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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've been looking around a bit, and I've yet to see an 87 Camaro or Firebird with the typical 1" square tag with a 2 letter code and bar code. I remember my 86 had one, and my later cars have them, but I'm starting to think 87 didn't have them.
On a related note, short of going to Google, does anyone know where there might be a ton of high quality detailed photos of a 1987 Z28 or Irocz? I'm looking for things like original markings, tags, decals, etc. I've been through the stickies already, just want to be sure I don't accidentally scrub off thinking it's mechanic graffiti only to find out later it's a factory marking.
What with digital cameras being so common now, a person would think this kind of thing would be documented better.
So it sounds like it was probably never there, rather than something that was removed or fell off. In the 20 years we've had our 87 Iroc, I know a few tags and markings have weathered away, or I removed them because they were in poor shape. I just don't remember it ever having that particular tag.
Originally Posted by ev305tpi
I have a bunch of pics of mine here, let me know if you want any more pics, happy to post some up!
Thank you for the link! I've got a few pics I've saved here and there, but as I work on the car, it helps to have a reference to others to compare.
So it sounds like it was probably never there, rather than something that was removed or fell off. In the 20 years we've had our 87 Iroc, I know a few tags and markings have weathered away, or I removed them because they were in poor shape. I just don't remember it ever having that particular tag.
Thank you for the link! I've got a few pics I've saved here and there, but as I work on the car, it helps to have a reference to others to compare.
Beautiful car!! Post up some more when you have time! No problem just keep me posted if you need any pics!
Hey Stu, is that a light blue paint mark on the brake booster at about 9 o'clock? I've still got the steering column decal, might even have a better pic of it from when I had the column out last spring.
Note the blue paint dab on the brake booster in this pic... If it's OEM I'll leave it, if not I'll scrub it off.
After looking for the tag at the back of the prop valve, I'm seeing them in more of the pics of other cars, now that I know where to look. The one on my Iroc seems to be long gone. So what should be on a 4 wheel disc prop valve in a 1987 Norwood Camaro?
Originally Posted by ev305tpi
Beautiful car!! Post up some more when you have time! No problem just keep me posted if you need any pics!
Thanks, she's a very photogenic car, just don't look too closely. To be honest the car is a bit of a basket case, only 61k miles, but it was enjoyed thoroughly by previous owners. I've had the car since about 1998 so I figure I might as well fix it.
I keep waiting for the French foreign exchange student across the street to rebuild it for me, but no luck so far...
Paint dab on booster is factory, the prop-valve code is stamped on the side of the block itself, on the side right below the brake warning switch on top, kinda hard to read. Stick the camera down there, snap the pic and enlarge it to be readable.
I'll try to get a better shot of it tomorrow. This was pulled from my stash of photos. If you need photos, let me know.
Thanks Scott, I always appreciate the way you've documented your car, it comes in very handy. I wouldn't want to pester you with too many photo requests.
I wasn't sure about the paint dab. This car had a lot of mechanic's paint under the hood. Like yellow paint dots on the injector boots, numbering them. As if it matters. LOL Now that I've started looking for the light blue mark, I'm seeing it in a lot of pics.
I tried the camera trick a couple days ago and couldn't get it to focus enough to be legible. This morning with daylight coming through the garage window it was a little better. It looks like "NB" but then I have a fair hunch that's what it's supposed to say, and it almost looks like the machine double stamped the marking.
Interestingly I checked two more prop valves in my junk bin. The LF that I presume is the original off my Formula, and a "MB" that came from a storage unit full of mixed thirdgen parts. Both were stamped on the left side of the valve housing, practically behind the mounting bracket. I know the "LF" is a 1LE or PBR rear disc valve, and assume "MB" is probably a typical disc/drum valve.
Hey Drew, I blew it, sorry. My 91 and 92 have them on the front so I assumed the same with my 87. I finally had a few min to read through the replys and curiosity got the best of me, went out to the garage and sure enough there is on on the back on mine too. Here are a couple pics. I tried but cant get my camera behind it to get a pic of what it on it in focus. Beautiful car BTW, cant wait to see more pics of it in the future. Very cool you still have it after that much time!
Hey Drew, I blew it, sorry. My 91 and 92 have them on the front so I assumed the same with my 87.
No problem, up until the other day I'd never heard of, or seen the tag on the rear of the valve. It's a bit mind blowing to see something I've never noticed before.
It looks like you have a two piece speedometer cable too! My 87 had one when I got it, never noticed until the cable broke and I went to change it. I want to say the 2 piece cable is a remnant of the old cruise control transducer that had a cable going in from the transmission, and another going out to the speedometer, but that system was obsolete after 1983. I've seen earlier cars with the one piece cable, but seeing another two piece on an 87, especially such an original car makes a person wonder. Maybe there was a shortage of one piece cables, or GM decided to purge the two piece? Idk, but it's interesting to see another one, I always assumed a previous owner had swapped in a junkyard cable from an earlier car.
Drew, here are some pics from my car. The first one shows a white mark on the booster. The second pic is a mirror image of 1/2 the tag, the 3rd picture is the other 1/2, and the fourth picture is of a grease mark on the steering linkage. It looks pink to me.
Just for you Drew, I took the label off to get a good picture. Now I hope you feel bad that I dropped the rubber cap that holds it on and I need to go looking for it somewhere in the engine compartment!!!!
Hey Stu, is that a light blue paint mark on the brake booster at about 9 o'clock? I've still got the steering column decal, might even have a better pic of it from when I had the column out last spring.
Note the blue paint dab on the brake booster in this pic... If it's OEM I'll leave it, if not I'll scrub it off.
Not sure if it's white or blue in the pictures I have (only have what's on my phone at the moment) but here's a slightly better one
Just for you Drew, I took the label off to get a good picture. Now I hope you feel bad that I dropped the rubber cap that holds it on and I need to go looking for it somewhere in the engine compartment!!!!
LOL Well if it doesn't turn up, let me know and I'll mail you a replacement.
Thanks for the detail pic! Wonder if I print a copy on card stock and laminate it, if it'll be convincing... Stay tuned.
Also I notice in that group of photos of Scott's Iroc, yet another two piece speedometer cable. Damn. Now I've got to dig through my parts stash and see if it survived the great culling. I'd have to think twice before switching it back to the two piece, it was a real mother getting the replacement in between the steering shaft and frame rail, what with the brake lines and AIR injection lines.
No problem Stu, I might have to look at the mark on my booster in person to see if it's really blue or just discolored by the flash or the camera. Either way it looks to be original, so I'll leave it alone.
I just checked the '89 (much more accessable) and while it's clearly blue looking at it, it seems to photograph more white; I'll have to check the '87 next time I am over there...
I pulled a few prop valve caps out of my parts stash, only to find at least three different styles. They all seem to be marked Kelsey Hayes or K/H with a part number, but different shapes, markings, etc. The ones easily accessible were all different from the 87 style. I walked back to my personal junkyard™ and found a brake booster/master cylinder/prop valve from an 86 Firebird disc/drum setup. It had the flat cap like the ones pictured in this thread, used in 87. It also had the "NC" tag still hanging on the prop valve... On the back side. I remember seeing the tag at some point, but I remembered it being on the front side of the valve. LOL
I pulled Scott's image of the prop valve tag into Photoshop and retouched the white areas back to pure white, and the black back to pure black. I squared up the edges of all the markings and adjusted the spacing to make it more 'balanced'. It's still a work in progress, I'll need dimensions of an original so I can size it correctly. The bar code probably wouldn't scan correctly, but it'll look the part.
1-1/8" x 1". As you can see, the layout isn't perfect and neither are the edges. The four sides look like they were cut out with scissors, so they are not perfectly straight edges.
04-04-2016, 02:08 PM
I remember seeing the tag at some point, but I remembered it being on the front side of the valve. LOL
