I thought this was the most revelant section to post this. First off, this is my first post here. I've been reading for a while and finally joined. i saw another thread somewhere on this forum about driving a 3rd gen in high school and it reminded me of how much fun my old camaro was to drive.
I'm 36 now and when I was in high school the student parking lot was crawling with 2nd and 3rd gen cars. After the first fast and furious movie I started seeing less and less older GM muscle in the high school parking lot as I drove by but recently I've seen them coming back! You young guys that are into these cars are awesome.
When I was 17 I started working enough hours in the radio business to be able to finance a decent car. It was 1991 RS Vert and I drove it for a looong time. After several vettes and euro cars, I kept driving that old 305 with a leaky roof. With about 220k miles on it, I used it as trade in fodder for a Mercedes SLK230. BAD mistake. That was the worst pos merc I have ever owned.
My current vette turned over 1ook and my 928 is really showing it's age so i needed a daily fun car. Started reading this forum and began to long for a 3rd gen again. This weekend I traded an older Jaguar for a plain jane '84 V8 Sport Coupe. It's not Iroc muscle but it gets me back into the fun. I'm sure I'll get a few trailer park freebird bon jovi jokes from some dinks I know that drive little japanese sedans but my high school buddies are gonna love this car.
Getting back into an early 3rd gen after so many years reminds me that these are the perfect play car for us that are looking at 40 and are still the prefect first car for a high school kid just like they were in my teen years. Not a lot of comlplicated electronics on mine. It's a carb car. Fair gas mileage. Kind of fast but not really dangerous fast. Cheap parts, cheap taxes, cheap insurance, high school nostalgia. I had forgotten how cool these cars are.

 

Welcome back to the 3rd generation crowd. I too recently got back into it after a 20 year absence. Like you I went through all kinds of different cars with the exception of tuner cars. I HATE hondas for anything other than commuting. I came out of a 2012 Shelby mustang into my 87 IROC. The mustang had 550hp and would roast its tires so easily it was scary. But my camaro is a lot more fun to drive. Its not nearly as fast but it just takes me back to the good old days and it handles like its on rails. I get made fun of all the time by friends of mine but I don't care. It's a great car and I have fun with it. I do miss the intense acceleration that the mustang had but I also don't miss the payments and attention from the cops that I got in that car.

 

welcome to TGO, and welcome back into the third gen life, lol ... i am on my 3rd one (sure wish i would have kept my '88). the 3rd gens are one of the most fun cars i have ever had (even the weak little lo3 i have now). and dont think you got shorted on muscle because you didnt get an iroc, my iroc has no muscle at all, it is just a tad stronger than the v6 cars. have had it about a year now, and drive it all the time, even though it needs a lot of work, it sure is fun ... takes me back to when i was 19 and my uncle got a berlinetta he let me drive all the time ... if i can keep it from rusting apart, it will be my sons first car, he already loves it, and he is only 3 ... haha

 

Wow guys, sounds like I'm not the only one that got bit by the bug years ago and and then the disease returned unannounced. It's unexplainable but for some reason this old Camaro puts a smile on face when I'm driving. No fancy creature comforts and a very worn out steering box and still it's just old fashioned fun.
I like 50's to early 60's cars but never held on to one too long because I had gotten so used to rack & pinnion, modern brakes, electronic gizmos, etc. but this car seems to encompass just enough old and "modern" to make it fun again.
I enjoy my C5 vette and the LS1 is dead reliable. It's plenty fast enough for me but it lacks something. You point it and go. This camaro requires me to actually drive it but without being worn out. I had a '69 mustang and by the time I got to work I felt like I had driven in a cannonball run.
Am I wrong to guess that some of the first gen engineering was maintained through the 2nd and 3rd generations with aesthetics being the primary difference?

 

There's no better feeling than walking all over some dumb *** 19 year old with a turbo SI that thinks its the fastest thing around when my cars 20 years older and 1000 pounds lighter.

 

Your IROC-Z *IS* short on muscle being an '88 L03 car. It IS just a tad stronger than a V6. Not all IROC-Zs fall into that same category though. You have the highway gears (2.73) and the lowest hp 305 (170) and torque (255) offered that year. The top dog IROC-Z with the 350 and G92 performance axle will have 3.27 gears, 230 hp and 330 torque. There's a big difference there.

I'm not ******* your car, but I'm making sure that your comment is understood by others that there is a big difference between a base IROC-Z and the top dog IROC-Z in 1988.

 

I was thinking the same thing. I had an LO3 1991 RS and compared to my 87 LB9 G92 car, big difference. I couldn't even break the tires loose with the RS. My 87 will leave a nice set of black stripes on the street.

 

Dacfan,

I know just how you feel! I really miss the high school years. I had an 82 pace car, then 87 formy, then 85 L69/spd and finished senior year with 91 1LE. Now I'm looking for another IROC for a DD. Right now I'm DD a C4 6spd. LOL!

 

I'm going to disagree with you on that guess. True - 1st and 2nd gens are pretty much the same thing mechanically with the only difference being body shape.

In comparison, 3rd gens pioneered some radical design features:

- Modified McPherson strut suspension with integrated body mounts and rear coil springs with torque & panhard arms combined with reduced weight improved handling dramatically.
- Flush fitting glass improved wind noise, fuel economy, aesthetics and performance.
- Stronger body structure allowed for large rear glass hatch that gives 3rd gens their signature good looks.
- Engines were all old school, but adding computerized fuel injection and spark timing back in 1985 had an almost magical quality by improving driveability, performance, economy and emissions.


I was also out of the car hobby for about 10 years while the chidlren were small, but I'm having just as much fun with it now as I did 30 years ago as a teenager.

Welcome back!

 

Yes, third gens are nothing like the previous gens. Much better cars. Maybe down on engine power, but even the late second gens were pretty low on power.
The best improvement over second gens is that ridiculous frame with the sub frame just sticking out front. It was like having a glue joint in the middle of a baseball bat, very weak.
The third gen unibody makes it into a real car, though it could have used a little more stiffness.
All the other improvements listed above also make a big difference.

 

Thanks so much for the detailed info you guys are providing concerning the evolution of these cars. I know a lot more than I should about vettes but have a lot of reading and catching up to do on F platform cars. After clearing all the C4's out of the back yard to...save my marriage....I think I'll be filling that space back up with 2nd and 3rd gens. Feel free to correct me and share any wisdom. I'm all ears.

 

yes, i was just pointing out that not all irocs the had power of the 350, and that getting an iroc didnt mean that you were getting the top of the line car (but it is still more fun than a fully loaded civic)

 

1st post here also. I was a car guy as a youngster. Growing up I was interested in anything with an engine as a kid. My 1st real job at 14 was cleaning up at a local garage that specialized in high perf cars. I didn't hurt that the owner also drove sprint cars. Heaven for me at 16 was pulling the engine on the race car and tearing it down. Went through a 70 Firebird to a 79 Camaro to an 83 Z28 that I sold June of 1990 in order to put myself through college and grad school. Got into sportbikes for a while. I experienced what real speed is like. Got that out of my system and time to move on 23 years 2 kids, (a great wife) and 2 houses later I got my Camaro back!. It's a red 83 just like I had back in the day. Bought it on E bay Saturday for just over 2K and drove it 4 hours home. It's as original as it could possibly be down to the smog equipment and dry rotted tires. I know I could buy something new/nicer than what I'm going to have into this car. But, it wouldn't be the same. Priorities change with age and wisdom. I don't live for the car. But, I realize in order to get what I had I'll have to spend some bucks. Anyone else struggling with this? Regardless, nice to have it again. My 11 year old son really likes the car and I hope I'm making some memories. Good to finally post on this site as I've been lurking and learning for some time.
BTW, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all

 

Harvey: That's all great, but do yourself some justice. Take some pics and start a new thread.