Ok. This is for those that don't believe the 3rd gen is coming into their own.

NPD (restoration parts supplier) put on an all GM show in Ocala, FL today. The car count was over 670 cars. NPD, being a parts supplier, only carry parts up to 1981 Camaros and Firebirds. Like most shows these days, the 3rd gens aren't represented very well. I pulled up to the gate and was flagged down by an NPD rep. He asked if I would be willing to park my car on the stage instead of on the grounds. I said sure I would. I got up on the stage and found that there were only 4 other cars, all Camaros. A 69 ZL1, a frame off restored 69 SS 396 convertible, a frame off restored 69 RS/Z28, and an early 2nd gen RS SS or Z28 ( I never went to look at it ) I was asked to park with what most would consider the elite of the early years! The NPD rep stated that they never see 3rd gens in this condition and wanted my car on display. The stage was 6 feet above the ground and was also where they did the awards ceremony.

It was bittersweet as my car was parked in the ultimate spot, but the show was participant judged. I heard from quite a few people that they thought those cars were display cars and not part of the judged show. So, I didn't win the award for the 3rd gens. Oh well. Based on the 3rd gen turnout, I would have won if I was parked on the grounds with the others. Congrats to the white GTA that won.

Anyway, this is to show that our cars are getting recognized, as parts suppliers are taking notice at major shows.

 

Cool! Quite an honor for you to be up there alone, screw the award!

 

dang Scott! Congrats on the recognition!!
That car deserves it.I haven't been able to make it to the gmfest the last 2 years now!I'm really sorry I missed this one after seeing that pic.She sure looks sexy sittin up there on stage!!
A good turnout this year huh? 670+ cars.

 

Thanks. Here's a ground shot from a distance.

BTW, they are having another show in Daytona at the end of the month. They are calling it the Daytona Dream Cruise. They want it to rival Woodward. I may be there for that one also.

 

I agree completely. I attend shows regularly, and I haven't been to a show this summer (with the exception of the CamaroFest) where there was another thirdgen.

JamesC

 

Glad the rep had some intellect and good taste. Way to represent!

 

I have to say that with recognition like that, the show award would be a distant second to me. Kudos to you....

 

If you click on the link in his sig you will see it was purchased on 6-10-00
with 6343 miles on her.
If you don't see it,he found it in Rochester Mn.

Frankie,that is SWEET isn't it?

Dmans85,it has nothing to do with taste or intellect.
If you've seen Scotts car in person(which I have)theres no denying that it is a picture perfect example of how these cars looked brand new.
So,this had to happen.
I'm guessing Scotts probably shopping for photoframes right now to encase images of his exceptionally happy day.I mean c'mon,he circled his car in the prev. pic from like 200ft away? as if we didn't see it!LOL! just kidding Scott
perhaps mine will be running for the Daytona meet!

 

Scott, it doesn't surprise me at all. Every show I'm at, my car gets plenty of attention. It's not a low mileage stunner like yours, but you've seen it....it'll turn a head or two!!!!

....I'm not calling anyone out, but the majority of thirdgen, yes, even here on TGO, are not prime examples of our cars. People always complain about recognition, or coverage, or getting our due, but maybe they should be looking in the mirror. You can't simply throw some new 18" rims and a 5" monster tach and expect a magazine shoot.

 

Scott, your car was the star of the day!

 

As we have basically the same car, nice!! This has been going on for a while in my experience, more recognition at shows and just in general everywhere.

 

Thanks for the kind words everyone. I did buy the car with low mileage, however, I still have hundreds, maybe thousands, of hours of detailing into the car. I have taken alot of the car apart to clean the dust and polish and such. For this show, the rims came off and were cleaned on the inside and the wheel wells were completely detailed. On the inside, the dash vents were removed, cleaned with soapy water and replaced. I even remove the vents in the door jamb, detail them, clean everything and put 'em back. With 1000 point judged shows, I've learned that the car can never be too clean. It's all in the details. BTW, I even found some more dirt that I've never cleaned or addressed while the car was on display. Now I need to clean that up!!!

As people start restoring their cars and others start detailing them, we'll start getting more recognition at shows.

As it was mentioned, I found it in southern Minnesota back in 2000.

Not shopping for frames, but I did call okfoz during the show to tell him about it! Oh and I circled it for those that wouldn't know to look up there for it!

I agree with Abubaca in everything he says. Chris has been to these 1000 point judged shows and he's seen what the cars are put thru. Chris, your car is looking good. Now that it's dent free and clean, it should turn heads.

 

You have to remember that when these cars came out it was like a resurgence for Camaro/Firebird/Trans Am. That car is 22 years old and in great shape from the pictures. Anyone that claims to love cars would be nuts to let that car pass by without some serious notice.

Now. I'm not surprised that the interest level in these cars has risen. I drove a 79 like the one I have now while I was in high school. However, I drooled over these third gen cars though while in high school. No way would my parents ever let me have one. My friends dad owned a chevrolet dealership when I was growing up and I vividly remember sitting in a car that same color with a tan interior and just sitting and sitting. It was a '89 and it still had the plastic on the seats. In '91 when I graduated I went down and stared at a light blue non t-top car with the spoiler on it. It had a 21k price tag on it. I left with a 84 S-10 ext cab 4x4. Fast forward to now and I have the bug. Now that I can I want a Iroc or Z28 as my ad states. The point of this long rant is I'm not the only one who feels this way. Many in my generation are going to go out wanting to buy, restore and enjoy these cars. I'm hoping something comes thru with mine but if not, at least I still have a nice Camaro to enjoy.

Sweet car and congrats on getting on stage.

 

Congrats Scott! Looks great up on stage! Nice to see credit being given where credit is due.

 

http://www.users.qwest.net/~nscamaro...s/dubiroc2.jpg

 

BTW, you do realize that you are probably in a hand full or two of people that has been able to be parked next to a ZL1? (if it was real and all!)

 

Check out my website pics at http://www.users.qwest.net/~smoyer/Engine%20Photo.htm

 

Congrats Scott, Its good to see us getting recognized.. Maybe because of this, they'll start making parts for the rest of us!

 

Well they sure aren't getting any recognition up here...or not much.

Been to several different car shows with voting and in almost all cases---noting built after 1970 wins

Despite the fact my car is nicer then 50% of the field and faster then most.

I am almost always the only 3rd gen too. And I am the best as well.

I notice the car with the most money dumped into it ----or has ugly flames, rims and huge blower gets attention---that just makes me sick. VOTE FOR THE LITTLE GUY! Who has really clean car.

That has been....my rant

 

I say congratulations, and well deserved for such a clean low mileage car. Me personally I'd rather have been on the stage anyway.

Damon, give me a year... then we'll talk LOL

Avro... don't let it get you down cuz, It IS frustrating but keep showing and eventually people will recognize the dedication put forth. Even if you NEVER win a single trophy you still have the personal pride of being in the show and knowing you have a winner... even if it takes some folks longer to see that than others.

 

You also forgot about the politics of most car shows. It is all about who you know. I took mine to a show at the local VFW. I think the final total was 77 cars. I'm not saying mine was best of show, there were some stunning cars. I was parked next to a 69 Z28, yellow/blackhoundstooth interior. A drop dead gourgeous car. Too top it all off it was originally purchased at the local chevy dealership in '69. You cannot take anything away from a local car all its life and to be a numbers matching nut and bolt restoration and not get top 15 was a shocker to me. I did notice that all the winners were older guys, bearded up with either a biker jacket, vfw gear on, or had been hanging with the vfw guys all day. At least they could have made it a little less obvious. It is real hard not to find a biased judged car show. That is why i'm a fan of cruise ins, not politicing going on, just hanging out and showing and talking about the cars. I dont need a plaque or a trophy to be proud of my car. However, my car is Camaro of the month over at southeastcamaroz.com
----------
at the rate it is going, you will have a real good chance. i thought trading out of a clean 2nd gen would be easy.

 

Despite the rather sarcastic tone here.... I'm not sure that throwing rims and a big tach on a car is necessarily what the folks here are talking about. I've been to many shows across the US and, despite the fact that I'm sure neither of my cars would pass muster with most of you here either, the statements that are being made are valid points.

You guys and gals with the ultra-low mileage cars are to be commended, but you're in the minority. However, I think the comments were meant to be applied to the ownership body as a whole.

 

I think the cruise nights can be even worse with that, since their trophies tend not to mean much. That's a place where people really take care of their friends, at least at a big car show with alot of different cars and people there's usually a slightly better chance of getting fair treatment.

 

That's almost why I have started to prefer Judged or no award shows... I find when it is a popularity contest that there are usually crappy things that happen... For example I went to a local "Popularity contest" show and there was a early 70's Nova that was rusty, the carpet was missing, the seats were trashed, the hood was closed and the guy got third place in his class... There was about 15 cars in his class too which were not this way... That same show a few years earlier and I took second in my class after the car was in an accident BUT had not been repaired...

The ballots were set up so you voted for a first, second & third for a class similar to the one you were in...

I decided never to return. Forget that, too much heartache when you know you should have gotten something and get politics instead.

Scott actually called me on my cell on Saturday to brag about his parking on the stage... PUNK!...

John

 

First of all, amonst this crowd, I'm sure your cars would do just fine! Most of us that have been around here for awhile pretty much respect everyone's rides, regardless of condition, mileage, etc. etc.

The intent of my post wasn't to suggest that a lot of the cars on this site aren't NICE cars, but rather that our THIRDGEN cars, as with ALL types of cars, have a specific expectation. Case and point, go to any car show nowadays, and almost half the cars there are going to be resto/lightly modded first gen Cammies. Holy crap, if I see another stockish firstgen I'm gonna puke. There's so overdone, and so common...... ...anyhow, it now takes a LOT MORE to win in that class. 10 years ago, they were a LOT more rare. Things change. It takes a lot less to make a first gen firebird standout.

My comment about people putting a big tach and nice wheels not being enough to get a magazine shoot, in my opinion, was accurate. Why? OK, let's throw out the ******* ghetto whiskey tango cars. Let's just talk about NICE thirdgens that have been taken care of. Quite honestly, it's not hard to find a nice looking thirdgen, with nice paint, great wheels, some current interior stylings such as a A pillar pod, billet shifter, big tach, decently modded engine etc. etc. Sure, not as common as 4th gens, but I see 'em out there. But take that car to a show, and it's just a well maintained car with some mods. As a thirdgen fan, I love to see that, but to your average car guy, eh....nice car maybe, but no big deal.
Now take my car. Same description as the previously mentioned car, but my modded engine looks pretty stock, I have stock wheels, interior is 99% stock. stripes and decals are also stock. You could argue that it's "not" as nice. .....but I get TONS OF ATTENTION!!!!!!!! If I upgraded to some aftermarket wheels, made the interior a little more modern, got rid of my stereotypical IROC door decals and lost the TPI, it'd probably get more attention here on TGO, but I GUARANTEE it'd get less on the show circuit.

So to wrap it all up, my point is that "most" of us with nicer thirdgens aren't doing what is necessary to garner attention. I have memories of being a kid when IROCS came out, and that's what I've built. I think other people have that nostalgia and hence I get attention. I've seen nice, more bad azz thirdgens than mine get less attention. Highly modded thirdgens, amongst a car show crowd where gauges and wheels are the norm, just aren't exciting. (yet)

*EDIT*

Just to be clear, even though I claim to be stock appearing, I can't even compare to a car like Scott's. The condition and cleanliness, regardless of whether or not its stock is amazing.

Same to be said for guys like Jeff/Kandied's modded z28. Something SO modded, and SO clean and perfect deserves attention, no matter WHAT kind of car it is....and he HAS received that attention!

 

I've never been to a cruise in that had trophies. All the ones I've been to is a bunch of folks that come down, park, talk, and when it gets dark go home. Those are the best in my opinion.

 

I think one of the BIGGEST things about showing a third gen is the fact that we have a more complecated engine bay than the 1st Gens... in compairson our cars are very technically advanced, I want to think that not too long ago someone told me that cars from the 80's actually had more computing power than the Moon lander in 1969, not more computers, just more power... What this ultimately means is there is more to the car to clean, especially under the hood. The complexity of a TPI engine bay over a Late 60's 4BBL is mind boggling when you start looking at them... There are more things to clean, wipe off, and detail than those early cars, especially when you consider that some of the room in the bay goes to crash worthiness, making it smaller and harder to work on... Cudo's to Scott for the work he does to his car, I know its a labor of love, and his perfectonistic ways, I have never actually seen his car in person but I want to one day...

 

I've seen it...

....it pisses me off.

Just kidding. It's pretty darn nice to say the least!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Congratulations Scott. She is a great looking 3rd Gen!

 

Nice going, Scott!

I haven't spent nearly as many hours detailing as you...I just don't have the patience for it! My strategy is to try to keep the car from getting dirty.

 

Scott, VERY NICE man, very nice. I think there's a fair amount of us and the # is probably growing of well kept, well done cars. I've always gotten (like alot of us) the "nice car, that thing sounds badass, well done, etc, etc" when going to shows and crusies. I can't say mine is as nice as yours but its great to see another one of us who actually cares about the presentation getting some recognition amongst those 1st gens. The 1st gen is a hard group to compete if even compare to when it boils down to the average joe or a 50+ year old judge who grew up with 1st gens and has a personal spot in their hearts for them or any other "true muscle car" as they say.

Good work.

 

okfoz,if you do get the opportunity to see Scotts car in person you will not be dissapointed!
I first saw his car at the first NPD all gm fest @silversprings a few years back.
I had my 81-z there that day,and my jaw hit the ground when I saw Scotts car pulling up about 4 cars away from me.
I was also totally fooled after reading his buildsheet and dealer price sheet.
I thought he was the original owner.
Guess I wasn't paying enough attention that day LOL!

 

Well guys the same problem you all have with 3rd Gen Camaro not getting a lot of attention that is the same way with the El Camino guys. We do not get enough attention as well. They always over look are car as nothing special and go for other cars. I went to a show and two of the cars that won awards (TOP 20 CARS) were cars in the 2000's era. Made me mad that I had a almost Mint Elky and a PT cruiser beat me in the judges eyes! One day are cars will be looked at as classics!

 

Unfortunately I can remember back in the 80's My sister took her car to a show and took second, the car that beat her was a Brand new Gran National, it still had the window sticker and 30 miles... compared to a 1977 Buick Riviera with custom paint and 100,000 miles...

One thing that I like about the Trans Am nationals is they take milage into account. A Lower miles car may be cleaner, but if there are two identical cars, one has 150,000 miles the other only has 3000 miles the high miles car would win. Their theory is that there is a TON more work into a 150K car...

John

 

well that works in my favour! Now can you get them to move the show 1000 miles west?

 

I've been seeing some third gen's at local shows around my way for the first time lately. At the show I went to last weekend there were 2 Irocs there, both in less than show condition, one was a white convertable with both quarters very very poorly bondoed all wavy with deep sanding marks from what looked like 60 grit paper and poorly matching white spray paint, it was also covered with a ton of best in class trophys which was quite laughable, I'm assuming there were no other cars in his class at all of those shows. The other was a bone stock looking blue iroc in decent daily driver conditon but not even close to being a show car. The hood was opened showing lots of dirt, grime, and rusty parts. Still it was nice to see some third gen's, just wish they were in better condition..

 

The crappy 3rd Gens are plentiful at car shows, I have seen it first hand, FORTUNATELY people like you will look at that and say... "Gee I have one nicer than that" And bring it to a show and win a few times... Ultimately More People like Scott will start coming to shows with nicer and nicer cars...

I remember that with the 1st Gens back in the late 80's Most of them were Crap, and then people got serious... Same thing with our cars...

John

 

Firstly, and most importantly . . . CONGRATS SCOTTMOYER!!!!

Secondly, regarding car shows. I rarely get any awards at the shows. A minty original 3rd gen IrocZ vert just doesn't seem to get much recognition (not sure if I should add any irony or humour to that ).
But it does get tons of attention. And the attention is coming from a surprising number of owners who are trying to repair or restore there own 3rd gens. They are quit surprised to see a 3rd gen Camaro that hasn't been modded and is in great condition. Often they send a lot of time snapping a whole pack of pics and asking questions. I'm getting the impression that there is actually quite a bit of interest in the 3rd gens and it seems to be increasing over the years. It's just there's not many great examples. When one is found, many owners are thrilled to use it as a reference to help them with their own ride.
I really like to see that enthusiasm. If I'm able to help others in any way, that often means more to me then a trophy.

 

There were actually a few at this show that were tracing vacuum hoses, checking the EGR setup and taking pics of the engine compartment for that very reason. It's nice to help out even if I didn't say a word. I heard the people talking to their friends and pointing out how things are hooked up, routed and put together.

 

I saw it at G10, that car is slick, but then again how could I not see it.....he was parked right behind us