I have the chance to buy a 1990 IROC-Z 5.7l ht or a 1992 25th aniv 5.7L ht, both cars are very optioned. Which one has the most value now and in the future? Any help would be appreciated.

Mark

 

That's a tough one. Both could be nice. Any pics.?

 

I think the 25th would ultimately be worth more. Although they were nothing more than an appearance package they look good with the stripes.

John

 

Is it a Heritage or regular Z? If its a Heritage I would say the 92. If not, I would say which ever is the most original (paint, interior, etc..)

 

the 90 was a very short production run, they brought out the 91's in EARLY (Jan or Feb) 90, so productin was WAY down

it was also the last year of the Camaro IROC as Dodge bought the rights and named Daytonas "IROC"s

a 92 if NOT a heritage version would be on par, value wise, IMHO

the 90 IROC MAY have some sort of value in the future because it was the last (like the last C2 Corvette, the 67 or the LAST 1st Gen Camaro, the 69, they are both worth more than any other year for the same car)

like others say, pretty much a tie

IF you want an IROC it is one of THE years to have, 89 is a tie in my book, assuming N10 exhaust, IMHO of course (IMHO the dual cat, wonder bar, large rear disc brake cars are better - PERFORMANCE WISE, than the earlier cars, again IMHO)

IF you want a 3rd gen with a 350 and LIKE the big wing, go for the 92

I would choose the 90 as I like the looks of the lower spoiler and the more subdued ground effects, but that is just MY opinion, I LIKE dog dish hubcap cars (sleepers) over the same car with chrome and spoilers, etc

 

THEY BOTH ARE ALL STOCK. THE 92 DOES NOT HAVE THE STRIPES, AND IS IN A LITTLE BETTER CONTITION THEN THE 90.

MARK

 

Firebirds(the Trans Am) actually had publicized "Anniversary Edition" models: 10th, 15th, 20th, etc., that were specifically-packaged models. And being more of a Firebird guy, I'm not really sure what made a Camaro an "Anniversary Edition."

But given that there was such a specific package, wouldn't the stripes have been a major part of it? So without the stipes, wouldn't it most likely be 'just' an anniversary model year car, but not necessarily an actual an "Anniversary Edition?"

 

there are a lot of things you have to think about when it come to what one "will be worth more". if you plan on only driving the car on weekends and keeping it for 20-25 more years then they are both going to worth a lot of money. if you plan on driving it every day then i say go with the car that is in over all better shape. last year Iroc vs 25th aniv thats a tough call in my book.

good luck
let us now what car you buy

 

ALL 92 Camaros were "Anniversary Editions", just not ALL had the "Heritage Package" that gave them special trim (stripes, emblems)

 

Some very good point made in this thread. IMO, two similarly optioned cars, condition and k's the '92. Last year of the body style, low production, better built cars, (the factory did more to improve the rigidity of the chasis) anniversary year (not the option).

Problem is, that some poeple hate the '91-'92 GFX , spoiler, wheels and lack of IROC designation, while the same is true about the '90 IROC (the dislike of the IROC style). Drive train wise, the '90-'92 were similar, better TPI system, stronger rear axles, both had the WC T5 5spd same auto trans, etc... so there is no advantage one over the other. One might argue that the IROC came with the better suspension (F82) while a '91-'92 Z28 didn't necessarily leave the factory with F82, but instead the basic/base suspension (F41 I think). Int - the '90 cars were the first for the revised steering wheel (airbag) and new dash layout, so no significant differences here either.
IMO, it's like comparing a'63 split window C3 corvette to a '65 C3 (based on style, you either hate the split window just like Zora did, or love it just like Billy Mitchell did. (Can't compare the drive lines, by '65 the C3 was a better car than a '63 IMO)
Just my
-Andrew

 

Seriously, I don't mean to argue because I really don't know, and you're prolly right, but...

Isn't that like saying all '87s and all '82s were "Anniverary Editions," simply because it was an anniversary year? But that usually isn't the case. It's usually a special package that designates it specifically as an "Anniversary Edition" car.

Not every Trans Am was ever considered an "Anniversary Edition" during '79, '84, '89, '94, and '99. Even though those were anniversary years for the Trans Am nameplate, only a specific package made it an "Anniversary Edition" car.

And the Firebird came out in '67(like the Camaro did), so does that mean I can consider my '87 Formula to be an anniversary car? No. To my knowledge, there's never even been a formal package to celebrate the anniversaries of the '67 Firebird. So none can be considered anniversary cars, regardless that they might've been '77s, '82s, '87s, or '92s.

In a sense, GM 'celebrated' the 15th anniversaries of both the Camaro and Firebird with the release of the thirdgen in 1982. But that still doesn't make any of them formal "15th Anniversary" cars.

So that's why I'd asked my question. Just because '92 was an anniverary year for the Camaro, wouldn't ONLY the "Heritage Edition" be considered the anniversary model... hence the name "Heritage?"

I realize I'm nit-picking here, but in my mind, this is a very important factor about which car will be considered more valuable in the future. An opinion about what the car is won't be relevant. It's the actual documentation that will make the difference.

So if the '92 really is a 'special' model, then I'd say 90IROC1 should grab it, because he already has a 1990 IROC('vert). That way, he'll have a 'collection' of two different colletibles.

 

What everyone is missing is that the IROC-Z is a "limited edition". The Camaro has been around since the 67 model year. The Z28 has been around for all of those years except 2. The IROC-Z was only available for 5.5 years. It was also the first year for the airbag and newly designed interior, while being the last year for the special edition. Like 1987, the 1990 IROC-Z carries alot of firsts and lasts. I would think that in the future, true collectors will choose the IROC-Z over a standard Z. Even if it was a Heritage Edition, most collectors will know that the Heritage only consisted of appearance items. The Heritage Edition was basically no different than any regular 1992 Z28. The IROC-Z was always the pinnacle model. While trying to predict the future is not one of my strong points, these are my opinion.

 

the IROC WAS the pinnacle version until they wimped it out and offered the base suspension in 89, they came with the 15" wheels ...

so not ALL IROCs are the best of the breed, I say (my opinion here) ONLY the 89-up with the N10 dual cats are the BEST, but I am biased ...

the REAL question is did you buy EITHER one yet?

 

al8apex, The IROC-Z was always the pinnacle, regardless. There was no other Camaro (of the breed) in 1989 to compete with it, so even a stripped down base model with base suspension and 15" rims was still the pinnacle Camaro. A base IROC-Z is every much an IROC-Z as a fully loaded model.

 

I will have to respectfully disagree in a sense, while the base IROC in 89 may have been the most expensive vs the "plain" Camaro or the Rally Sport, the BASE IROC was not the pinnacle it once was. You could specify options to add to the BASE IROC to make is equal or exceed the previous offerings, but a base 89 IROC is LESS of a car than the base IROCs of earlier years.

take both of them to any track or autox and you will quickly find that the base IROC (decontented from earlier years) is not even close to the "real" IROC in power, handling and braking (base cars got drum rear brakes)

the base IROC even had the TBI engine, NOT the TPI ...

The RS version in 89 had the same suspension and engine (if you chose the V8) and brakes the base IROC did ...

so I guess we are both right, the base IROC was the most expensive car in the Camaro line (except the convertible), so I guess that makes it some sort of pinnacle. However the base 89 IROC was NOT a pinnacle of performance, handling or braking ... you had to add the "old" IROC standard features (suspension & engine options) to get it to equate (and in some cases, excell) to the previous years.

The 89's with the "good stuff" were a "better" version due to the larger rear brakes (SAME as the Corvette & 1LE) and the higher horsepower from the N10 dual cat exhaust system (avail from jan 89 and later). Again you had to get the correct options to get the N10 exhaust (G92 performace axle ratio was all it took)...

getting back to the start of this thread:

Did either the 90 or the 92 get bought???

 

75,76,88,89,90 5 years

Personally I'd pick the 90 IROC since it's the last year for them, was limited in production and has the newer style dash, only year IROC that does.

 

To answer, all 92 Camaros were considered anniversary cars by GM and got special badging that says it. I think it's limited to the dash emblem. The Heritage cars were the limited edition "special" package.

 

Sorry I have been out of town all weekend at my sisters wedding in reno. I ended up buying the 90 IROC-Z, I am just a sucker for a black car w/red interior. I will post some picks when I pick her up on fri.

Thanks for all the responses. Mark

 

post pics of the vert too.

 

Yep...If the 92 isn't a Heritage Edition, it is just another 92. I'm not trying to downgrade the 92. Before I read this entire thread, my first was the short run of 90 models, and the last year IROC combined with the later dash arrangement.

My vote is for the IROC, value-wise. Looks-wise, the 92. I like the 92s hood blisters over the IROC louvers, and the bigger rear wing.

 

Man I was pulling for the 1992. I guess you could not go wrong either way.

 

I agree. All 1992's were considered Anniversary Camaros. The Heritage will be worth more than a non Heritage because of the special badging and the vin # designation. But 92 was the only year that GM /Chevy recognized all of the cars (RS-Z28'S) that year as an Anniversary Car with special dash badging. The Heritage was an apperance upgrade as well over a standard RS Anniversary.

 

Nicely said, I would recommend the IROC-Z also. It will be worth more than the Anniversary cars just because of the sticker on the doors.

 

Sorry I sold the vert about 8 months ago, it needed quite a few weather strippig pieces that I just could not find. Will post picks of the new one when she arrives. Mark

 

In response to Jay....

The only years a Z28 was not available was in 1975 and 1976. All IROC-Zs from 1985 to 1990 had the RPO Z28. 1985-1987 used B4Z to designate the upgraded Z28 model. From 1988 to 1990, there was no base Z28, so the IROC-Z was the only Z28 model available.

Also, in regards to the IROC-Z being the pinnacle Camaro, it was for all years of 1985 - 1990. Granted, it wasn't very potent in base trim starting in 1988, but the only other Camaro model was the Sport Coupe. In 1989 and 1990, you had the RS. While these cars could be optioned, they were still the "base" Camaro and the IROC-Z was the performance model. My statements are not comparing a fully loaded 1987 IROC-Z with a base 1988 IROC-Z. I'm looking at each year and comparing it to the other Camaro models available that year. In each year of production, the IROC-Z was the pinnacle or top-of-the-line Camaro. A fully loaded 1988 SC would not out perform the base 1988 IROC-Z!

 

Scott, I have to disagree with your assessment.

Since in 1988 thru 1990 All Z28s were IROCs I am not entirely sure if that would carry any significant weight in the future. Granted the IROC was a limited production to only a handful of model years, but when you consider that all Z28's were an IROC-Z from 88-90 I just do not think it would matter much.

On the other hand a TRUE Heritage car was a limited production of a single year, although it was an appearance package, the IROC in many ways was more or less an appearance package on the Z28 from 85-87. I think the IROC got the Wonder bar, and some other suspension upgrades which should have been on the 92 Z28 as well.

I could be wrong, but I think the Heritage car has more weight. If its a Regular Z28 for the 92, then the 1990 would be a better buy.

my 2 cents

John

 

I think that both of you can be right and also be wrong. That's because what is hot in the market place is always fluctuating. Sometimes the demand is performance and sometimes it's appearance. Other times it's low mileage and then it might be low production numbers.
These two models are so close, that when the differences between them come into play, it may not even be that significant. I think 90IROC1 is asking a good question, but the answer may be to just go with the one he likes, not what the future market value will be. It's that close. We good take an educated guess, but in the end it will still likely be just a roll of the dice.