Well let's try this. Very First Post...

Back when I was in High School (89) I had a 66 tang my father and I had spent a few years restoring. My girlfriend at the time ended up pregnant and we had my son.

Well as most HS romances go things did not work out, so I ended up paying 18 years of child support. No issues there got to take care of the kid but it left no room for any classic cars. The driving factor for me was how it all went down. I ended up having to sell the father / son project car to pay for the hospital bills back then and she found it funny that I had to do so and said I would never own one again and that she owned me... So I made myself a promise in 18 years the very first day once it was all over I would get my classic car back.

Originally I was looking at classic tangs but ran across a 1989 Z28 on craigslist for 2 Grand.. Well I took one look and said what a better year to get than an 89 when it all started... It's got a few issues, needs a new rear impact bar, need to strip and coat the floor pans but overall glad I ran into this one. Best part was my current wife bought it for me.....

Sweet victory

 

well my 1992 firebird (technically my dads till i drop 1500 in his wallet :P)
was sold to my dad from his boss passed to my mom and they used it back and forth when i got my permit when i was 16 i started to drive it FELL IN LO?VE!!! needles to say i wanted evert since then when i got my license i drove home so excited i asked my dad can i drive to my friends house and he looked at me annd said "u passed" "yes sirrr" we went outside there was three cars in the drive way my dad 350 1972 cheyyene
a 91 pontiac grandam then there was the 92 firebird.. . . i look torwards the car then looked at him. next thing you know he throws the keys to me and says be back at ten

been driving her ever since

 

theres ure father son project!!

 

Wish I could he's too old now to do the work.... But he can watch

Here is the slideshow of the beast. Not bad for 2g

http://s1045.photobucket.com/albums/...view=slideshow

 

I thought he meant for you and YOUR kid...maybe I was confused?

 

Well that to, but my son hates cars other than to drive them..

His famous line to me when his civic threw a rod.. Well that oil light had been on for over a week, thought it meant it need changed..

 

That's funny Alex. I bought my GTA in July (of '99 though), for $7K, and with 69,000 miles.

In '96 I bought my first car, an '88 Firebird Formula while I was at my first duty station in San Diego (I was stationed at Top Gun back when Miramar was a Navy base). Three years later I was stationed in Ventura County and went down to visit a friend in San Diego for 4th of July weekend. He wanted to run to the minimart to get a lottery ticket so I went with him. While I was there I grabbed an Autotrader just to see what 'birds were out there on the market. I saw a black '91 GTA in it. We went to the dealership to check it out. It was fully loaded with practically every option possible. Did lots of research on TGO and FrankieRider's website to verify everything was as it looked. Two weeks later I went back to San Diego and the car was still there. Made arrangements to trade my Formula in the next weekend and it was mine. Since then I've done a few adjustments on the car as can be seen in my signature below.

-Eldon

 

i need help

 

Are you stuck? If you sent this from under your car on your Blackberry, you better post up your location.

 

I was "born late" if that makes any sense... 3rd gens have always been my favorite Camaro but I never had the chance to order one new. Well, 20 years later I'm driving a low-mile survivor and loving it; it was like buying a new car.

 

My grandma bought her '82 thirdgen right off the showroom floor in Nebraska because they would not sell a V8 in Colorado ( idk why) and broke it in on the drive home. The day she bought it she swore it to be a sweet 16 present for the first born grandchild. I was lucky enough to be first born so in 2008 I got the love of my life =P. By the time it was mine it had been raced hard for a while and then sat for 3 years so it was falling apart. 3 years and some $11,000 later its running better than before and its my most prized possession.

 

I searched all over for a 3rd gen with a 5 speed and a 350. Found one on autotrader.com and went to look at it (about 50 or so miles away.) My dad went with me, I was only 19 at the time and needed a little guidance on what to look for on these cars. The body was nearly rust free, yellow with tan interior. My dad looked under the car and said, "Uh oh, you better look under here." I looked, "What's the problem." "Nothing, this thing is perfect." found out that it was a florida car that hadn't seen many michigan winters.
A week later we drove back in my dad's 88 Toyota Supra Turbo. I drove the Camaro home, my dad took the Supra. Let's just say the drive home was a quick one.
10 years later, I'm putting in black leather interior, building up a 400 small block and putting in a posi rear and an aluminum drive-shaft.

 

Great stories on here! Always interesting how we acquire and keep these cars...

 

I know how you feel...how old are you? I'm turning 31 next month. I finally got my "new" third gen, when I was able to get my IROC. It truly is like owning a new third gen. My Trans Am will get there, eventually

Its great to finally own a third gen I don't need to do anything to! Ok, ok...an intake gasket, but still...

 

I got mine through TGO
I stumbled across this ad about one and a half years ago while casually browsing for a thirdgen. I've really wanted one for a while and I fell in love with the car when I saw it, especially considering the uniqueness (555 TA verts in 91!). Although I noticed the ad was already close to a year old and I thought the car must have been long gone but I figured I had nothing to lose from inquiring.

I was actually surprised to find a PM in my inbox saying that it was still there. After a bunch of PMs/phone calls with the PO, my dad and I drove close to 4 hours to check it out (surprised my 94 Jimmy made the trip on its own lol). We didn't have the means of bringing it home with us (no registration, etc.) so we went back up 2 weeks later with my dad's 2000 Tundra and a uhaul trailer and brought her down. The PO insisted the car was fine for the 4 hour journey on its own but we found out that wasn't even CLOSE to being the case when we pulled it off the trailer at home lol.

Here's the original ad, notice my post about a year after the thread started!

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/fire...ible-sold.html

And here she is now
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/memb...utta-cage.html

 

27. I bet the car gods are displeased with the fact that I purchased a low-mile survivor and am now alternating daily driving it with my truck, though! When I bought the Camaro, I drove it 1000 miles from showroom to home.

 

bought my 85 iroc used in 89 with 64,000 miles on it. it was just like new older couple bought it new. now has 173,000 trouble free miles on it. havent drove it in a long time. still all factory including the rear louvers. steve

 

Well, In about 1995 me and my stepfather were driving around and he pointed out a Camaro and said what do u think about that car. I had an arguement with him cause I was looking for an IROC and this car looked like an RS from afar. He pulled a U-turn and I looked at the car and VIN and apologized to him for my mistake. Someone had the car painted and never put the IROC stickers on. He purchased the car for me for 4500 and had me pay him back instead of financing. I had the car painted blue a few years later and all the IROC stickers put back on the car as they should of been there from the factory. Still have the car to this day and love it and want to get it painted again. =)

 

factory rear louvers? really? you must be the only one since they didnt make factory louvers

 

RPO DE1

 

ok... learnt somethin new ty

 

I worked at a Standard Oil service station, delivered papers and mowed yards for several years and drooled over the brocures for a few months, then I ordered my very own Red T/A from my hometown dealer. I waited for what seemed like forever (7-8 weeks) and one day I saw it go by the shop on the transport! Woohoo, I couldn't wait to cruise.
Still have it...66K miles, original.

 

Dad bought my mom an 88 Iroc, 4yrs later my moms brother bought her car. 19yrs later I got wind that he was thinking about donating it, I called him about the car offered to buy it, he refused payment and told be to come get it. So I had it shipped from No. Cal to Arizona. Boy what you can do to a vehicle in that time frame is ridiculous, so now onto trying to get it back to the car that I took my driving test in! Here are some pics day after I got it.

http://s1133.photobucket.com/albums/...bum_view_click

 

Nice of your uncle to send you the car. Personal history is going to make it easier to get it back to it's former glory.

Any pics of it the day after your mom got it?

 

Long ago I got out of the muscle car game and started on motorcycles. I never lost my love of ca rs and started modifying imports mostly things with a v6. But I missed having insta tq and I wanted a V8 again. So one fall I started looking for something cheap that I could fix up camaros, firebirds old fox body 5.0s ect. I found my trans am on craigslist and it needed interior and some work underneath but the mechanicals were rock solid so I bought it.

 

I setup up shipping and sent the driver out to get the car, before he changed his mind, I asked for an open trailer and they ended up using an enclosed, it was very nice. They picked it up on Tuesday afternoon and dropped it off Thursday evening. No service records, but we talked and I know its the Original engine,trans, and rear axle. 136K on the car minor body damage, drivers seat, the console and trim pieces are a bit beat up this one had all the brushed aluminum trim accents when she got the car, those pieces are starting to lift off of the plastic. Engine had a miss and the SES light was on. Cylinder 8 plug wire was off, and MAF was disconnected, pulled codes and all is better now.

Funny that you asked that, I asked her to look, but no such luck, but I'm still looking in some of my old boxes.

 

first was an 84 camaro sport coupe, built 350 and turbo 350 trans, i traded a nintendo wii for this one, below are before and after pics with both sets of rims,







[IMG]http://i1014.photobucket.com/albums/af270/bobbyk3lly/kkkkk.jpg

 

next is my 88 camaro sport coupe with the rare D-81 "shorty" spoiler, built 67 stingray motor, built 700r4, painted it blue intense pearl, 4 inch cowl hood, (wrecked it)



this is by far the cleanest car i ever had, a 1991 Trans am/Firebird convertible tripple black, 305 TBI, chipped computer deleted cats, gov, and everything worked, (needed aback window.)

 

then i got a 1984 Camaro Z-28 T-Top car, built 355, built turbo 350, posi rear end, B&M shifter, fast fast car,

 

now i have this, a 1986 Camaro Convertible 350 5.7L L98 swap, high flow runner, 24# injectors, vortec heads, headman headers, deleted cat, flowmaster exhaust, posi rear end, 4 wheel disks, new top, new paint, iroc rims, 91-92 style areo ground effects,
145 MPH speedo

 

 

I bought mine when I was a senior in high school way back in 93. I was given a rusted out 78 camaro with a straight 6. Once I figured out how much it would cost to fix it up and put in a V8 I sold it for $800. Then I bought my 84 Camaro for 2700 with 77K miles on it. I drove it daily for 3-4 years in high school and college. Then bought something else to drive everyday so I could get serious with a build up. This car wasn't my first choice to build.

I wanted to buy a 70-73 camaro but couldn't find anything I could afford. Then I thought about buying a new formula firebired in about 98 but once I found out how much insurance would cost I gave up on that idea. So I ended up building up my 84 Camaro. Its been a great car.

 

Looks like a good car.. wish i would have never gotten rid of my 84 berlinetta sport coupe... it was a Great car...

 

...

 

Great stories fellas.

My 3rd gen story began in 1989, one year after I got out of HS and started dating a chick that became my first wife. Her dad had bought her a loaded 87 IROC for her in late 86 when she was a junior in HS. I had always been and still am a fan of the 70 - 73 camaros, but after spending alot of time behind wheel and fixing the 87 IROC I was hooked. I married her in 1989 and divorced her and the car in April 1990.

I bought my own IROC in December of 1990, a used 87 with 79K on the ODO for 8900.00. Traded in my 74 Blazer and financed 5K. The Blazer was cool, removable top, cloth interior, Feirro seats, power windows, AC roll bar etc, but it was not fun as a dailey driver and I had just cracked most of the rear leaf springs off roading it.
I paid the IROC off in 12 months and dailey drove it for 1 year then picked up a truck for a DD.

Fast forward about 9 years and 15K later I had a ton of parts (including a brand new complete SLP T-RAM and accessorries) and a ZZ4 short block ready to drop into the 87. I spent a couple of weeks swapping in the new engine etc and the car went from 15.0 @ 89 mph to 13.1 @ 104mph. This was around 1999.

Fast forward to around 2002 ish and I was getting board, dissapointed in the performance of my 87. I had purchased an 2000 6sp TA for my wife and had run it down the 1/4 mile twice and come close to matching what my IROC did with all of the mods. I was ready to sell my 87. The paint was starting to fade and it seemed like I couldnt buy GM parts fast enough to keep it pristeen.
One night I was following a thread on TGO about a Fire Hawk that was on Ebay. I told my wife I was going to buy it. She told me OK, but you have a 2 YO son and this will impact what we do for the next 5 years. The EBAY sale had 2 days left on it at that time. The next day I pulled my clean but well used IROC out of the garage and got it ready to go to the local car guy hangout. I was charged with watching my 2 YO son and, well, didnt do very well. He popped my car out of gear and it rolled down the driveway into my wifes DD ( made her get rid of the TA and bought a 5 series BMW). No one was hurt but both cars were in bad shape.

I saw this as an opportunity, my better half didnt. I have always wanted an IROC convertible, and after a week od searching found 4 of them on the west coast for sale. One each in OR, ID, AK and one in WA. Ofcourse I was most interested in the one in WA and it turned out to be only 8 miles away and was by far the cheapest. It also had the most miles. No prob, I was going to make it un original anyways. My wife and I went to test drive it. She was still upset about what happened the prior weekend and was not impressed with the car. We drove it, then I started wheeling and dealling. I got the car for 3800.00 and drove it home. My wife didnt say a thing and was still miffed. I spent the rest of the day color sanding and buffing the convertible out, all the while my 87 sat next to it with a come along holding the door sorta shut. I was spent by 11:00PM and was wrapping up in the garage when my wife onpened the door and just stood there for a couple of minutes. I asked her what she was thinking and all she said was " why dont you just fix YOUR car".
I read between the lines and lauphed. 3K dollars and 100+ hours of my labor later my car looks better than it ever has and also why I dont have a Fire Hawk.

This is also why we have two blue IROC's, the 87 is mine and the 90 convertible is hers.

 

Ive had three camaros all third gen's i love this generation. My first was a green 89 rs w/2.8L 700R beat the hell out of it great car ran w\ mustangs all day long on the interstate. After that im moved to Maryland and had a red 87 iroc-z 5.0L TPI despise TPI those runners where a pain to deal with drove me insane and had a nasty coolant leak but was not to much trouble, left that with my Dad in Maryland move back to Florida was thinking of bring it down but kinda glad i didnt because 6 months later i found my blue 91 Z28 T-Tops 305 TBI working on motor now going to a 350 not sure excatlly what im going to do with yet but while im doing that im going to do the rear end next looking for one with posi and atleast 3.20 gears later down the road want to swap with LS1 better fuels mileage and there OBDII but thats down the road but this one is in better shape than the first two and needs a little TLC and is going to get plenty of it

 

About 5 years ago my car nut bud scored a 84 Z-28 for his son that was turning
16 (lucky kid)! Well it seems the "prince" was screwing off in school and mommy
aka "the boss" said "no pass...NO car" !!!!!!!!!!
The car sat for months and my bud said "screw the kid" and ask me to list it on Craigslist.
So I ask how much for that car? My bud said $1500 bucks cash!

I told him to get the title and whipped out the cash !

This car came from N. Carolina and had a beautiful rust free body, solid paint
and interior. My bud put a new tranny in it, 4 new Goodrich radials, a general
tune up and some minor wrenching..................

Who ever ordered it new circled the right options.........305 HO, auto, 373 posi
9 bolt, air, t-tops, tilt, cruise, power locks, windows and seat. Not sure if the car
has 50k or 150k miles because it runs down the road smooth, no rips or tears on the
interior but the headliner is shot.

This car is 100% stock and unmodified and I haven't done much but replace the
battery and alternator in the 5 years I have had it. Its only a summer cruiser
for me and sleeps all winter...................

Sure worth $1500 bucks eh?

 

what? it needs paint and new head lights i know,

 

I think he's talking about the Corvette badge on your Camaro. That's blasphemy if you ask me lol.

 

Not quite, look what I bolded in the quote...

 

874ME-both those cars are beautiful, when your kid messed up the IROC did you have the whole car resprayed?

EDIT: Just noticed the vert is a '90, very desirable...5 speed?

 

it has a 350 tpi in it from a 86 trans am ws6, same engine as the corvette so i thought it fit

 

the paint is new, but its satin black with no clear coat, thats why i said it needs new paint AGAIN, the previous owner painted it cause it was 7 different colors, due to him putting rust free doors fenders and hood on it, and the convertible top cover....

so im thinking of painting it the same color as my blue one....

 

my car has been in the family since 1994. my dad bought the car for my bother in jackson mississippi. as soon as they drove up in the driveway i was in love with the car. i was always helping big bro every weekend clean and detail it. he drove it for about two years and wanted to sell it to get a ford explorer ( i know crazy right?!) after a long talk with my parents the keys were passed down to me i was 17 at the time and it has not gone nowhere.

 

My first 3rd gen was a firebird I had no business buying but did anyways in Spring 2008. It was a 91 Firebird that the P/O thought was a Formula. I fell in love with the car, but found out too late that rust and rot had already gotten the best of her. It was during this time I also got an 85 firebird for parts, some of which have even made it into my camaro.



My next and current third gen is my 84 Camaro Vert that I bought from a classified on this board last spring. She's been a project, but rust hasn't gotten to her quite the way it had the firebird. I think the poor guy was about done with me when I spent hours looking over a car I bought for $900.

It's an ongoing project, but here's a good pic of it from yesterday, right after recieving a transplanted interior and new carpet:

 

Yes, the 87 had a complete repaint. I am hesitant to say that becuase I did most of the work on the car, the shop just scuffed and sprayed it. I spent a ton of time color sanding / buffing and putting it back together. Not to mention the purchase and install of all of the striping.

The 90 is an automatic. The guy I bought it from rearended some one in the late 90's and had a dealer hang all new GM metal, lights, signals etc on the car than respray it. It has 200K+ on it. The 305 gave up the ghost at 150K and the guy had a 350 installed. It had no other mods besides the Flowmaster when I picked it up. It now has SLP 1 3/4" headers, Cataco cat, Borla cat back, 17" SLP ZR-1 knock offs and late 90's TA seats. Theres also a set of TF heads, nice roller cam and a new HSR on the shelf for it after I get my 87 running correctly.

 

Both beautiful cars, PS get that trim around that windshield.

 

The TransAm and Camaro had a different 350 TPI in it. It was the same block, but the Corvette heads were aluminum. Based on your thinking, wouldn't a TransAm emblem would be a better choice? Or even better yet, a Camaro emblem!!!

 

when i pulled the motor out of the WS6, i put aluminum vortec heads on it, high flow runners, machined the throttle body, put bigger 24# injectors on it, and thats it... i put it into the camaro and was done

 

One other thing to note, there were no factory 350s before '87.