Chris,87

I've been lurking around this forum for a few weeks and have enjoyed the reading.

Here is my story.
In 1987 I was a sophomore in high school. One night me and a friend were hitchhiking from a hockey game back home when a black car pulled over and offered us a ride. The car had a new paper plate in the window and a guy in his mid 40s behind the wheel, turned out to be the dad to a girl we knew in school. This was the coolest car I'd ever seen let alone rode and then had the privilege to drive.
Black, T-tops, IROC and flat out awesome! Way out of the price range of a 15yr old kid working part time at KFC. Through the years I'd see one, go back in time to that car. Then grew up, had kids and just kept wishing and thinking "someday"!

Well "someday" came in August! I was with my wife and kids, we stopped in to my mother in laws house and there in the driveway was that "someday" car. I asked my wife, "who's is that"? She says its her brothers, since when? Like six years. Now we have been married 16yrs, how is it possible this kid had this car for that long and I never knew it?

We walk in the house, the car subject comes up before my feet have cleared the door way. My father inlay says "its for sale", my brother in law is 22 and has three kids and needs money. He then says it might already be sold. Not long after my brother in law shows up, I quiz him about the car, he says some guy that is a friend of his wifes family wants it, and offered to make payments for a year.
I said I have cash right now! Your broke your kids birthday is tomorrow, you need money now! My wifes neck about breaks to look at me when she hears this. Long story made shorter, I bought the car, she got a 72in big screen haha. I am now the proud owner of the exact car I fell in love with 23yrs ago. Black IROC, T-tops, 350 and in pretty decent shape.
Paint has a few scratches, one small dent in one fender, a little rust on the other. Both doors have some rust on the inside corners and one quarter panel has rust just above the tire. The car is completely original, the old stereo is in my garage. The interior is like new, not one stain or tear.

My friends son is a auto body teacher at the local school, he said he could get all the replacement parts I mentioned and repaint it for a total of 900 bucks! It'll be in the paint shop in two weeks.

Here is my question.
Do I restore the car to mint condition, or go wild. I plan on rebuilding the motor when it stops running. I've thought about carburetors, cool hood, styling up the interior ect... At the same time I wonder if I'd be better off in the long run keeping it stock, in 20yrs what would help my retirement fund more if I needed to sell it? Looking at the long term of ownership, what is my best option? Personally I am indifferent right now, I just don't want to kick myself down the road for turning it into a funny car. Thanks for reading this, sorry its so long. Thanks for any replies.

Stephen

iTrader: (12)

Unless your looking for a restoration for value...Make it YOURS. And if your still on the fence about mods? Store away the original parts. Most of what we do to our cars, can be simply undone with a wrench (or 2 or 3 or 4 or....)

You got a car, she got a 72" TV. She sure knows how to make "compromises"! I'd be happy with a 50" flat screen (32 tube right now). I'd go insane if I got a 72"! (or would i be insane for getting one?).

Drew

iTrader: (58)

I've gone both ways to an extent. My first Camaro wasn't all that great to begin with, and I completely changed the interior, removed the smog equipment, changed the wheels and various other cosmetic aspects. At the end the car still wasn't what I really wanted and overall it was a frankenmaro. Since that first car I've had a couple that I've mostly preserved and done a little restoration work to, while I've also had some go wild beaters. I took a V6 Firebird and started turning it into a Trans Am or GTA clone. I got pretty far with the body parts, I had 90% of a TPI V8 drivetrain swap in the driveway, and had the interior mostly converted, but again it wasn't really what I wanted.

Now I'm down to three thirdgens, and it's a question on all of them if they should be left stock, restored, or if I should go nuts. The safe answer is that stock original never goes out of style, and will usually be worth the highest resale value. Restoration, hunting each of the individual parts you need and adding them to your car is fun. But then these are performance cars, and the performance of the best of them isn't exactly that great. So to keep up means modifications. There's plenty that can be done without losing the stock look, but then it's more difficult and expensive then if you just cut the ties and keep it simple.

So ultimately what do you want from the car? Do you want it to be a time capsule, the time machine back to 1987? Or do you want it have the look and more performance? Or do you just want it fast and forget the rest?

Yor

In my opinion, if you were gonna mod it out back then, do it now! If you would've kept it in cherry condition, then do it.

In my personal opinion, subtle modifactions would be cool, but keep all the original pieces! You never know what some buys will want if you ever decided to sell it for whatever reason. Some people want a real mean street machine, but some want an all original classic.

that's my 2 cents, personally.

Chris,87

What are modifications I could do that would be non-destructive to taking it back to original. If I rebuild the motor and tranny for more HP, does that really affect the car as original? I guess what I want is a fire breathing dragon race car that is real close to what it was the day it was built. Thanks for the comments.

GTA50

Go out and have fun. These cars will never provide for your retirement, your kids retirement or your grandchildrens.

Many mods you can do and still be reversible (if you save the parts, as mentioned above). Internal engine parts would neve be evident and again, bolt-ons are reversible. Some mods - like sub frame connectors, wonder-bars, etc, improve the handling and should have been there in the first place, just for safety. I would doubt that many collectors would scoff at those either.

Finally, some mods (and check the requirements in your area), if they are period mods, will not affect the collector's status of your car. So, in some cases: headers, heads, intake manifolds, etc. may be fine.

grassyflats

well you dont have to worry about carbs seeing it does not have one
keeping the original parts definitely matters to collectors preffering all stock Zs
if it is a 5.0 TPI it is not as desireable as the 5.7 TPI
collectors are not too interested in high mileage Zs anyway
cars are typically not a very good investment unless they are mint
we are usually lucky when we can sell them for what we pay for them
its what i call a free ride and usually a free ride costs one grand for 10k miles

TZFBird

There's a reason you only see these cars in shows such as Fear Factor where they get wreaked. They arn't worth anything. Take the body back to stock and mod everything else out. I have yet to drive a car that I feel handles as well as mine does after struts, strut tower brace, wonder bar, and subframe connectors.

One thing that completely changes the look is debadging and removing the mouldings off the sides. Or changing the spoiler. Possibilities that seem to take years off the cars looks.

Chris,87

Thanks. This car is the one I've wanted since high school, so I really have no intention of ever selling it. I just wanted to make sure that I was not going to ruin a cars value by building it up, only to find out twenty years from now I should have left it alone.

Some of the local car show guys have told me to pull the body, blast the frame and do a complete restore. One of them said he thought this was the first year they put a 350 in a camaro since 1969?, along with T-tops, he felt this car could at least pay for the work put into it and maybe a lot more. He is a model-T and truck guy and has one tricked out 65 EL camino so he was not sure. I think I'll do some basic stuff like yall mentioned, build a high HP motor, paint and just drive it for awhile before going in any real serious direction.

mister_hudson

iTrader: (3)

I'm in the same situation as you with my 92 Z Convertible. The best advice I've been given and can pass along is simply "biuld her to your liking"! You are the one that will be driving her!

Drew

iTrader: (58)

There are some inaccuracies in there... There's no frame to separate from the body on Camaros. You can unbolt the engine crossmember and most of the suspension, but the frame is built into the car. 87 is the first year for the 350 in the 82-92 body style, but you could get a 350 in 1970 and in 1981, so it's not exactly such a big deal. T-tops + 350 isn't really all that unusual. If you want one you can usually find them, they just weren't available every year. That's also one of those things that some people like, and some people don't. Many prefer the hardtops in general because they're less wet noodle then the T-top cars.

IMHO a TPI 350 has some real HP limitations if you keep the long tube runner, stock style intake. You can read all about it on the TPI forum. To build a "high HP motor" is going to require some compromises. Look around a bit, the really fast thirdgens are usually so heavily modified any collector value is long gone.

Jeffs82TA

iTrader: (1)

The way this country is going with smog laws etc etc. I don't see how any cars being restored will have any value to the general public. Not many people even care when they see a nice older model car .... So I say mod it and have fun.

Oddball

I agree with most people here. When you do the exterior, just make sure it is not a *****-wanna-be abomination. Otherwise with regards to drivetrain and interior amenities have fun. Make it "you".

My IROC has Spongebob rear floor mats. Kind of goofy but my kids love it and if anyone doesn't like it they can go eff themselves.

Zwrench

Pre-disclaimer: I'm not picking on you GTA50...

I see this sentiment on this site time after time. How does anyone here really know what these cars will be worth in the future? On what criteria is this assessment based? Production numbers? Stigma?

When I was in high school 1st gen Camaros were just used cars. Cars to be beat and/or modified. They were plentiful, easy to work on and disposable. There was a Plymouth dealer in my town that had two Superbirds and a hemi 'Cuda that wouldn't sell. Brand new cars and no one cared for them. What do you suppose the value of those cars are today?

By the time I was out of high school in the late '70s, Camaros were starting to garner some interest but, you could still pick up a solid one for $500. Now, you can't buy one pulled from a swamp for less than $2500.

Well, I had a lot more to say but, supper's ready so, do what you want with your car and enjoy it! But, totally original is and always has been where the money's at.

Chris,87

Thanks guys! I'll look at the TPI forum, my son would love the sponge bob floor mats also, that's just funny. He is now eight and loves pimp my ride and all those shows. I own a trucking company and you should hear his ideas for my truck! He actually will tell me how you wire it up all the way to the rails, shelving, remote controlled options and how it would go together, he is pretty creative. Building this car together should be fun, probably have it finished about the time he decides its his haha.

Thanks for all the help, I'm sure I'll have a lot more questions for you.

Stephen

iTrader: (12)

Raise us the next Chip Foose!

Blackdog36

iTrader: (3)

Glad to hear you finally bought your dream car. Any pics? I say mod car to make it what you want. As mentioned, you can always keep stock parts if you want to reinstall later.

I bought a similar car this past summer and went through same thought process. I am going to keep car interior and exterior stock. However the engine and drivetrain will be heavily modified. I like idea of a 350 TPI sleeper. Sure will cost some $$$ but that's what I bought the car for. It is difficult to have one of these cars be 100% stock. My car is in good shape with low miles but I already replaced headliner, sailpanels, sunvisors, and fixed dash cover. I will also have to buy replacement front/rear bumpers, emblems and chin spoiler. Then if you do get get car all stock, you may be afraid to drive car and take it outside of garage. Muscle cars are meant to be driven!

Also once you figure out how much money some mods cost, you may change your build plan