What do you mean "what's the difference"? A car with 4 miles having tires that have 37k would not be a good choice. Those tires usually only last for about 20k or so depending on how the car was driven. It has nothing to do with the drivability of the tire but the look of the worn out tread on a car with 4 miles!

 

i kno that. theyve already said theyre jsut gonna let the car sit. my point is if ur not drivin it then tires do not matter. if everyone is sayin leave the car as they found it in the trailer then clean up the junk tires and put em on.

 

yeah but what scott is saying is that a car with 4 miles would not look good with tires that have no tread left. your right it dont matter how crappy they drive, but it does matter how much tread you can see.

 

We get it!..You want to see the car driven!..But that isn't what this car is about.Whether you like it or not,it IS a time capsule of sorts.I think we can spare ONE car for this purpose,don't you?By the way,Scott is right,a new car should sit on new tires...my TWO cents.....BILL

 

i get it too! most people don't! im just expressing my opinions..just like everyone else has expressed theirs

 

........everyone chill, I only posted the link as an ALTERNATIVE to not being able to find "NEW" gatorback tires. I'm aware the car would be better off with tires with tread, but until he finds those, these could be used till he finds the perfect set. I'm sure whoever purchases the car would be willing to let them go for a really cheap price due to their mileage. And honestly, I have 40,000 on my tires and they still look good when cleaned up. I have them off regularly and inspect them whenever I take them off and they still look more than decent enough to drive. I know it's a different tire, different tread life, and I will be changing mine very soon just being I do daily drive my car. Being this car will not be driven, and if those tires are anything like mine...they'll be perfect for shows FOR NOW. Someone mentioned it's just more money not needed to be spent...but you never know what kind of deal he'll get until you ask. Again, just an alternative.

 

I am the owner of that 92 formula. Well, I was the owner, the car is now sold. In either case the tires on that car are not correct for the iroc. They are ZR rated. Kieth needs a set of VR's.

 

Thank you for posting that information up.

 

Hi all
I am new here but that dosent mean I am un third gen savvy!! lol I wanted to say that this site is fantastic and a god send for people who are into 3rd gen. camaros. I wish this site was around when these cars roamed the streets back in the day!! A hat tip to those responsible for setting up this site.
I always loved camaros ever since my first ride in my mothers boyfriends 78 z28. He was a upper level manger at a gm plant and could order cars alot different then what the public could. his car was a beast factory stock. I will never forget the rides in it! I remember when 82 rolled around. I wanted a license soooooo bad I could die after seeing the new camaro for 82. I didn't care about how fast it was or what other cars could beat it in straigt line performance. I just thought it was fantastic!!! I finally got my license in 1984 but mom had just bought a brand new chevette!!! UGH!! remember those!! Well after dying for one for years my mom (who was very cool lol) decided in november 85 decided to buy a camaro!!!! Yes I still lived at home lucky me! She traded in the old chevette for the camaro. I remember when we were at the dealer she was trying to get a z28 but they were out of her price range. Then the sales man brought us out back and showed us a 1986 sport coupe that someone ordered and did not want it when it came in.
It was loaded. It was metalic silver with body color mirrors which was rare for an 86 sport coupe. It also had t-tops,black custom cloth interior,d80 rear spoiler, power group,fog lamps and yes the lg4 v8 amen lol!!!! To me it was like driving an l69 car lol!!! I remeber the next night I had to go to work and I asked her if she could drive me and she said to me take the car yourself. CAN YOU IMAGINE!! I was ready to die!!! Well the ride to work was orgasmic lol I rember hearing ABC'S HOW TO BE A ZILLIONARE on the delco radio I was in love!! A few months later the poor beast was running very badly. She went to the dealer and they couldn't fix her either. Well we found out that they sent our camaro to a place where gm engineers work called the DRC CENTER. You hard core gm mechanics know about those places. This is where they would send basket case cars dealers could not fix. Well when it came back it actually had an l69 cam installed. This car was a big time sleeper!! The only lg4 sport coupe that could turn high 14's in the 80's. I know that is not a big deal now but back then it sure was!!! I was in high school and tech school at the time for auto mechanics and got to work at alot of chevrolet dealerships upon graduating in 1986.
I have driven a ton of 3rd gen camaros and have worked on them also. I even worked in the parts dept. also at chevy dealers. I loved all gm even the wicked monte ss from the 80's
The reason I am typing is I wanted to touch on this 4.3 mile iroc story. Please before all the haters come out this is my opinion and their may be others with the same opinion also. First off I watched the you tube vid of when the buyer cubancigar smoker found and bought this car. man get excited!!!!! When do you find anything with 4 darn miles on it that is that old!!!! lol!!! Heck I would have been excited if it was an 85 chevette with 4 origanal miles!!!
Next up is this person who is working for this old guy who bought this thing. new85iroc or something like that user name. I know you said you detailed cars or something like that and are very detailed oriented and such. You may be. I don't know you but let me say as dirty as that car was and the money is no object attitude of the owner you should have had a proffesional car detailer or super high quality body shop look at the car and help in the cleaning and or paint cleaning. I don't think you detailed cars for like Jay Leno or anything and a car that dirty needs different handeling. I know everyone has opinions on this poor car and I guess I am no different. You may think I am an A-HOLE and thats fine also. I have been around these cars for along time. All of the people who are trying to help this person find parts for this car seem like fantastic individuals. But this whole project seems a little half *** to me. The owner of the car is even like some big mystery man and dosen't want anything to do with this site or any notaritey. What the heck did you think was going to happen when you bought this car man!!! This car is a great survivor. Yes it only has an lg4 but hell any 20 something year old camaro with that low mileage is and should be a big deal!! I think this car should have been handled alot differently and and not rushed. I have seen way better cars on here with super low miles. The time that car sat was not it's friend and for what was paid for it you could have gotten a way nicer example and so what if it had like 2000 orignal miles. I think if it was such a big deal a car mag such as HOT ROD or POPULAR HOT RODDING, SUPER CHEVY and others should have donated time and or resources to help finish this car.
Oh well take care all

 

I disagree with your comments on having a professional detail this car. Keith has been setup with the best detailing products, plenty of advice from those that know how to do the work and the dealer service/body shop as a resource. My opinion is that an enthusiast will take more pride in the finish and outcome than a pro looking for his next paycheck. The results of this will hopefully be seen at a show this weekend. Also, he is an IT person, not a detailer. Do you really think he has access to a Jay Leno type detailer or a Reggie Jackson type detailer? I won't let a pro touch my car!! I know all the details of it and can do a much better job than the supposed "professional".

What people don't know is that the car was waxed a few times before he tried to clay bar it. Not the right sequence, but it worked because he had the passion to complete it. The car has been buffed a few times with a professional grade buffer and a finish polish to get any paint imperfections out. Doing this on a black car can easily leave swirl marks if done incorrectly, but I understand that there are none, which means it was done correctly. The hood louvers were removed and cleaned by hand so that all the dirt got out from underneath them.

The owner is a collector. He's entrusted this rare car to an enthusiast with a "can do" attitude to get it right. I respect the owner for this because throwing money at things doesn't always get you the best results. Keith has a personal relationship with the owner and has been entrusted to "fix" the car. Based on what I know, he has done a fantastic job.

Welcome to TGO, but the negative aspect of your first post will turn many people off.

 

So guys I had the pleasure of SEEING this car in person! Keith was so kind to bring it to Milford MI to the MiFbody Meet and Great event! This car is absolutely stunning to see in person! They have done a great job in cleaning this car up and keeping the original writing on the windows! Keith is a great stand up guy I had the pleasure to have a short conversation with him and this car was a total crowd getter! Thanks again for bringing it to the show I know it was well apprieciated! I have a bunch of pictures that I took of the car, I will try my best to post them up!

-Darren

 

i cant thank Keith enough for sharing his experience with this car with all of us. he didn't have to. from what i understand he is doing alot of this on his own time. the car has come a very long way from being recovered from the back of a semi trailer, and we have him to thank.

with him posting progress of this car here i feel like this community is a part of the car. allot of people have come together finding miscellaneous parts for this car. a few people have turned up their noses to this car because it isnt tuned port or 5 speed, whatever. it is what it is, and in many of our opinions it is an amazing piece of history.

thank you Keith for sharing what you do with us. some of us appreciate your hard work.

 

Post the pics up NOW!!!




LOL jk'ing. Those pics will be sweet

 

Thank you for the positive comments, and it was a pleasure to meet you as well!

I am however really disappointed that I woke up WAY too late!! I had polished the entire car, but did not have time to apply wax to it which would have brought the paint to a much deeper shine. I ended up going to bed around 2 am Friday night. I wanted to stay up later to finish the car, but I was already so exhausted, My wife had mentioned I better get some sleep so I don’t does off on the almost 4 hour drive that we were about to tackle!

I also needed to polish the front nose piece some more, and wipe off the few spots of polish that remained and many other small things but I simply ran out of time. I almost called it quits for many reasons. The first is that again ran out of time to try and make the car "show ready", the other is that the enclosed trailer I had lined up for the show suddenly became unavailable on Friday night! The trailer I drove to the show is one I found very late on Friday night. In fact I picked up the trailer at a little after 1:00 in the morning.

The truth is that I have been up to 3-5 AM most of last week preparing the car for this car show. I had waxed this car many times in the past and looked great considering how it looked before, however there were still many imperfections in the paint that really bothered me. Scott had recommended Griot’s Garage products if I wanted to shoot for a near perfect finish so that's what I did. I ordered the orbital polisher and some of their polishes and away I went. The results were outstanding! I could not believe how much better the paint looked after it was “properly” polished. For those of you that got to see it at the show, you should have noticed there were absolutely NO swirl marks of any kind in the paint. It’s just a very time consuming process to cover every inch of the car, and to do it properly. I am not a “professional” but I am extremely picky about vehicles when I detail them. Even though this car is not mine, I have enjoyed doing the work and being a part of this cars restoration process. As I have stated before, I had a “toy” many years ago, and I guess I just miss those days of extreme detailing, meeting fellow enthusiasts, and car shows. Another member mentioned that he thought I was doing most of this on my time. The truth is I am doing ALL the work on this car on my time. I volunteered to clean up this car because I wanted to, I did not ask, nor do I expect payment of any kind for the work I have done. I don’t clean it during work hours because I don’t think it’s right for me to mess with it during the day when I am getting paid to do my primary job.

I can tell you this: If I take this car to another car show, it will be completely show ready and as perfect as it can get. I know I had many, many people tell me how awesome it looked, but I had planned to arrive at the show much earlier, and apply a quick coat of wax, remove the few spots of polish that remained, and wipe down the rubber weather stripping with meguires #40

I was in for a big surprise when I arrived at the show as many, many people came up to the car as soon as I arrived. I could hear people say "There is the 4 mile Iroc" as I was pulling into the parking lot. It was very nice having so many people interested in the car, I just didn’t have any time to make the car look like I wanted it to. What was really amazing is the huge crowd that quickly gathered around the car shortly after I parked it. I met a lot of really nice and interesting people there plus me and my wife had a great time!

I would like to thank everyone who I talked to, and gathered around the car for all of your generous comments and kind words. I will never forget that day, and would love the opportunity to do it again in the future. I would also like to thank everyone from the third gen site for all of your warm welcomes, advice and overall generosity. It has been very much appreciated and a lot of your advice has went into the restoration of this very one of a kind car.

Does anyone have a list of some of the upcoming car shows for F-body cars? I have heard of one in Indy that is pretty big, but I am unsure of the dates.

I’m just glad that the many people who knew about this car, and was waiting for it to arrive got to see it. Even though I was really late showing up , I made it, and that’s what matters I guess.

If I get a chance to take it to another show, I will let everyone know so that they can have a chance to stop by and check it out.

I’m sorry for not posting the past few weeks, but I was a little involved with this car and time was not on my side…LOL

Take care everyone and I will post again soon.

Keith

 

Keith I know how much time you must have put into that car and how many strings you must have pulled to get it to our show but it did LOOK great! I have followed this car since you tube video and I was so happy to see it in person! Thank you again for coming people where talking about this car the second I got there at 9AM and just waiting and hoping that you would make it! This car gathered a huge crowd and I must have went by it 5 or 6 times! In awe everytime, taking pictures lol! I know everyone from my home site (www.mifbody.com) was impressed by the car and you should see the amount of pictures that have been posted on that site! I'll get mine up over here, I'll start working on it now!

 

 

 

 

http://www.mifbody.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=27329 There is all the pictures that I posted on my other site, scroll down and you can see more of the Iroc but I posted above some good ones.

Here is another member over there that also took a lot of pictures of the Iroc check out his photo bucket! http://s107.photobucket.com/albums/m...y%20MG%202009/

 

What is the thing right behind and above the brake booster? I have an '85 LG4 Camaro, and I don't recognize that. Vacuum canister?

 

Unfortunetaly, we can't see any of the pictures over there unless we create an account. Just an FYI.

 

Congratulations on getting the car to your first show Keith. Couldn't imagine the butterflies you must of had! The car looks great! It's like a time capsule for those of us old 'nuff to remember when these first rolled onto the lots. I've had two brand new Camaro's, an '84 Z28 and an '87 IROC-Z. The memories of showing them off for the first time was fantastic. Again, good job and good luck finding room for all the trophies!

Cheers!

 

I think your talking about the link to mifbody thats ok those are just more pictures that I took that I didnt transfer to over here if you follow the photobucket link he has a TON of pictures of this car and I believe you should be able to see that one. Please let me know if you cant...

 

The car looks great, Keith.

Look at all those people crowding around in the pictures! It certainly looks like this IROC was the center of attention.

I still think it needs the front spoiler attached. JMO

 

 

Yeah it was really hard to get a picture of just the car! Everyone wanted to get up close and see inside and crowding the car. I was not around when he pulled up but from what I was told it was like a mod gathering as he entered the lot!

 

This was definitely one of the highlights at the MiFbody M&G. Thank you for bringing it out for us to see. Here are some of my pics...........

 

I think it is undeniable fact that NEW85 has done a fabulous job with this car, I'm very pleased that he's here and the car is in the hands it's in. I do think though, that it's time to install the front GFX LOL. It's been to a show without, we have pictures, the entire interior is unprepped.....let it look like it should IMO!

Also, there was a "CAMARO" license plate made for Third Gens that would look great on the back of this car instead of just an empty holder. It was available during the original run and is black and silver just like the car. Not sure where to find it though. Classic Industries also has the "IROC-Z" one in the same style for cheap.

 

I 100% agree.
Maybe there could be a poll started, in this thread or another thread, about the GFX, just to organize some opinions.

 

i like that idea gregsz, about the whole poll for the front spoiler.

 

Keith,
I think you have done an amazing job with this car. It has come light years since I found it in the trailer. The effort you have put in totally justifies my reasons for not touching it at all. If I would have screwed up the cleaning or the starting of the engine in any way I would have been crucified for messing with the most original third gen Camaro ever and yet there were people who made fun of me for not cleaning it. I learned long ago that you can't please everyone all the time but I think I pleased the one person that I had to. I have a question for you about the original paperwork. How did you handle the transfer of the original title? Were you able to keep it when titling it into the new owners name or have you held off on doing that?

 

Its a shame Keith couldn't have had this at Thirdgenfest. Would have been alot closer than Michigan.

 

Agreed. Apologies to the owner (and his detailer), who has clearly done a great job with restoring the car's appearance while also protecting details like the chalk marks and interior plastics. But putting the front air dam on would really complete this car, it always looks a little odd with it off like it was in a wreck or something. I've yet to see a classic like a 71 Cuda with parts uninstalled, for example... collector cars are of maximum value when they are truly road-ready.

Anyway - the car is gorgeous either way, and is an inspiration to people like me who are still restoring doodads here and there on our Camaros

 

Im still torn about the GFX... If it was already installed, then removed and tossed in the back seat, I would say 100% put it on.

However it was never installed. Its in its original box. Along with its original unused hardware. I know that really doesnt mean much. But I can understand why they'd want to just leave it as is. Probably the last GFX in existance that is 100% brand new never installed.

I think it would look better with it on...but I can see the other side of leaving it off. Either way, Ide love to get a look at this car in person.

J.

 

Easy answer.
Find a second front GFX and install that and leave the other one still in the packaging.
Now it looks right plus you still can return it to orginality if desired at a later date.

 

I had that thought too. But then youre putting non-original parts on...

Er...however it has non-original wheels on it... So I guess that's a mute point.

I can go either way with it.

J.

 

Man I saw pics of this car on one of the other sites i go to and said wow this car is all cleaned up now, nice job

 

Gotta chime in on this, gotta add this to the gallery. Will go through 6 pages of rhetoric later.

 

keith the car looked amazing!!! i wish i could have been there but darren got lots of pictures still i wish i could have see it in person and shook ur hand for doing an amazing job

 

this is so amazing i couldnt believe the first story of the car being in an enclosed trailer and with only 4 miles on it and now to see what you have done with this car its truely amazing i just cant wait till i can get my 86 iroc back up to its beauty good luck with everything and as said before the car will be fully complete with the front ground fx installed it kind of looks naked right now

 

Why do some people want the front spoiler put on? It being off, is part of the cars story.

Personally, I wouldn't have even swapped the wheels out. By changing the wheels, from how it was found, negates part of the history. As would putting the front spoiler on.

That would be like pulling the plastics out of the interior. That's how the car was delivered to the dealership and how it was found after all the years, that's how it should stay, short of cleaning, washing & waxing.

 

Everyone is entitled to their opinion. I don't understand why you would choose to clean and wax it but leave hideous steel wheels on it. You don't understand why I would get original rims and install the front ground effects for the first time. There's no real rule on what's the right thing to do with the car. Everyone here would do something slightly different. It's fun to see what the owner chooses and unless he racks up milage on the car, I won't even think about giving him a hard time about his decisions.

 

What's that old saying? "Everyone's entitled to their own opinion no matter how ridiculous it is"?

I'm of the camp that's just willing to let Keith do what he pleases with the car. I also believe that we've witnessed a true "Urban Myth" unfold before our eyes and that's been a privilege thanks to Keith and his postings here.

Eventually, someday, I'm sure he'll complete the car and drive it as it was intended but after all the hoopla subsides (he's got plenty of documentation to back up his story). I'm pretty sure that for quite some time he'll have the lowest mileage '85 IROC on the planet so whether it's 4.4 miles or 14,400 miles would really matter (to me at least). Might as well get some enjoyment out of it other than polishing it all the time!

 

There's actually quite a few 3rd gens right on this site with cars lower than 15K miles. Scott Moyers, T Towner, Tom 1LE, im sure john okfoz too.

So IMHO i would try to keep it well below 10 miles for the rest of its life.

 

Mine too....

 

Crap, I've fallen out of the low-mile club!!! I'm at 15,153 right now.

I do want to drive and enjoy the car sometimes! It's nice having a low mile car, but it's also expensive. I've done repairs to my car for sitting that some people with 60k miles haven't done. Might as well enjoy it as you want. As the owner of a car, the decision is up to you what you do with it.

 

Yeah me too! I guess the 175,000 miles on my '87 disqualifies me eh?

 

Uh oh! Might as well make a daily driver out of it now, Scott!

I totally agree on the low-mile problems. Low-mile cars look great and show well, but they start having problems real quick when you drive them. Sitting is bad for a car.

My car was only driven 1,000 miles in the first 10 years by its original owner, with almost zero maintenance done. Since 2002 it has racked up an average of 1,000 miles per year -- still not much, but a big increase relatively speaking. I've definitely had to work out some bugs and get the maintenance caught up. Like you, I've had to replace parts that normally don't need replaced after only 7K miles. I also had to mothball the original tires because they were too dry-rotted to drive on.

 

Hello everyone!

I’m very sorry for not posting in a while guys. It has been just nuts at work!!!! It seems like most of the electronic equipment decided to go haywire the last couple of weeks!! I have had to fix many pc's, phone systems, and printers. In fact, I just rebuilt a laser printer yesterday. Installed a new fuser and some new rollers ect. It’s not really hard, just time consuming. Saved the company $500 instead of buying a new printer, so I guess that’s job security lol.

Anyway, thank you all sooo much for all of your very kind words on the Iroc for those of you who seen it at the car show, or have viewed pictures. Like I have stated before, it was shown in a condition less then I wanted it to look like, but overall it looked pretty good. I took a much needed break on detailing since the car show to catch up on some very much needed sleep, but I am going to finish what I have started and do some minor touch up's on polishing, some other odd and ends and then apply a final coat of wax to really bring out the shine. I really would like to attend another car show with the car "show ready" if any of you know of some that are coming up in the near future??

Once I finish detailing I will post some really good pictures for all to see. Well, I am going to head to bed now. Had a really long day today, but will post again on Thursday to answer some of the questions, and pm's sent to me. Thank you again everyone for all of your help, and encouraging words!! It really makes me happy knowing that everyone has enjoyed the progress of this car as much as I have. Until then, take care....

Keith

 

Any new updates? How's the car looking Keith, any other shows you planing on going to? We have a Mifbody summer Meet and Greet comming up in July if your interested in making another trip to Michigan with the car!