Howdy folks, this is Dirk (and my son Dylan) Found a project car to work with my son before he leaves for college this fall--he's majoring in automotive engineering technology and has been going the trade school route the past two years as part of his HS program. We were very lucky after a few months of looking to run across a bone stock 89' Iroc convertible that is pretty solid. At time of purchase it would fire up but not stay running, but we got it running over the first weekend and drove it to the Firestone my son works at and got it on the lift and were happy to find a clean frame and not TOO many issues we need to address. We will be putting all new brakes front and back as well as replacing a few suspension parts worn over the years. The majority of our time will be spent in the interior. It was stored in a barn for about 5 years and rarely driven--the mice had taken up residence and the interior looks and SMELLS from their occupancy. We'll likely replace the carpet, but the seats are decent and should clean up well. Before we get to body work and paint, we'll have about $4500 into it... There aren't too many of these cars around I am quickly discovering, so it's hard to know what it's value will be when we are done. we aren't looking to have a show car--the goal is to have a good looking, reliable stock car that you aren't afraid to drive on weekends. Knowing the value of the car will kinda steer the direction we take with bodywork and paint... If it's a car that will be worth $12-13K, I would put $4K or so into paint and body, but if it's only a $7-8K car then we'll have to do some bodywork ourselves and go less expensive with the paint.

 

Well i too picked up an 89 IROC vert this past year... in August... paid $5,300. Mine has decent paint that i cleaned up and buffed out. I just spent the winter redoing the interior... carpet, seats, and some smaller items...changed some engine seals to repair leaks... suspension and brakes were good.

I know the Hagerty price guide says these cars are $12-13k put i have been watching prices on a few sources the last 6 months and i never see them go that high.I think cleaned up its $8-10k but that also depends on the market.... I am sure some cities have hotter markets.Now with COVID, i doubt you can even sell a car.. .heck, i cant even register one...

Here is what i brought home for just over $5k.

 

If it's not rusty, you stole it!

OP Good luck! Sounds like your son is going to do great!

I bought an '89 IROC Z VERT, about 4 years ago and just started working on it recently. RED/gray int. 305 LB9 TPI and AT.

 

I think all 89 IROC verts were red with gray interiors, LB9 with AT.....LOL .... mine is

114,000 miles.... not rusty... but somewhat worn... and leaky... fixed most of that.

I got $3k into working on it.....

 

That paint puts mine to shame for sure! Looks very nice... We've got some work ahead of us, but father/son bonding right? LOL Wife walked into the garage at the moment we thought we were gonna have to remove the entire TPI intake/plenum/fuel rail etc.(AGAIN) for a fuel leak and we were both yelling(speaking loudly) at one another. Turns out we were able to tear it down 1/2 way to get a clamp across the fuel rail to cinch in one side of the feul cross-rails. If you've replaced the fuel injectors, you prob know what I'm talking about--not the easiest job to do, but got it done and she's running again. Today we do full brakes front/back--or at least get a good start. My door trim, seals, etc are coming in over the next few days and that's next on the list. Actually figuring out the tach and temp guages on the instrument panel is after brakes.

 

OMG! You stole it!

 

Congrats! Post pics when you can.

 

Congrats to the new owners, and for the great car pictured!

 

Congrats! welcome to the boards... Keep us updated, there are a lot of smart people on the boards that can help with most problems... Keep in mind most everything has been brought up before so you might be instructed to search... Unfortunately I have found the search is useful only when you know what to search for.

John

 

"... Unfortunately I have found the search is useful only when you know what to search for."

Words of Wisdom. Google searching is way better than the Board search tool and most of the time Google's results will lead to the most pertinent threads in ThridGen here. That's why they are worth a trillion dollars and don't have to charge for anything. lol.

 

QUESTION ON a Google search would the words Thirdgen be added?

 

Yes. As an example, a Google 'search' query for wheels would read: Camaro wheels site:thirdgen.org


The VBulletin format that this site uses has been around/in use for almost as long as there have been internet forums. But as long as the site's owner(s) continue to update/debug/maintain it's operating system, it'll continue to work as advertised. And while it's 'search' function works, there's no way it can compete with Google's search engine, which is all-knowing/all-seeing/all-encompassing.