I am interested in buying a 1987 chevy iroc-z but want to verify if its a true iroc-z as far as rims,tail lights,front bumper with fog lights and emblems point out to being a true iroc-z but what is throwing me off is the fact that it has no power windows or locks and has no tilt wheel and even has no a/c(but that might have been eliminated cause i saw some connections hanging in that area) with the vin# 1G1FP21F6HL47589 i havent been able to confirm anything so anybody with knowledge about this please help

 

if im correct if the 8th vin is an F it is an iroc

 

you cant tell if its an iroc from the VIN you needa check the RPO codes there in the center council, first make sure the VIN there matches the cars VIN then look for RPO B4Z, and back then you could order ur cars a lot more personal so an un optioned car isnt really rare

 

Partially correct ^^

In 1987, you could get a stripped down IROC-Z but not by having it personalized. 1987 was the first year for the option packages and the car might have none. The 8th digit being an F only tells us that it's the LB9 305 engine. In 1987, that was available on the Z28 and IROC-Z. The accurate part was B4Z. Verify that the RPO codes have B4Z in 1987 and that the VIN matches on the sticker to that of the car.

 

I have an 86' Iroc-Z but how can you tell? I live in Canada is there a Canadian code that is different than the B4Z? Everything seems to be good it has a 327 bored .30 over 3:73 posi rearend full roll cage 5spd. Can some one please tell me if there might be a different rpo code

 

Whether a ride is a Z28 or IROCZ is no different between the US & Canada. The same RPO codes are used.

As Drew mentioned here . . . https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/hist...-lo3-mean.html . . . Your ride would need to have the RPO code label (SPID) with a VIN on it that matches the one on your ride. Then if it has the RPO code B4Z on it, it's an IROCZ.

 

AFAIK TBI (the L03 engine) was not available in 87; the first year for that was 88. The base-model low-perf V8 in 87 was the LG4, carbed 305.

The 8th digit of the VIN in the standardized VIN system used for all cars, tells what engine was installed at the factory. F in the VIN of these cars meant it came with a TPI 305. The RPO code for that motor was LB9. AFAIK the only way to get that engine was in an IROC, in that year. That alone is proof that the car was an IROC, even if you can't find the SPID (Service Parts ID) label that lists all the RPO codes so that the dealer could look up what the right parts to fit your particular car would have been when its owner brought it in for service.

In 87, if memory serves, there was still the Z28 available without the IROC option; in some other years as described above, that was not available. B4Z (B codes are usually for options "packages", where some long list of options that all come as a group are included and not necessarily broken out separately in the RPO list) was the code for the IROC pkg in years when it was an option on top of Z28.

FYI, GM uses 3-character codes to describe every Regular Production Option (aka RPO). The first char of most of them tells what system the code is concerned with; M for transmissions, G for gears, J for brakes, and so on. L is for engines.

Anybody can bolt up those trim parts and stick those stickers to any car and make it "look like" an IROC. The VIN does not lie though. Even without the SPID sheet, in 87 the presence of "F" (the code in the VIN for the LB9 engine) as the 8th character in the VIN means it's an IROC.

To the other poster, same thing. If the VIN has F, it's an IROC; no F, it's not. Or, if you have the SPID sheet that matches the VIN, if it has B4Z (the IROC package) on the sheet, then it's an IROC, and if it doesn't have the code in the option list, it doesn't have the option. The factory didn't install options on cars and then not put them on the build sheet. Although that one sounds like it doesn't matter so much any more, as so much has been changed about it. No there is no different RPO code: it's mass production, and they do them all using the same system.

 

Please stop selling this misinformation!!!

The F is the LB9 engine designation. In 1985-87, you could get a Z28 without the IROC-Z option with the LB9. You could not get a Z28 with the L98 350 in 1987. From 1988 on, the F designation was only available on the IROC-Z until 1991 when the IROC-Z went away.

I have read 3 posts just today where people are stating that VIN "F" means IROC-Z. IT DOES NOT!

 

^^^This^^^

The VIN doesn't tell you if a car is an Irocz. It tells you what engine the car had, and if only one model was offered in that year with the engine in question it's pretty cut and dried. But from 85-87 you could get the F code 305 in the Z28 or the Irocz.

Use a little common sense folks.

 

!985-87 only RPO B4Z= IROC!

 

https://www.thirdgen.org/1987-chevy-camaro

 

So I can't find the code B4Z so that means I don't have an Iroc? I know then whole vin situation some guys say if the 8th letter is this then it's and Iroc but without the B4Z it's not an Iroc right?

 

Below.

JamesC

 

And if it doesn't have B4Z, its not an IROC.

JamesC

 

Fixed. Your information is correct, but partial information like your original post is probably part of the way misinformation spreads, through lack of specificity--it's not much better than information that's just plain wrong. If I was some new guy who knew nothing, I'd go outside and look at my SPID on my '88-'90 IROC, see no B4Z, and think I'd just been had. In fact I'd seen the above "No B4Z, no IROC" thrown around here so much that yesterday I mistakenly told the other guy that '88-'90 cars used just the B4Z RPO, and not just the Z28 RPO--I actually was thinking it was the Z28 RPO initially, but then I recalled all the times I saw "No B4Z, no IROC" and actually changed it, then had to change it back per Drew's comment.

OP:

1) '85-'87 IROCs will have both Z28 and B4Z listed on the RPO sticker (SPID). If an '85-'87 car just has Z28 in the RPO, then it's a regular Z28, not an IROC. For '85-'87, no B4Z=no IROC.

2) '88-'90 IROCs will have just Z28 listed on the SPID. There were no regular Z28s in '88-'90, so there was no need for two RPO codes. Hence, no '88-'90 cars have B4Z RPO codes. Z28 denotes IROC for these years. So for '88-'90, no Z28=no IROC.

3) "F" or "8" in the eight digit of the VIN=IROC for '88-'90, by deduction since engines "F" and "8" were only offered in IROCs in these years. "Cut and dry", as Drew said. It's important to realize though, that for cars with an engine code of "F", you can only deduce that it's an IROC based on this engine code for '88-'90 cars. "F" tells you nothing about the car's status as an IROC or a Z28 in '85-'87.

4) "8" in the eight digit of the VIN in an '87 car denotes an IROC by deduction, again because that engine was only offered in IROCs.

5) "F" in the eight digit of the VIN for any '85-'87 car tells you nothing about whether it's an IROC or a plain Z28. You need the RPO codes.

6) "E" was also the base engine used in '88-'89 IROCs. In this case, the VIN tells you nothing about whether it's an IROC or a Sport Coupe since engine "E" was used in Sport Coupes also. In this case, you need the RPO codes as well.

Truthfully, I'd stick to 1 and 2 above, because they are the easiest to remember. However, 3-6 are helpful in the event the console has been swapped, and your original SPID is missing. Consider those to be supplemental, should your SPID be missing.

 

Since the OP's car is an 87, I felt no need to be specific, but thank you for the info you provide in your post. It'll certainly help others.

JamesC

 

One more thing to note since we are correcting each others posts. The comment from above stating that no regular Z28s were available from 88-90 is also incorrect. The IROC-Z option package was available on the Z28 from 1985-87. In 1988, all Z28s came with the IROC-Z option package, so in essence, the IROC-Z B4Z option went away, not the Z28.

From 1988-90, all IROC-Zs are still Z28s, thus the RPO code Z28 on the SPID. Now in 85-87, the IROC-Z was usually an upgrade over the basic Z28, but it didn't have to be. Again it was an option, so there are plenty of base IROC-Z and loaded IROC-Zs in those years. Starting in 1988, you could get an IROC-Z as base line as an older Z28 with almost no options at all.

 

As we should be for accuracy.

This is all fine, but my guess is this will only be more confusing to people who only have knowledge rudimentary enough to still need to ask if they have an IROC or not. This is probably going to make people with poor reading comprehension (and you know there are thousands of people like this out there) start thinking there were '88-'90 Z28s, of the non-IROC variety. IROC takes precedence over a Z28 in the hierarchy of trim, and the cars say IROC on the side, so it's probably less confusing to call them all IROCs than it is to say they are all Z28s and the IROC package disappeared. Saying otherwise is probably not going to clarify things for someone new to these cars. You're correct, but it's probably not going to help the situation to point it out.

EDIT: Truthfully, we should just make one de facto sticky and be done with it; we've got so many stickies here, what's one more? Not to mention I'd say this is more useful and less straightforward than the 350/manual sticky. If there was a locked sticky with all the information laid out in number/bullet-point format, then anytime someone comes in to ask if they have an IROC, since nobody searches nor ever will, we could just point them in that direction rather than have to rake through this discussion over and over.

 

Sounds great. Have at it.

JamesC

 

It won't work as the stickies we have aren't looked at. The stickies we have discuss the engines available, yet we have a current discussion about an IROC with an LG4 and another about an IROC with an LO3! We also have a sticky about if a car is rare or not, yet we still get those questions. Just saw another the other day about what is RPO A4U and R7U. There is a sticky with those codes in the title! I have thought about removing all stickies in our forum to make it easier to just see the current threads.

People also don't search the forums before asking questions. Some of it is fine, but to see the same question about RPO 1AY and wondering what it is, is beyond me. I let others answer those questions nowadays.

 

If there were a write-up, whether stickied or not, members could still 'direct' member's questions with a link to the write-up. Might beat the constant rehashing--or not.

JamesC

 

All the stickies on this forum are ridiculous. With so many there's no way to expect anyone to read all of them.

There is a write up (https://www.thirdgen.org/tech-data), but people either a) don't read it, or they b) don't understand it... It made more sense when it was all one document on a single page. If a person doesn't start at 1982 with the Camaro it doesn't really make sense since the document builds on the previous year to explain what changed.

The Tech Data could also use some expanding, or another document could be created illustrating how to document a thirdgen properly. It'd take some effort, and access, at the end of the day people still wouldn't utilize it properly, and the author wouldn't get much credit for the effort.

 

FALSE, my 85 Z28 has teh F code, it just means it has the TPI 305/350 in it, i hav a tpi z28, thats dressed up to look lik an iroc, to anyone else its an iroc lol

 

Who are you replying to?

 

True, but like James said, we could at least just point people to a link and let them deal with it rather than re-hashing it out over and over.

 

Oh man I'm so confused lol I looked on the code thing in the center console and I don't see BZ4 or Z-28 It has all the badges of an Iroc inside and out but I just don't see these code everyone is talking about I feel like an idiot asking all the time but I just want to know there must a really easy way some way some how maybe I'll post the codes and see what everyone says?

 

remeber is easier to put iroc emblems and badges than rpo's if the codes aren't there than its not an original iroc

 

Well, looks like this topic has been overexplained enough to confuse even the most astute Camaro owner!

Would have been way easier just to stay on topic with the original poster's question relating to his specific ride. Trying to be all things to all people has made this a good fuzzy logic project. Remember, all the knowledge in the world is wasted if we don't apply "KISS".

 

Well I guess I have a damn good looking wanna be lol. It looks like an Iroc-Z I will stick with that I will double check all my codes so it's an 86 so looking for B4Z or Z28 or both for Iroc-Z I'd like to post a pic but new to this site so give me time.

 

Good news everyone I did some digging around and my 86' is in fact a true blue Iroc-Z!! I found the rpo code BZ4 and Z-28 that makes me so happy!! now can anyone tell me how to post a picture? lol

 

B B4 Z. B4Z. If you're looking for BZ4 you aren't looking for the right code. From 85-87, you could get a Z28 with or without the Irocz option. Without the B4Z code, and with code Z28, is just a Z28. A Z28 with the Irocz option would have Z28 and B4Z both on the service parts ID label.

From 88-90 all Z28's had the Irocz package, so they didn't need a code to differentiate. All 88-90 Irocz's will have Z28 on the SPID.

 

Yes I have both the B4Z and the Z-28 in the spid which is what everyone said to look for is it not?

 

sorry it was a type-o yes indeed I have the B4Z and the Z-28 in the (spid)

 

Those are the golden codes for your '86.

 

Alright man finding those made me so happy I was getting kind of confused a bit there but got it under control. Now how do I get a picture of my Iroc-Z on here and put all the specs on here?

 

AARRGGHHH! It boggles my mind everytime I start reading this stuff on this site when we talk about all of the freaking options these cars came with for every freaking year!

Sorry..... I'm just, well, GM really should've kept things abit more simple back in those days. Sort of like they did with the 4th Gen's.

 

I've also noticed a large influx of new members on this site recently. It's like the TGO site is calling out to people in their sleep, come to this site, join it.....

 

I have a 86 iroc-z with the eighth number g the eigth number is only the engine B4Z is iroc-z if your car has this rpo its a iroc-z its that simple.. yes iroc-z had L4G'S

 

A iroc-z in 85-87 could have a LG4 yes i have one i bought new ............. rpo B4Z and it has RPO z28 one more time if your car has rpo B4Z ITS AN IROC-Z IF YOU DONT HAVE RPO B4Z ITS IS NOT..............

 

hi my name is chris i have a 86 iroc-z with a LG4 rpo code B4Z,Z28 my car is 81 red with camel int. would love to see pic of your car.