Austin19

Anyone from Calgary area happen to have a Hooker 16767 y-pipe laying around or know where I can get a good deal on one? I know its a long shot but I figured I'd try...

Austin

92Canadianmaro

@Austin19 try Jb's power center. I got my y-pipe from them.

david_351

Hey Everyone, just introducing myself. Even though I have been a member of the forums for a long time, I haven't really had much to say for a while as I have not owned an F-body for quite some time.

When I was 16 I saved up $500 from my Part time job and bought myself a 1983 LG4/700R4 Trans Am. This was my first car, I had wanted a third gen since as long as I could remember. The car was in pitiful shape outside and in, but it was a learning car for me. It helped me gain mechanical skill which would later on turn into a career. I basically fought myself about cars with this car. I fixed wiring and switches to get the power windows and door locks working again. I replaced the intake manifold and carburetor with a free intake and carb from a neighbors L82 Corvette. That's how I first learned bigger is not always better, and the importance of matching parts to your engine/drivetrain. I learned how to sand, grind and prime. About a year after I saved up $2000 and bought a 1984 Recaro Trans Am, L69/T5. Man I loved that car. The interior was mint, the paint was fading but still looked great. With this car I saved up and bought short tube headers and a used cat back exhaust which I installed. I also got a Holley 600cfm carb and Edelbrock performer inake at a swap meet for next to nothing. Although it was only basic bolt ons this car was so exciting to drive, especially as a 17 year old. It stuck to the road like glue and handled like a go kart. Then one day the T5 crapped the bed, and transmissions were, at the time taboo to me, I was scarred to open it up, and could not afford to pay a shop to do it. Sadly I sold this car, and regretted it ever since. Meanwhile, my 83, sat in my parents driveway waiting for paint, until my dad got fed up with it taking up space, and gave the car to a junkyard.

After this I did not own any performance vehicles for a while. I went to school and became and aircraft mechanic. Once I graduated and started my apprenticeship, I bought an 84 Corvette, auto. I loved this car as well, I loved the uniqueness of the crossfire system. I drove this only for 9 months, until my fiancé and I decided to buy our first house. Of course I had to sell the Vette for a downpayment. And a few more years drifted by, I went on to get my Aircraft Maintenance Engineers lisence, got married, had a son who is now a little over one.

Flash forward to now, I'm 28 and finally getting settled in Life, so I began searching for something I had always wanted. A 350 IROC. After 6 months of scouring ads, auctions and Kijiji I finally found a 1987 IROC with my beloved 350 TPI. Now of course I had to verify it was indeed a 350 and not a re-badged 305. Everything checked out and I drove it home on Wednesday for $2500. Now, I still work full time as an Aircraft mechanic, 4 on 4 off, and, on my weekdays off I go work at the Local Corvette shop, restoring, rebuilding and performance tweaking all generations of Corvettes. This of course has numerous advantages, such as use of all the shops equipment, lifts, etc, as well as cheap, sometimes free second hand parts.

Now, and I apologize for the colossal post, but now I am deciding what to do with my IROC. I really want to get into autocross on a competitive level. However I also want a car for street cruising. There is one other Third Gen I am still waiting to find for a good price, and that is am 82-83 Z28 Crossfire. Preferably an 82 Indy car. So, Im thinking the 87 would make a better race car, and a Crossfire would make for a neat cruiser.

I would be looking at probably running Street Prepared. While I'll save technical questions for other parts of the forum, I'm wondering if anyone in the Calgary/ Airdrie area can help point me I. The right direction for getting involved in autocross? Also, I am hoping to join the Calgary Camaro Club. Lastly, many years ago about 2001 when I and my two Trans Ams, my friend from work and a few other guys from these forums started a local Third Gen club, does anyone know if that still exists?

Sorry for the huge post, just excited to be back in the community. Also if anyone needs help finding TPI,Crossfire or any general Chevrolet parts, or is in need of a safety or out of province inspection, please feel free to PM me and I will talk to my boss at the Corvette shop, we have lots of stuff laying around.

HP52TA

iTrader: (4)

Welcome back to the Third Gen life! Good to hear there are some more track oriented builders in Calgary.

Sounds like you have the perfect combination of work as well, as those skills definitely help to make things much more affordable. I would go slow on the two car build until you have fully budgeted for that first autocross car you desire. This hobby seems to spiral out of control and stock never seems to be enough, especially if you are looking to be competitive.

I am building mine to be a road course car in the long run, but due to lack of tracks in close proximity, it has been tweaked towards a drag car for the time being. With the demise of Race City Speedway, it looks like it will be a few more years before we have a road course nearby, but new tracks will soon be popping up in Edmonton and Rimbey.

For info on Calgary autocross events, keep an eye out on http://www.beyond.ca/. I have found this to be the best location to find when events are happening, as they are not advertised very well.

I wouldn't worry too much about driving an autocross car on the street. The castor / camber on these cars is very easy to adjust for an event and can be returned to street configuration in minimal time. Biggest concern I would identify for the combination of track and street driving is spending the extra money on a good twin disc clutch to satisfy both driving requirements. I am running a single competition clutch to handle the power of my LS1 and it can be a pain on the street when dealing with stop and go traffic.

Good luck and hope to see you around.

duderjay

anybody in calgary still check this site out

woottang30

iTrader: (1)

I just moved to Calgary myself, only to find that the track scene is pretty minimal haha.. I see that drag racing has fallen out of favour here, can anybody who's been here a while enlighten a new Calgarian with some info on the auto-cross scene (events per year, location, etc)?

HP52TA

iTrader: (4)

Welcome to cowtown. Looks like you have some nice mods done to your car, any pictures?

Lot's of options to be had here for competition.
http://www.cscc.ab.ca/

Only thing local is autocross and rallys.

I am in favour of the Time Attack events at the moment, but hope to do some drag racing later in the year. Most events are held at Castrol Raceway near Nisku. (Just South of Edmonton), other option being Medicine Hat for drag racing.

Lots of road race tracks brewing around the local area, but unfortunately none with drag strips... which I just don't understand.

RTGTA

Figured I would fire this up again. Back after a very long (too long) hiatus. I' about 2 hrs north west of Calgary. I had a 90 GTA, worked on it a lot, sold it, bought a 95 TA, worked on it and sold it. I then focused on school and life for a bit and just this past Wednesday I bought a 1989 Camaro IROC with 70 000 original miles. Very clean. And now I'm back on the boards. Hello all my Calgary third gen enthusiasts!

That's all. I didn't have anything helpful or useful to say lol

stroked_out

hey guys,
just joined the site shortly after i got my z28. its an 83 z28 with a 383,posi and 373 gears. I'm in the process of restoring the body and working out some minor issues. ill be sure to post up some pics once i get the car cleaned up.

reddawg

Welcome to the boards. It's a pretty quiet site these days, but I'm sure there are a few of us that still check from time to time. Good luck with your resto, it sounds like you should have it ready for the summer

RTGTA

Hey reddawg. Are you THE readdawg? Like the announcer from the Roughnecks games?

stroked_out

thanks reddawg. I'm hoping by spring to have it wrapped with vinyl, cheery metallic red with gloss black ground effects. Does anyone from the calgary camaro club still meet?

reddawg

Not sure! Google their website.

HP52TA

iTrader: (4)

Spotted - Teal Firebird with a 3 or 4" scooped flat black hood, big boots on the back.

Was cruising North on Stoney Trail today, looking drag race cool! Anyone from here?

skinny z

Hey Calgary or surrounding area.
I'm looking for a single electric fan for my Camaro. Mine fried the other day and I need a replacement. I'm coming to town today (from Edmonton) and will be around for a bit. Thought I'd throw this out there.
Thanks.

TinnMann2

Has anyone been to David T's camaro firebird junk yard in Edmonton? He sure has alot of inventory. Just wondering how his prices are, i have heard he takes every camaro and bird he can get his hands on, even from other junk yards so he can own the market on parts. Any truth to that? I kind of want to stop there just to see it, the place looks like heaven!

skinny z

I've been to his place a couple of times.
Never into the yard. His store front has some cool stuff. Very personable guy.
Generally speaking, yes, I'd say his prices are high...but fair (depending on how you look at it).. That said, our options are limited. Often, importing something from the U.S. isn't entirely practical or worthwhile. So we're stuck with Kijiji to try and find something local. If not, there's David T's.
And local 3rd gens don't seem to last long around here. At least the cheap ones don't. Could be something to the story that he buys up the local market.

Canadian_Camaro

Hey all,
After tragically losing my '88 IROC to some thieves in 2004, I'm now looking to get back into the game. This time instead of being a starving student with a beat up daily driver, I'm going to invest in a collector.

My neighbour is selling his '89 IROC and it's in good enough shape that I can do the minor cosmetic repairs to bring this baby from good to great. It doesn't have a lot of miles on it, and is the TBI, so a simple to maintain machine for me.

I need to prove that I can make this purchase an investment, and not a deprecating asset. What suggestions do you have for a first timer getting into the classic car scene?

CC

skinny z

I suggest that you pose that question over in the history forum.

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/history-originality/

There are several people there with a real insight into these cars and what their market values are and might possibly one day be.
For what it's worth, Forbes (I think it was) just published an article on 3rd gens becoming part of the collector/investment market. Later model IROCs specifically.

Canadian_Camaro

Awesome, thank you very much, I've already found a lot of useful threads in there.

I'm googling that Forbes article and still looking for it, if you happen to know where it might be, that would be very appreciated.

skinny z

It was Bloomberg, not Forbes. My apologies.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...classic-camaro

Canadian_Camaro

It's all good, I found a few great articles along the way. Thank you for this.

skinny z

Anytime. It's a part of these forums that I like. Providing and finding information.
Good luck and keep us posted on what happens.

Anomaly

The most valuable Thirdgen's are going to be the cars with low low miles, or historical provenance; (the 1LE's, The players challenge series cars, TTA's, etc). Aside from mileage\condition, You can use the RPO codes found on the bottom of the console lid to verify what factory options the car had. (Verify that the VIN on the RPO code sheet matches the car! Many of these get replaced over time!!) The RPO codes will prove what trim level the car is:

For example:
1985-1987: B4Z (IROC RPO code, will show Z28 RPO )
1988-1990: Z28 (no specific iroc rpo code these years, just Z28)
Aside from verifying that the car is a real IROC, you can also determine the factory engine, transmission and rear gear ratio and what options it had from the factory.

What I'm getting at; If you're after a car as an investment, you want something that's still Original, low KM's, and in relatively good shape, that you can back up with documentation (recipes, build sheets, RPO codes, etc) and a desirable set of options: 350 L98, T-Tops, factory bilsteins, etc etc

As far as an investment, it would depend on what you can get the car for, what exactly it needs, and what your expectations are that you can sell it for. If it needs paint or a lot of body work, the odds of seeing a return on that investment in the short term are pretty slim!

Maplehawk

New to this board.
Calgary Firebird owner and member fo the Calgary Firebird Club

Teal Shark

Hey. I'm just south of Calgary area

HP52TA

iTrader: (4)

Teal Shark

Sorry no, that wasn't me LOL my entire interior is out of my car right now...Mine is a 1982 Camaro with a 6" black cowl hood btw