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History / OriginalityGot a question about 1982-1992 Camaro or Firebird history? Have a question about original parts, options, RPO codes, when something was available, or how to document your car? Those questions, answers, and much more!
I'm going to be looking at an 83 L69/5spd this afternoon that's supposed to be all original & low miles (66k). Does anyone have production numbers on this mid year engine option?
Please dont tell me you are going to chop this car up....... Keep her original. nice car man. also, in 83, are those moldings supposed to go down the doors? I have a 84 (same exact car) and didnt have them.
Please dont tell me you are going to chop this car up....... Keep her original. nice car man. also, in 83, are those moldings supposed to go down the doors? I have a 84 (same exact car) and didnt have them.
Yes They Were An Option,But You Don't See Them Much.
It's home, has a few things that need to be taken care of - a few mechanical & a few cosmetic but it's the real deal and came from the second owner.
As for the stripes, the original owner (woman) said she didn't like them & had the dealer take them off before she picked it up....I'll be putting them back on.
I will but this car needs a serious cleaning - in/out/& under!
The guy said today was the first time the T-tops have been on & the windows put up in years. Its been sitting in that garage since 1998 and only accumulated 2000 +- miles in that time. He'd dust it off & drive it down the the beach for the afternoon, go to the bar for a few cocktails & head home.
It needs some maintenance, the soft parts replaced like the headliner, speaker covers & visors replaced and a few other things, but it's pretty legit.
Are the body side moldings stick on? Any feelings either way by anyone if I take them off? They look like ****!
Except for being an 83 and not an 84 that's identical to my first car! Of course the 82-84 L69/T5 cars are the most sought after 3rd gens. Hope I can find one as nice as that and still afford it again someday!
Can anyone help in pulling the interior trim color off the trim tag for me? Is it even on there?
If I'm reading this right...
Norwood built
04C is built 4th week of March
75U/75L is code 75 Red upper & lower
E - is that the trim code or enamel paint?
AR9, Seat Asm, front Bucket Recline(European Style)
CC1, T-Tops
Z28, Z28 sport coupe
D80, Rear Spoiler
PT - ?
Last edited by PurelyPMD; Apr 15, 2015 at 06:37 AM.
Under hood shot - need to clean a few things up but I love the duel scoop air cleaner setup.
If anyone has a nice driver's side air intake hose - please let me know - thanks!
Glad to see that setup is still in place or you. I love them too! They are expensive to purchase. Same with those flexible hoses. As much as they go for, it surprises me that they have not been reproduced.
What color soft parts should I be ordering for 17C?
If anyone is seriously interested in the car and wants to take it as is - shoot me a PM. There's another one on here I think I want to move on & would pass this one on for a good price.
Except for being an 83 and not an 84 that's identical to my first car! Of course the 82-84 L69/T5 cars are the most sought after 3rd gens. Hope I can find one as nice as that and still afford it again someday!
I have a 84. what makes them so desirable? also, where can i get a dome light cover? every one ive seen is wrong...
It does not & I thought they were supposed to. Weren't they supposed to have a 3:73 open (non posi) disc rear?
Not sure on what they were supposed to have. think it was options... I got 3:73. sometimes it would spin both and others just one wheel wonder.. also mine came with disc. Im pretty sure it was a option...
I have a 84. what makes them so desirable? also, where can i get a dome light cover? every one ive seen is wrong...
The L69 engine is what signaled that some performance was coming back. It's also the foundation for the TPI cars that came in later years. The L69 was a factory hot-rodded LG4: Higher lift cam, aluminum intake, modified ignition module, lighter flywheel, bigger exhaust etc.
The L69 was a late (March-1983) introduction and only around 3,200 cars were made for that year. They all were with the T-5 with 3.73 gears.
In 1984 you could get an L69 with the 700r4 or T-5. 3.73 gears were optional with the 700r4. If you didn't select those gears you got 3.42's. All of the T-5 cars still came with 3.73 gears. GM sold around 100,000 Z28's in 1984 and the L69 had a lot to do with it. The L69/700r4 cars also got a higher stall speed converter than the LG4/700r4 cars as well.
For the time it was a nice collection of factory parts that would compete well against many of the muscle cars from the late 1960's and 1970's. Handling is a thirdgen specialty and they hold up well to cars of today with out all of the electronic aids.
Thanks yaj15. I am thinking about putting the car back to stock as it was when i got it in 98. I have all the parts. kept em when i swapped motors/trans. l69/t5/disc/373/ttop. 85k miles.
The package also included the Corvette's over-sized, low profile catalytic converter for better exhaust breathing. The whole package was a planned attack at the Mustang GT's perceived performance advantage. The LU5 equipped Camaro was pretty much an even match to the Mustang of the day but the scales tipped in the Mustang's favor so it was quicker. Out came the L69 package (which first was installed in the Monte SS's) and then the tide turned.
Anyone know what color headliner material I should be ordering for a code 17C interior?
Also, with the enamel paint, what are the odds that if I take off the side stripes I'll be dealing with a paint fade issue & a noticeable place where they were? Will compound/buffing take care of that for me?
Last edited by PurelyPMD; Apr 19, 2015 at 08:25 AM.
My little bro had a 84 LG4 car, same colors as that, but with the steel hood of course. People always would comment when our cars were sitting side by side that his looked "better" (they liked the flashy color), but mine (silver 83 L69) looked "meaner". I think the flatter hood had something to do with it. Makes the car look less... flaccid. Which is certainly a word that describes the LG4 succinctly.
What is the SMC hood? This one is fiberglass - I thought they all were on the early cars.
The original bump strip did have the metal edges - in a last minute decision before I brought it over the other day I pulled it off & they were able to buff/clean off all of the adhesive for me. I had fully expected to see a fade mark in the paint where the strip had been and was just going to get a replacement to put on - but when I picked it up yesterday, even in bright light, it was nearly impossible to tell it had been there! For 32 year old paint it's remarkably nice! Unfortunately, it did reveal some of the dings in the door, so a visit to my paintless dent guy will be in order.
Stop by any time, it's not the only interesting car in the shed.
It's not actually "fiberglass" in the usual sense, but something like it at least.
Definitely not steel. So yeah, that's why your hood looks so flat. Park it next to the other and compare, I think you'll see what I mean.
No they were definitely not "all" equipped with it. Certain of the LU5 cars were, maybe all but I'm not sure, and AFAIK all of the 83 L69s (but not 84 up). Then on top of that, the "skin" part had a bad habit of delaminating from the "structure" part while driving down the road, and there was a campaign for that, so LOTS of em got downgraded to steel besides.
From what I can see, the repaint looks fairly decent; better than most. Looks like they even got the headlight pockets and hood stripes the right color. It does look more red, less orange, than the original, but hard to be sure about something like that on the Internet; and in any case that's probably not a bad thing. You can tell the inside of the fenders and the underside of the windshield cowl is the factory color in the underhood shots.
Incidentally my car has the same moldings.
IMO it would look ALOT better with the stripes put back on. Looks plainly like something is missing now.
Last edited by sofakingdom; Jun 5, 2015 at 07:21 AM.
The package also included the Corvette's over-sized, low profile catalytic converter for better exhaust breathing. The whole package was a planned attack at the Mustang GT's perceived performance advantage. The LU5 equipped Camaro was pretty much an even match to the Mustang of the day but the scales tipped in the Mustang's favor so it was quicker. Out came the L69 package (which first was installed in the Monte SS's) and then the tide turned.
The second link was an article done on my car. That guy does really good work. I emailed him all the pics and answered all his questions plus gave him some details and he put it all together. It was as if he came out to the house, saw the car, and interviewed me in person. Very well written!!
BTW, there wasn't a 17C interior color code for 1983. There wasn't even a code 17 regardless of letter in 1983. Based on the decoder above, that's the lower body color. I don't see 17 listed as a silver though. There was a silver car color, 16U, for 1982 and I also see the rims are listed as silver, code 14P. The 16 code silver is not the same as the ground effects. I'm showing that the ground effects are the same color as the rims, which should be 14.
Now that I've confused everybody, I don't know what 17C is.
I just got em at AZ. They were a bit stiff; if I raised the hood about 8 - 10 inches, it would go the rest of th eway up by itself. Didn't seem to be a problem.
nice car man. also, in 83, are those moldings supposed to go down the doors? I have a 84 (same exact car) and didnt have them. 
i remember L69 ads in 1983 stated the engine was rated at 190HP regular gas/200HP if premium fuel used
