agree the 92 would be the year to get, they are the best built third gens, and they are plentiful in spite of the liberals who can all choke on the smog that spews forth from my heavy, gas guzzlin' 91 firebird!

 

91-92 z28 is my favorite... and definately the 350 coupe option. mine would look stock if i could leave them alone.

http://gmhightechperformance.com/features/0504htp_z28/

 

That's gorgeous!

 

Yes that is beautiful.

 

how exactly do they work? im new to t tops, do you have to like take them off then put them in a case? what is the procedure kind of thing to get them off? I really like the coupe look, but i like the idea of t tops. thanks everyone, i think im going for the 1992 Z28 w/ a 350 and havent decided on tranny yet. does anyone have pics of any 1992's dropped? hows the ride?

 

i wasnt much of a camaro fan till i saw yours.........

 

i know mine is a formula but its a hardtop and i wouldnt go back

 

I've got glass t-tops, and my friend's Firebird has lexan t-tops. A few notes:

T-tops leak. If all of the weatherstripping is good (all means on the car and on the t-tops) they probably won't leak when it rains. However, sometimes there are still holes that aren't sealed, so it's kind of a disaster when water comes in from the side (like in a car wash).

Glass t-tops are way nicer than lexan ones. The lexan ones don't crack, but 15 years of sun makes them get what looks like spiderwebs in the lexan. In my opinion, it makes the cars look cheaper. The glass ones are quite a bit heavier than the lexan ones, but if your car is going to be for racing, you probably won't need t-tops in the first place. Go with glass.

 

if you get a 92 z28 with a 350 you can only get an automatic

the 5 spds were not offered with the 350 cars

And T-tops were not available with any 92 z28s i think?

not positive i know that no 92 z28 350s had t-tops or the 5 spd option

anyway...as much as i love the 91-92 z28s with the more updated look i still cant get over how clean a black Iroc-Z is. Looks alot more smooth.

 

without a doubt one of the best looking camaros around... this thing is a ****ing sick machine...

Steve... i hate you... j/k

 

unless someone swapped the tranny or the engine, youwont be finding one of those.

 

That would be my favorite, the '85-'90 hardtops...my old '90 RS wasn't very fast, but that was a very clean, sleek body.

Then the '82-'84 Z28s hardtops (only) would be my second choice.

I was never a fan of the high rise spoiler when they came out because I've never thought they "flowed" very well with the sleek lines of the body, and to me, they seemed like a F40 "wannabee"...although they seem to be very popular nowadays.

 

Yeah you cannot get a T-5 with a 350 TPI period and you cannot get T-Tops with a 350 on a Z28 from 91-92.

However, all things can be changed if you're willing to do some work.

If you wanted a t-topped car with a 5-speed then you could buy a 305 91-92 Z28 (which did come with a 5-speed and t-tops) and swap in a 350 TPI. The swap would be a bolt in swap, just change injectors and have the computer tuned.

T-Tops go off and on very easily, I can take mine off in my T/A very fast, and my Z28 was almost as fast.

All you do is pop out a lever, and they unlock. Just lift them up and set them somewhere.

The thirdgens were lacking something that the fourthgens fixed - a place for the t-tops. The best that you'll get besides your backseat is a leather bag in the back hatch that might come with your car. They're easy to find though.

I would never, ever own a car w/o t-tops. They kick a$$, and structural problems can be fixed with SFCs.

 

If only i had knew this earlier, you could have saved me endless weeks of looking for one... All i wanted was a 92 z28 with t-tops and a 5 speed. guess i was asking for more than i thought...

Another thing you should think about before you choose which year camaro you want, is the interior. The 91-92 have different dash/gauge style. I personally like the 91-92 a lot better.

As for the t-tops, it takes less that 1 minute to have them both off, and sitting in the trunk. Ive had an 84, and my current 92, both with T-tops. ive never had a leak from rain. the only time i ever got a few drops of water in the car was from a car wash, caused by the high pressure, and uncommon angle of water being sprayed.
GOod luck, and congrats for choosing any thirdgen.

 

Why wasn't the t-5 avlaible for 350 TPI's? That's just plain stupid IMO.

Automatics are boring.

 

Well the L98 puts out 300+ ft/lbs of torque, more than the T5's are rated for (even the W/C versions). I'm sure the factory was worried about everyone breaking the T5's with their L98's and lead feet. You can always swap a T5 or T56 into a 700R4 car ...

I think T-Tops are fun, but my T-Top car eventually rusted. Cant blame the car though, I neglected the weatherstripping, so it was my fault it got rusted and started leaking. My main complaint with the T-Tops was that there was no good place to store em. I had the glass ones, and I didnt have a storage bag, so I always put them in the back seat, just waiting to break. I didnt know they had lexan T-Tops, or bags to hold em. Nowadays, I have the Lexan ones, and I'm gonna paint em body color. Still no bag though ... heheheh

 

They should have made the T-5's stronger then. It just seems ridiculas to me that the highest perfromance 3rd gen model isn't availble with a manual.

What manaul transmission did GM put in the Corvettes from 86-92? Why couldn't they have used that tranny in the 350 TPI cars?

 

I like the setup of the 91-92 gauges but i hate the yellow! all the pieces of the interior have a yellow color.

Im slowing changing all buttons and bulbs to white

My new white overlays look really sweet i just need some brighter leds to lighten them up at night

 

The '84-'88 Corvette used a Borg Warner Super T-10 4 speed with a Doug Nash supplied 3 speed overdrive unit bolted in place of the tailshaft housing....the 4+3 didn't work as well as they hoped it would and proved to be troublesome.

In 1989, the Corvette got the German built ZF 6 speed, a massive improvement, but an expensive transmission. That expense and the new transaxle configuration was why the new C5 switched to the Borg Warner T56 in 1997.

 

whoops didn't know a '92Z wasn't available with a 350 manual tranny
But see me, I'm starting with an '82 V6 car, because I'm just gonna swap out the springs/shocks, the motor, the bumpers and ground effects, and the wheels and spoiler anyways so I just looked for a clean body hehe.
By time I do all the work and spend all the money to clone a '92 Z I probably could have freakin' bought one, but I'm just a teen with no credit so I have to build my car piece by piece by piece....

 

i like the way the ttops look the only thing that sucks is the whole leak thing... i love my third gen RS... but i dunno dude... the 67 camaros are beautiful... why would u pic a third gen over a sexy classic like that?

 

Why would you answer a question that was asked in MARCH OF 2005!

 

From the looks of it, the OP never got himself a thirdgen anyway.