Hey guys, I'm looking at a 1987 IROC-Z28 this saturday most likely, and I want to know if you folks would find this to be a good restoration candidate.

It has:
112k original miles
5.7L TPI 350
original red cloth interior
overhead console
original radio (with all the equalizers and whatnot)
etc. All power options, you know the drill.

Basically it's all original and has basically every option available,
4 wheel disc brakes, the works. The guy wants 2800 for it.

The paint is not in great shape at the nose, and it has a surface rust spot
on the right rear quarter as seen in the pictures. I'm trying to find out
if it has any rust on the undercarriage, but apparently it was put in storage every winter for quite a long time.

I personally think this will be a great candidate for a restoration since it's
still all original down to the stereo and steering wheel, and with the decent
amount of miles it would be quite a sight to see. Here are the pictures I have of it.

 

Interior looks pretty decent. But, the body looks like it's going to need extensive work. Make sure you check the under carriage for rust before you make an offer.

I say offer him 2k,,, cash in hand! No more then that. Should be a fun project.

 

It could be a lot worse. If you can do the paint and body yourself, sure. But paint and body is ridiculously expensive if you have to pay someone to do it for you.

 

I would check the under carriage for rust. It looks like a good canidate for a restoration. Good luck.

 

He basically swears up and down that's the only rust on it, I'm going to check it out this Saturday as long as my taxes go through fine. I personally can do body work, and I have connections through one of my co-workers to get paint if really needed. The nose and the right rear quarter and apparently the only places where the paint is flawed, but I was planning on repainting it either the factory color or another shade of red similar to it.

 

Factory colors looked great when they were new. I don't think you'd be disappointed with the color if it were fresh paint.

The thing about rust is that any car that old is going to have some rust to some degree if you can see rust on the upper surfaces. I've got a Mustang that sits in the driveway that had 2 or 3 spots like that, and after cleaning the car and digging a bit deeper there are several rust holes and the rockers are almost entirely rusted out. Just be sure you do your digging before you buy the car.

 

That's what I'm thinking, I would like for it to stay as original as possible if I got it.

I'm really hoping that won't be the case with this one, I'm gonna look over all the undercarriage and rocker panels and if they're as solid as this guy says they are, then I'll most likely be buying it.

My hope is that the only reason it has surface rust there is the paint got cracked there for whatever reason. I may be wrong, but having bought a POS 91 RS I know what to look for. lol

 

Look behind the front wheels, at the various pinch welds, and in the rear wheel wells. Also look under the spare tire in the trunk. Those are the spots I usually see problems.

 

Lol yeah, I wish I knew about the spare tire spot before I bought that 91 RS...
literally right under it was a 4x6 inch square that was cut out since one of the previous owners tried to stop rust.

I'll check everything over, but especially those spots. I'm really hoping this one will be a keeper, it has nearly every option possible, even that stupid overhead console which I've only seen 1 time in person. lol

 

Another place you may want to check is the rear upper shock mounts, these were prone to rust out here in the midwest, also the front strut towers and the floor pans, 2 grand for the car would be good if those areas are still in good shape. Also I see the paint is coming off the front facsia, if you paint the car, Make sure that the fascia was'nt replaced with a aftermarket one. When I had my '87 Painted, it had a aftermarket fascia on it, and the body shop told me to put a GM one on it, I'm not a paint and body guy, But that's what he told me.. Chris

 

Like everybody else said, look for rust. Rust is the hardest and most expensive thing to fix. Finding a stock radio to replace an aftermarket one is cake compared to rust repair.

Make sure you get underneath the car. Look at the floor pans, rocker panels, bottom of the radiator support, and all of the pinch welds. If you're truely looking to restore the car (as opposed to throw a paint job on it and call it done), then it would be worth your efforts to find a rust free car. There's enough of them down south that it's silly to settle for a rusty northern car.

 

Thanks again, everyone.
Yeah Jim, I know how that is, my girlfriend was from Louisiana and she had basically never seen that bad of rust. There are very few places where a car really won't have any rust at all. Sadly, New Hampshire is not one of them..

I'll look everything over, if it's solid I'll pick it up and begin work on it over the winter and spring, hopefully have the body in good enough condition by then to get the stock color repainted. If not I'll just keep working on it until it's ready for that.

 

Bring a bright flaslight if you can't get the car up on a hoist to look for rust. Hard to see in the shadows of the undercarraige.

Good luck.

 

Good call, I'll get brand new batteries for my maglite and I'll buy a high powered, smaller maglite for the tight spots.

 

other than looking for obvious rust, ask him if he has the "camaro" flashlight for the overhead console(he probably doesnt) but if he does it would be good, because they are a little hard to come by and if you do end up finding one they are pricey for a cheap flashlight with camaro written on it lol

 

Looks like a really great car to restore. It looks pretty solid by the pictures.The now actually doesn't look bad, I can't see any cracks in it. Should be pretty easy for the body guy to revive.

I'd take a good look under the car and see what condition the floors and hatch area are in as these cars tend to let go in those areas.

Let us know how you make out.

 

Well, yeah. There will always be some level of "rust" on a car that needs work, the issue is what kind of rust we're talking about. A little bit of surface rust that can be removed with a grinder or light sandblasting really isn't a problem as long as you take care of it. It's the "this car got wet salt water sprayed on it 3 days a week all winter for the last 10 years" kind of rust that you need to watch out for... the kind of crap that's created holes right through the body, or has gotten in-between welded pieces of sheetmetal. This is the type of crap that gets REAL expensive to fix.

Finding a car that's only got a little bit of surface rust is easy, especially down south. Up north, it's only no-winters cars that survive, and most of those are cars that are already in very good shape and cost a lot of money. I was lucky when I found my IROC... it was a no-winters car that was otherwise abused in every way, so I got it very cheap, but it had a very solid body.

 

I see you're from NH. Here's a couple of leads if you're looking for a halfway decent Camaro. They are in Maine but not too far of a ride for you.

http://maine.craigslist.org/cto/1577171426.html 1987 IROC

http://maine.craigslist.org/cto/1580938342.html 1985 IROC

I've been trying to take a peek at the '87 and have gotten a few return e-mails from the seller but he seems to have fallen off the planet. Maybe you will have better luck.

The '85, the woman claims it came stock with an LT1 corvette motor. Unless a time machine is involved I don't see how a car from 1985 can have an engine that debuted in 1992. I tried to explain to her that it was impossible and has to be a swap. She got pissy and stopped talking to me via e-mail, lol.

 

I've actually seen both of those, my only problem is the fact I live in SOUTHERN New Hampshire, which bites horribly as both of those are 3 hour drives just to check out cars that may not even be that great. I wish I lived in a more populated area of the US, it drives me mad.

Lol, an LT1 motor, right. They probably just saw that it had the same intake setup and TPI setup and said it was an LT1, whatever, people are dim if they don't know what comes in a car factory-issued.. oh well.

 

After reading that, I just had to send her an email too!