Stumbled upon this car and figured I'd post the link since there are many pictures of the less common autoform conversion. I'm hoping this could possibly help someone, or atleast be nice to take a gander at..

eBay Motors: Chevrolet : Camaro (item 4631439471 end time Apr-25-06 12:53:37 PDT)

 

that price is crazy for a bad conversion .
there r alot of fools out there

 

You must not have one! Don't knock something you don't own!

My 84 Autoform was appraised at $16,500 and that is what she is insured for. No, it is not greatest job compaired to today's standards, but when considering the times GM was going through in the late 70's and early 80's, it is not too bad.

I get more compliments on my car at the car shows than other vert owners do because of her uniqueness. It is very cool to own something that was very limited in production (good or bad) than it is to have something eveybody else owns.

I realize that everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but even then, some discretion should be used when expressing them.

 

Whether its a bad conversion or not is more a matter of opinion than anything. I don't think it's very "pretty", but I think it is extraordinary ... and the average Joe has never seen one of these.

I, personally, would love to have one of these cars. Especially with the TPI. And in 10 or 20 years, it is going to be worth WAY more than any of our verts!

 

In the pictures, it looks like there is a buldge above the tail lights. Is it really there and if so, what is it for?

 

In the rear spoiler on each end is a bulge. This is where the hinges for the hard tonneau are.

To see more pictures of my Autoform car, see my homepage here at

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2101599

 

looks pretty fugly too me

 

Damn! You guys are some heartless bas-tard-s!

toddztoyz ... you can laugh all the way to the bank at these fools.

 

My dad has a white 83 and the top was jsut fixed and i love the car and can't wait to get my hands on one or even an Iroc 88 vert
they are just different and to see some people think that they are as kool as i do is great and i really dont know how to explain but i hear all these people talking and even on that ebay auction the guy said they made them from 84-86 and well my dad has an 83!!!! very extraordinary im so stooked to get it out this summer and finally get to drive it and help him work on it

Its a great person and i think it is one of those u have to see in person to respect it

p.s. the 83 has more "glitches" then the rest i believe but it makes it that much more special absolute engineering marvel for its time if u ask me

sorry for the long post

 

sweet! never even seen one before! looks like it was a cool idea anyway and back then it probably was stylish. definatly kool !!

 

Yeah! Well, people will just walk by your car cause it is just a plain, run of the mill, everybody has one convertible Z!

I guess you have your opinion, but I think other would disagree!

 

i was not bashing on your car...so i dont really see the need for you to do so to mine? i just merely stated that the particular car posted at the FIRST POST in this thread is ugly...thanks for the insight on my "plain jane everybody has one convertible Z28" though


EDIT!

i'd also like to add that everyone can have their own opinion about that car, it's nobody's car on here, it's a "nuetral" car if you will....but then you go and slam my ride? pretty low man...

and another thing i'd also like to add while i'm on my soap box...there's no such thing as a "plane jane everybody has one Z28 convertible"...wanna know why? cuz NOT EVERYONE HAS ONE!!! THESE CARS ARE RARE...many have been wrecked and totalled...hardly any are in good condition...but i guess that doesn't matter, it's still a plain jane Z28 convertible...that's an oxymoron...a PLAIN JANE Z28? double you tee eff

 

ok did anyone read the part that says the car redlines at 7k.

 

OK, well gcgarner and I thought you were the way your post appeared. Maybe I just took it wrong. My appologies if that was the case. At technically, I was not raggin' on your ride, I was stating that people will walk right by your convertible (your style convertible) to check mine out (the two seater style that I have). I was not intending on it coming out the way it did, just as I guess you didn't intend on your post being taken the way that it was taken.

Any way, enough said! Lets just forget about it and agree that the Autoform cars are unique in many ways, good, and bad! I agree that the conversion was probably not up to todays standards, but it was a great attempt at bringing back droptops to the F-body.

On another note, you are right that there are not as many convertibles still around as there are hard/t-top cars. According to the info I was provided, there are even fewer cars like mine. I know of only three others in my state.

Anyway, my appologies for the misdirection of my post. We both love the thirdgen's anyway!

 

Ya..what he said....

 

I think you meant to direct that at BlueZee ... I was totally supporting your car.

And let's face it ... any Vert Thirdgen is a B-A-D-A-S-S ride! Unless, or course, its a six cylinder! Just joking around ...

 

how do u get a stock tpi to redline at 7k??? i thought they died out at about 5,000 to 5,500rpm, or is that just me? cuz thats roughly were my bros camaro stops pulling.

 

mine goes up to ALMOST 7,000 on the highway if i go WOT in overdrive...mostly because of a slipping tranny though

 

that hardly counts, the one on ebay id hope doesnt have a slippin tranny

 

holy schnike!!!! That is one slick car!!! Talk about a head turner!

Buddy may have been exaggerating the performance a bit, but hey, it is sweet. (he lives in vegas, hmm...)

Thanks for posting this 90firebird

 

the part where the snaps hold the top to the body looks like crap. with the top down it looks neat as can be. i'd have to leave the top down all the time.

 

Yeah, I hardly ever put the top up on mine. Fortunately, she is not my daily driver so I only drive her when the weather permits. The farthest I push my 5.0 H.O. is to around 5900rpm when it shifts. Anything much above that is just wasting gas and risking the engine because there is no usable torque above that.

 

I would assume that's where the tach ends. He just put that to make it sound cool. Ofcourse a stock TPI, or modified (maybe?) will never see 7k.
----------
Oh this is good.

Really gotta watch out for those 305's. They are a bitch to control.

 

I have tried to find out as much as possible about mine but the info is limited. Mine is an '85 Trans Am convertible. It is white with a white top, black and grey interior and has 14,500 actual miles on it. It had the original tires on it until I replaced them when I got it. They were just worn out and dry rotted. It has the original belts, hoses etc on it. I was tempted to replace the stuff but it is all in great shape. I guess I will find out when one of the hoses pop! It has the performance suspension but not rear disc brakes. It is really slick but like a car its age needs a few things to be in tip top shape such as corner of the top needs repair and I need new snaps. I have a bid from a top company to do that for 175.00. I need the ding doctor to do a couple of small places on it. One was when I had the new tires put on, the tire company couldn't get the top snapped and beat on the side and put a ding where the snap was. Too late when I noticed it but they did tell me it was raining and they had a heck of a time getting the top snapped! I could have murdered the bunch. Anyway, easy fix. The top part is yellowed and I was going to paint it but a paint shop said it was gel coat so needed to be wet sanded out and would come out. I buffed it and it is shiny so good enough for me. The interior is completely mint. Looks like it hasn't been sat in. Tight and it sounds awesome. I do agree with the person who posted about the attention. When I drive this thing, people look past corvettes to see it as it is so uncommon. I have no idea what it is worth and have thought about selling it. Mine is probably much nicer than the one in the photo on Ebay. Again, with only 14,500 miles on it, it is very nice. Not perfect but very nice. I posted photos a long time ago but they were done with a poor camera and the car had been sitting up for about 4 years when I pulled it out. I will take photos tomorrow and post. If anyone can give me an idea as to value it would be appreciated.

I also have an '85 T-top car I bought new in '85 and just hated to part with. I am redoing it now. I got it painted with a cheap job but looks good. I ended up spending so much on everything else, I had to back off. I spent about 4,000 on it so far but it is tweaked pretty good. Now just need the seats and carpet/door panels done. It still looks awesome though. I will try and post a photo of it next.

 

This is of course not my convertible but my other '85 I am fixing up. As I said in the last post, I bought it new so am attached to it. This was what it looked like straight out of the paint show and after I washed the dust off of it. I have yet to get the paint out from under the wheel wells and in different places. They were sloppy but just going to take some cleaning. I have new door top moldings, door weatherstripping, and tons of new parts for it that I still need to install. Again, hope you don't mind it being posted in this part. If it needs to be moved, thats fine. I will post the convertible tomorrow. Oh, one last thing. I was going to try and get the wheel centers painted but no luck. I am going to do it myself. I bought them in I think 1987 and put them on and the paint is bad but nice wheels otherwise. The car up close has flaws but not bad. When I am finished with the detailing, it will be pretty nice.

 

That Iroc on Ebay is made by Autoform which is the company that built my car. They say ASC at first then they say Autoform. Not sure why. I guess they are confused. I looked really good at the photos though and one thing he isn't telling is the top is not original. Why is that a problem? Well the top doesn't fit the car and it will rain in the windows. Look on the side where the top meets the weatherstripping. My top is original and wraps around so it seals. Not perfect but it does the job. This one is not even close and doesn't have weatherstripping on the top at all. Even the snaps are not all there. Needs paint also? I can't believe people bid it up so much the first time. I am curious to see what it does. Maybe I underestimated the value of my car. If that one is worth 22k mine is worth 50k and I know that is a joke. I was thinking mine would be around 16k, but just a guess, just due to the low miles and how nice the car is and somewhat of a rarity I guess. Anyway, just thought I would point that out. I have seen a few of these cars and most have screwed up tops that were not done properly. Oh, one other thing someone posted about knowing about an earlier model and before 84-86. Well I also know of one. I have known the people for years and I think they got it when it was new or close to new. It is an 83 Trans Am and is almost identical to my car as far as conversion goes, so I would think it had to be done by the same company. It is also in the Austin area.

 

It was starting to get dark when I just got the photos taken but will take more in the daylight tomorrow but at least had enough light to take photos. I went cruising in it this evening for the first time in a loooong time. I think I have driven it about 200 miles max in 5 years and I am going to start driving it more as it is a waste just sitting. I just looked and it has 14,665 miles on it. It is an '85. I will post other photos in the convertible section. OOPS, it won't let me. I might have to delete these first.

 

Am I the only one that noticed the car is claimed to be #523 and then later he says its a #543. Call it what you want, something ain't right. I'd like to see more official information on these cars.

 

this site has good info and pics on Autoform conversion
it even has an orignal brochure ,

Autoform Firebirds Lot#1

 

Some guy sold me a color copy of the brochure for the cost of the copy. Nice guy, can't remember who but I really appreciated it. I really don't have much other info. I have something that says Mine is 1 of 5 (or around that), but I have no idea what that means as I know there were more than that made in '85. I have seen a few come across Ebay to know there are several around. Most didn't sell. One I did see sell. I can't remember but think it was something like 5 or 6,000 and I believe it had about 50k miles plus on it but needed a little TLC. It is the one posted on the link just posted about Autoform, red car that says little known about it.

 

I just saw the convertible on Ebay sold for 15,099.99. Not bad for them considering it could use paint and was a driver. I think they got a great price. Way more than I would have thought. Heck, mine has to be worth more than what I had thought which was just a guess.

 

That might have been me that sold you the photocopy of the original brochure. I have sold a couple of them to people, one of who sent it in to that site to post up (so he could get his name mentioned).
When I get an extra original brochure, they sell for around 35 dollars.
Those are some nice cars, and I have seen quite a few in person.

Enjoy,

George

 

You know I think it was you. You made a photocopy at Kinkos I think and mailed it to me. It helped a lot. It was maybe 4 years ago. To Cedar Park Texas not that this should ring a bell. I remember you talking about having books about trans ams, etc. I am really just getting mine out and starting to enjoy it a bit. I figure it would have to find a new home if I wasn't going to get to use it any as it is just a waste of money and a good car, sitting covered up. Thanks once again for the copies.

 

Yep,
It was me! Hard to believe it was that long ago!
Glad you liked it.
Glad you are enjoying your car too!

Have fun,

George

 

This should make just about everybody mad. But it's only my OPINION.

First of all, we all know that the car isn't worth 22,000. Thats low mile 1LE or turbo TA territory. Both rare and legitimate performance cars.

Secondly...Way back in '95 when I bought my 89 IROC, the lot (believe it or not) had an 84 (I think) autoform convertible for virtually the same money. I liked the color (red) on the 84 better, and the condition was nicer than my 89, but I went for the ASC IROC convert over the autoform job.

I've never regretted it. It came down to looks and the fact that I wasn't willing to settle for less than the tuned port motor, which was a milestone in the return of the performance camaro.

The ASC drop top third gen camaro is, hands down, the most beautiful production car out there for the money. You've got to get into some really exotic stuff to beat the style of these cars, top up or down.

The autoform cars are interesting, sure enough, but will ultimately be collectable mostly for their 'odd' appeal (e.g. monte carlo aero coupe). The top, when up, looks homemade. The marine hardware looking chrome trunk hinges are wildly out of place on a car otherwise and intentionally devoid of chrome. The bumpy turtledeck, though a cool idea, throws off the nearly perfect visual balance acheived by the ASC version.

It's superior appearance and utility is the result of the ASC design's much more sophisticated engineering and execution.

Low production numbers alone does not a collectors item make, and when it comes to third gens the only cars that stand a chance in the near future are the tuned port convertibles, the Turbo TAs and the 1LEs.

I don't feel this way because I own an ASC vert, I own an ASC vert because I feel this way.

Remember, it's only my opinion, and yes, I know I'm an *******.

 

I do agree that everyone has their opinion and that is the reason there is so much diversity. Wouldn't it be boring if we drove the same things? The guy asking 22k sold for 15k and I think that is too high myself but that is my opinion. Mine is the tuned port injection and does have low miles and is a nice car. How much is it worth? Man I have no idea. I just know it is a neat vehicle to drive. The top is a sore point with me as with such low miles I am going to have to do some work on it. Only 175.00 for a corner repair and new snaps, but still not fun. I don't like the snaps myself but do like the top. It is quieter than the other vehicles as it is an actual hard top under the canvas. The sides are canvas of course but the extra helps not only the strenghth but it is really quieter than I had expected. I have to take really good care of the top as to have a new one made could cost me a couple of thousand dollars as they are custom. That is another drawback. Mine is an inside car and always has been so I don't expect to have to replace the top at all. Anyway, thanks for taking the time to post and express your opinion. I love all of these cars. As I had said before, I still have my '85 T/A t-top car that I bought new in '85. The style really caught my eye then and it still stands out in a crowd and doesn't look like an old car.

 

I just can't get behind those cars. too much butt there with the rear seats "deleted". if the car was shorter I would say right on, given it is not I just don't care for it. my

 

I think its beautifull, I would LOVE to have one of these over a normal vert any day.

I think its funny how all these people in these message boards "love, cherish and appreciate third gens* but when it comes down to it, they knock a truely unique special edition third gen.

I love it, I wish I had the money to buy it.

 

While I don't think it's nearly as pretty as an ASC vert ... I do think it will be a rare collector's piece one day.