This thread could get interesting... but I'll start with a question based on something I read the other night.

Airdams were shipped in the back of Trans Ams, maybe all thirdgens, and were installed by the dealership before delivery.

True? or False?

I tend to believe that this is true. It makes sense. Airdams hang low enough that when moving the car on/off a car carrier it could easily get ripped off. That and I read it from the information that came with the airdam kit I just ordered for my trans am. Can anyone verify this one way or the other? This may well explain why MANY thirdgens don't have airdams at all... since dealerships may have never installed them on some cars.

 

True, IMO anyway.

 

this IS true.I met the guy that originally ordered my iroc from the factory.He worked at the dealership.

 

This is probably true for ALL, at least the ones with big enough hardware that might cause a problem on a carrier. I know for a FACT that it is true of IROC's and base Firebirds, because I have pics to prove it. It has been very briefly covered before. Check the first post on this thread which is from me, and then look about halfway down at mr.turbota's reply:

https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...hreadid=126112

For what it's worth, the hubcaps are also missing. Here's a picture. The IROC is clearly stripped of the front dam and ground effects. The Firebird next to it looks intact, but a little gamma correction (inset) reveals that there is NO air dam on the car. You can see the chain going up by where the air dam should be.

 

Just to spice things up.. the 87 Trans Am visible in this different angle has all its ground effects installed! I don't know about the air dam though. Too hard to tell.

 

Let the truth be known to all!!!Where in the world did you find those pics?!!!!!

 

Good question.. they were just sitting here on my hard drive and I found them one day, out of luck

actually from David M, as I posted in the other thread. I have many more. it's just that David and I never worked out a good plan to post all the pics without risking getting on GM's nerves about it. Hopefully soon sometime, we'll see.

 

What are they(GM)going to say-"THIRD GEN CAMARO ENTHUSIASTS SHOULD NOT OBTAIN THESE IMAGES FOR RESTORATION PURPOSES<OR FOR FACTS ON TRANSPORTATION OR ANYTHIG PERTAINING TO"
I dont think its a big issue,its only facts!!!

 

please post more of these pics !!! :hail:

 

Yes Please, Pretty Please. Post those pictures. It would help many of us junior types with our resto's. I have never seen a
Z-28/IROC with out the air dams, and I need to pull mine to refinish them. It helps to know what I will find when I remove them before I remove them, not the other way arround.

 

I second that!!!:hail:

 

You can post them all. It will be fine.

 

Hi all!
Living here in So Cal during the build of the third gens, I can tell you that they (the cars) did not come from the factory with the Air Dams installed. They were installed as part of the dealer prep.
The dealer prep also included removing all the plastic on the seats, the steering wheel, as well as removing the white vinyl protecting the glass T-tops. Even the center caps had to be put on at the dealership! They did not come in separate GM boxes, but 4 caps in a clear plastic bag. The floor mats were all in a stack, with a plastic string type tag holding them together. however, the T-top shades came in a sealed box (I still have mine unopened).
I do know for the Trans Ams, even though the Aero Package was installed, the black Air Dam and the black side Air dams were installed at the dealership.
I use to even hang out at the dealerships all the time, watching all the new cars come in! I also got to visit the GM assembly plant in Van Nuys all the time! I got booklets and key fobs from the plant too, for visiting the plant!
Many cars had to be repainted on the aero kits because of scraps as the cars were driven off the trucks! Heck, even my 1989 20th Anniversary Turbo Trans Am had the one side chrome tailpipe scraped! It flattened the bottom of the tailpipe! Pontiac ordered me a new one, and when it came in, sent me to a local muffler shop! At the muffler shop, they told me that they could fix my damaged tailpipe! they put in a cone type piece of metal, and it fixed the thing! It made my tailpipe back to round! I even got the keep my NOS chrome tailpipe!!! If you climb under my car, you can see the marks of the scraping! But only if you lay under the car!

I hope that this helps,

George

 

I can tell that the TA in the back does not have an air dam installed. I would show you what it looks like on my car which by the way looks exactly like that one color and all, if I had a digital camera. But there is plastic present under the nose that is removable to access the fog lights and bumper pad. It isn't present on that car. And those plastic peices connect to the air dam.

 

Could you please post some of the booklets ? PLEAASE :hail:

 

More pics! Info! Nostalgia rules!

 

this is true. in 1 of my account books i have laying around here.. it has a picture of a deisel with abunch of 3rd gens on it (that made my week when i saw this pic) but all the air damn were off and some of the cars the front lowering gfx's were off. looked kinda weird...

 

I really doubt that many cars left the dealerships without airdams. The cars will run hot without them installed. I think most of them just get torn off from driving. When you hit a few parking bumpers or things like that they don't tend to last long.