If you could go back and special order a third gen without all the performance goodies, what would you order? No IROCs / GTAs! I'd be torn between 2: Either (1) a bright blue '85 hardtop Z28 LG4 / 700R-4 / 3.08:1 with silver GFX, for a ZZ4 swap, or (2) a bold red '88 sport coupe hardtop LO3 /700R-4 with silver GFX and the specific rear spoiler, to copy GM's Angry Poodle. What else could be fun?

 

1) For a Camaro...

'91-92 RS t-top in either bright teal or black, decked out with everything and an LO3/M5. OR...'87 Z28 in Medium Grey Metallic with a 305 TPI/M5 (assuming this was an option...), again with t-tops and everything.

2) For a Firebird...

'88 Formula in Medium Orange, again an LB9/M5 t-top car with the works.

 

Probably an 83 or so manual H.O. Z28. 2nd choice would be an equivalent Trans Am.

 

1982 Firebird Iron Duke with a 4 speed and dog dish hubcaps.

 

91-92 white Formula, LO3 5spd w/T-tops. NOTHING else. No A/C, tilt, cruise, PW, etc. Stripped.

 

Mine. Really. 1990 Maui Blue/black custom cloth with A/C, power options, LO3/Auto.

 

An 85 Trans Am black with silver trim GFX with no power windows, or power locks, and no power mirrors, just standard Interior equipment (group 1) accept i would want ac and heat. 305 carb HO 5 speed with 4 wheel disc and thats it.

 

'85 Z28 Black LB9, Auto, hardtop, red custom cloth interior. Or if were really talking non-performance an '88 Sport Coupe in Yellow, L03, 5spd, hardtop, black custom cloth interior, manual windows and locks. Only 922 yellow Camaros built in 1988.

 

85 Trans Am with L69/ 5 speed and Recaro seats - hardtop with 4 wheel disc.

 

'88 SC with V6 and 5 speed.

Hey,... wait!

There's one in my driveway already!

 

^I'm with this guy. Factory base cars were cool. EVERYONE saves and restores/ restomods the Z's, T/A's, GTA's... I'd gladly take a base car with the Iron duke, some really nice color scheme and sweet interior, 4 speed, and some weird wheels or hubcaps and maybe add some louvers or a few other minor period-correct tweaks (JG1 driveshaft and the mythical aluminum power bulge hood would be nice too, help the anemic motor move the car a little better and get even better gas mileage than they already did) Most of the ones left now have junkyard truck engines in them, it'd be cool to have something different and leave it that way.

 

Black '82, strippo hardtop, with LG4, Super T10 and dog dish hubcaps.

 

I'm with Jason E on the Medium Orange '88 LB9/M5 Formula.

Not too sure I'm correct applying the "non-best" label on a Formula though, unless best=expensive in this discussion.

 

My thanks to everyone who correctly understood "non-best" to mean no L69s, no LB9s with 3.42:1 or 3.45:1 axles, and no L98s. Some interesting thoughts from those who understood. The rest of you, please try again.

 

I don't get it? Z28s & formulas have performance goodies.
I'd order up a 82 sport coupe with 305/4 spd. Add some 15x7 steel rally wheels, irock sway bars & 3.42s w/ a posi. No a/c, t tops, pwr windows ect.
When the 305 blows up I'd get a 350.

 

92 Camaro RS 305 T5 hard top in polo green with a black interior.

 

Formula??? That's cheating. I thought he meant base cars.

 

If Forumulas or B4Cs are allowed then I'd like to change my answer...

 

Exactly!

 

I thought about what you had said, but I think in 1985 the top engine would have been the LB9. If I was going to order up a dog, I would go with a Camaro sport coupe without the ground effects, then swap in a healthy V8 like you suggested.

 

Ha ha I like this answer. A 1992 Camaro RS B4C was the first car that jumped in to my head if I was going to get a factory stock non-performance car.

The B4C cars have to be towards the top on the list. Ha ha nobody would ever suspect you had a TPI motor with all of the 1LE factory speed parts to back that up - especially if you keep the car looking all factory stock. These cars also had all of the updated components that the 1989-up cars did but in the non-top-level-performance wrapper of the RS package. That might be stretching the theme here a little but it's still an RS Camaro.

 

Well even though my answer was non best, i guess if we are answering base cars i'd just go with a 82 firebird SE V6 4speed manual with bowling ball hub caps

 

Iron duke firebird base model, then I would add the WS6 package myself. Good gas mileage and with the lack of engine weight up front it would handle like crazy. Probably never brake for corners.

 

He said no IROCs or GTAs!!!!!!!! I thought we were talking flagship cars here, people...I glazed over the non-performance-goodies part...

So I guess I gave one right answer, as the Camaro of choice for me was an RS.

 

I was going to Say my TA, but with gray interior and a 5-speed, but my car is very close to a GTA. I guess I would get a 92 RS, LO3/M5. T-tops loaded black or white does not matter.

 

Hello Atilla the Fun !!!

Well since you took a Z-28, I'd take a 1987 Z-28 with LB9, T-5, 10 bolt with 3:42 ratio, Bright Blue Metallic with Silver GFX, and a hardtop !!! We kind of have the same taste in thirdgens it seems !!

With my combo, I get all the performance goodies, it's not an IROC, but it sure is close !!!



P.S. I have the described car above, however it has the 3:08 ratio 10 bolt, and T-tops !!!

Extra 's worth !!!

 

i realy do want an 82 base camaro 4cyl,4spd..but i also had this wierd urg to find an 85 z28 gold exterior, gold matching wheels, tan interior exactly like the one "marokid" sold or scrapped

 

I'll try again and follow the rules this time. 1988 Sport Coupe Camaro in Medium Orange and tan interior. V-6 with a 5 speed with T-tops.

 

a 350/auto or 5.0 t-5 Formula with base options and radio and air delete.
Basically a purpose driven car for performance and as light as possible. LE1 if avail and twin cats
Old Vettes that are radio and ac delete cars are highly prized!
and oh.. dont drive it for 30-40 years

 

marokid scraps all kinds of decent stuff...I watched him scrap an 82 pace car that wasn't that bad...all because he couldn't get $1,500 for a rough car.

Him, or someone else onhere, even scrapped a DT500 car too...again, wanted too much for the carcass, so he sells it for scrap for $250.

Don't get me started on the crap I've seen...

 

That makes no sense at all, lets see, hum I would rather get $250.00 and let it get crushed than take $500-800 and have someone try to save it

 

yeah i saw that thread and could not believe what i was seeing and reading. eager to get my reply in just when i noticed the thread was locked

 

I would get one just like mine but with rear window defroster nothing like. dark grey with silver ground effects with black stripe to break it up

 

puma and I were tagteaming him and that's why the thread got locked. I was livid...but whatever.

These are just cars, right? No need to worry at all about their fate...why not let a website dedicated to them glorify cutting them up for scrap?? I should probably stop now...

 

My question:
Why would I technically want anything less than the best of the best? In the day, like today Money was the big determining factor. Even to say that I did not want the loss of MPG has to do with financials.

No one, I mean no one in their right mind would want to go out and not buy the best if they could afford it.

IMHO this is an exercise in futility.

Enter case in point...

Show me someone that would not trade (even up) a run of the mill Camaro or Firebird for a Firehawk, or a TTA and I will show you a fool that is lacking logic brain cells.

 

Yeah, its your opinion.
The lack of moderate priced, entry level pony cars really hurts the sales. The last year that the camaro had really good sales was 1984, you could get one any way you wanted.

 

I would probably go for an 85 L69 Trans Am... But then again, that was before the GTA's, so it was probably a top of the line at the time...

 

Don't be so sure...if I were buying a new Challenger today, I'd go straight for the R/T Classic because of the look.

 

That is Very True... when you look at the GTO (AKA Holden Monaro) from 2004-2007? it failed, I do not think because of any other reason than it was offered only in one trim (more or less). There is no doubt that it was expensive, and since there was no lesser model, IE a V6 version to push up production numbers, it was failed.

With that said, the purpose of this thread was more or less to ask, would someone be willing to buy a lesser model, if they did not need to?

Obviously there are people out there that would order the plan-Jane car for no reason, other than to buy it as a car... The Question was "If you could go back and special order a third gen without all the performance goodies, what would you order?"

To agree with puma1552, Personally I prefer the looks of a Formula over a GTA or Trans Am... But for the most part the Formula was an all out performance model, without glitz, (more or less the original GTO from 196X)

My question has to be, why would not not want those goodies? other than style? what would compel someone (where money was no object) to go out of their way and order something less than the best performer?

To me it seems to be a fruitless exercise in "what if?" than really what is relevant to reality.

 

1985 Camaro Iron Duke with an automatic and AC. Yellow exterior, tan interior.

 

I would probably go for an 85'-87' Camaro Sport Coupe. Dark Red Metallic/Black 2 Tone, LG4/5-Speed, T-Tops, Rear Spoiler, Rally wheels with Eagle GT white letter tires.