okfoz

Obviously Rust belt vehicles do not fare as well as those in the south. In the North salt is used for half the year... Winter always makes me appreciate spring a whole lot more...

x55Cam

I just purchased an '89 IROC about year ago - it sat up north in Conn. for about 14 years on someones yard - how or why it got this way is mystery. It had at that time about 38K original miles. I took the motor out and found it had a spun bearing - maybe the owner never bothered with it because of it and it just sat. It was never registered or insured during all that time - a good example of one that just disappeared without a trace that would be nearly impossible to determine if it still exists.

LiquidBlue

There are still enough remaining that one day we won't be talking about LT1 swaps, we'll be forced into discussing Tesla swaps.

battmann

iTrader: (9)

around here (western NY) a lot of thirdgens met their demise as first cars for teenagers or dirt track racers
there used to be TONS of thirdgens in the local junkyards up until maybe 2008-9ish? if i remember correctly that's around when cash-for-clunkers started and then a couple years later scrap metal prices spiked leading to tons of old stuff in yards getting crushed. i'm lucky if i see one thirdgen (if any) at local yards. now it's easier to buy a whole parts car to get something i need instead of finding the part elsewhere. even parts car prices are going up now though.

bjpotter

When I was young in the 70's and 80's, people drove their classic cars/hot rods all the time. They were daily drivers in good weather or your weekend ride. Friday and Saturday nights were full of screaming tires and black streaks at every stop light. Now I almost never see a classic car on the road unless its on its way to a show. Back then people would upgrade the power because the car companies usually down played it to meet government standards. If you wanted a fast car you had to fix it yourself. Now you can buy new or used, a car that leaves the old cars in the dust. Not many improvements are needed.
Add to that, a large portion of young people live in condo's and apartments and don't have garages, tools or the skills to do the work. There are exceptions, but restorers are becoming businesses and not just individuals fixing a classic on the weekends like it use to be. I fear the vast majority of barn finds will simply be parted or ignored until mother nature takes it back mineral by mineral.
I love my car is a daily driver. But I haven't seen another Firebird or Trans Am for over a year. I have only seen 2 Camaro's, but both looked and sounded Very Tired!

sofakingdom

iTrader: (1)

Yup, I see at least one every couple of days or so (different ones), and most are like that. Most in fact are much worse than just tired. Nice ones are not common at all. Not on the road, not at shows, nowhere. They're seemingly dying off or going underground.

Redvert88

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Redvert88

I'm sorry to hear you believe this is the dumbest thread you think you have seen. As a car info novice, I was only curious and didn't know if there was a way to find out.

scottmoyer

And you decided to follow up on this thread 8 months later? Sorry you don't like my response, but when roughly a million 3rd gen Camaros are produced, and there isn't a public registry of all of them, how would anybody know the answer? This is a question that can't be answered with correct numbers, so it's anybody's guess, as you can see by the reposnses.

blacksunshine'91

iTrader: (10)

Cut him some slack. Maybe he had to have a few fake arguements in the shower before he could feel confident in his reply.

3gencam

In fact, more than 1.5 million 3rd gen Camaros were made. And for those who don't know, more than 2 million 2nd gen Camaros were made. I've seen only one of each gen on the streets of Dallas in the past 2 years. However, both gens still exist out there. Just go to FB Marketplace and you'll find plenty of each - although most of them are in horrific condition with "missing" titles.

Drew

iTrader: (58)

They are as many as the stars in the skies.

As often as one sees the word rare... It's funny how many rare cars you come across.

ironwill

I live in the Mid-West, along the lower edge of the Rust Belt. Third-gens of any year/model/condition are extremely rare here. The last one I saw on the road was about 5 years ago, a teal sport coupe that appeared to be in very good condition. Just yesterday, at a gas station, as I was fueling my '86, the guy at the next pump commented that he hadn't seen (a third-gen) in a long time.

chazman

iTrader: (4)

Maybe a better question might be, how many mint, low mile, 3rd gens are sitting under a car cover in the original owner's garage waiting for the next owner?

Eric-86sc

iTrader: (18)

Imo the best way to calculate is that there’s enough low mileage ones in circulation and still undiscovered to keep super ratty or project cars in the 3 figure range for quite awhile.

mikeceli

iTrader: (2)

For one of the Automobile Repair Shops I ran, decades ago, we bought a list of Honda owners contact info, for a targeted marketing campaign.

I think it was Polk

https://lp.polkcitydirectories.com/2...SAAEgLUMPD_BwE

IMissMy86TA

I used to work in Direct Marketing and have purchased lots of lists of prospective customers from Polk! Happy they are still around!

1986BANDIT

Ive got 2 so there is 5,it would be even more interesting to find out how many third gens JUST TGO members own and the model break down.

just picked up an 88 gta loaded l98 car 2 days ago for $900,they are still out there.i would love to see a total number of tgo owners cars just for fun

gregg64

I had bought brand new back in 86 when i was just a young one a brand new Z28 off the show room floor. My mom came home one night from car shopping and told me i was going back with her too buy this car. Who was i too argue with dear old mom. By the way, she was sporting a 79 Trans Am with the nocturne blue and three color screaming chicken. Talk about a cool old bird and the car was pretty neat too.
So to get back too it, My sons buddy gave me an 86 base Camaro for nothing so i am deep in the middle of a restoration and clone of my 86 Z. Cant wait, saved this one from the scrap yard for sure.

gregg64

As a matter of fact, there are three on my street alone.