Found a real 87 IROC 350 L98 w/T-tops, codes match. Need advice.

My RS was totaled 3 weeks ago. I've been searching for a parts car to salvage a front clip from to save my RS, while looking this is what I found.

A 1987 Burgandy IROC Z28, w/350 TPI and T-Tops. The car has 78,000 miles on it and is a 2nd owner car. The body has 3 dings on it. The paint is in excellent condition as is the interior of the car. Tires are new. The car doesn't idle well as it's not been driven much in the last year. There is also a ticking sound from driver side of the engine. I'm not sure if it's an exhaust leak or sticky lifter. The car will need a serious tune up (plugs, wires, coil, distributor cap, etc) and fluid changes. Asking price is a firm $5,500

I checked the codes in the storage box between the front seats. It has the CC1 T-Top code and L98 code from the factory. Which other codes should I check? What code is for the rear axle and suspension? I didn't see code F41 which was the performance suspension for my RS, but many Z28's also had.

Please tell me what all I need to check.

 

Well it's sounds legit as I'm sure it is because there are many around however $5,500 is WAY too much for the condition you describe. Get them down to like $4K or even $3,500 then I say go for it.

 

I AGREE. I'm looking for the SAME car in red, and I've been looking for a while. That is too much for dents and an engine that might not be in top condition. U should ask to negotiate it.

 

Unless the car is trashed the price is about right. I haven't seen an L98 car that wasn't trashed sell for less than $8,000 here since I bought mine. An 87 Iroc L98 with t's isn't rare, isn't unusual, etc. But the ttops are more desirable to most people. As for the engine, I've seen a trend with early maf cars recently, they all run like crap. My 87 Iroc is included, but I haven't tried to work with it at all, I'm just not interested seeing how it comes out of the garage once every 4 months. If you want the car, point out what you're concerned about and offer whatever you can afford. If you offer 3,000 and he's asking $5,500 you're just insulting the guy and the car.

BTW an Iroc has a heavier suspension then F41, look for RPO B4Z (Iroc) and RPO FE2 (heaviest suspension). Really if $5,500 is too much then you're goign to be left to completely trashed Iroc's, RS's, Berlinetta's, coupes, etc. Nice L98 cars bring in $$$.

 

$8,000?!?! That is outrageous!! I know cars go for different prices everywhere, but that car with dents, sound in the engine, and an off idle shouldn't go for $8,000. I'd say at least ask $5,200-$5,000. If an L98 is going for $8,000 it better have incredibly low miles and be in new condition.

 

Around here $8,000 is about normal for any L98 thirdgen thats not completely trashed with between 90,000-120,000 miles. Conversely 93-95 Z28's and formula's sell for between $4000-8000 unless they're fully loaded or in mint condition with low miles. The last couple L98's I've seen around here had ripped up seats, LARGE dents in the 1/4's, one GTA had the grid on the taillights painted white, all have bald tires, most don't idle at the right speed, the underdash panels hang down, all the 90-92 birds have broken cupholders, etc etc etc. These cars are almost always used up and still sell at prices up to $8,000.
We looked at a used up 91 Base model bird with the L03 auto and it sold for $7,000 even though it needed an alignment, cupholders were sheared off, the ttops made horrible wind noise, etc... Had it been an L98 it would have been another $1000. It sold in about a week too.

$3000 around here buys a completely hacked up rusted out LB9 auto, or any number of V6's, sport coupes, RS's (rarely) and berlinetta's... some early z28's too. If you do some looking you can pick up peoples abandoned projects (been sitting in front/back yards, or next to garage for three years) POS cars for under $500.

FWIW I picked up my Iroc and my Formula about 3 yrs ago for 5,200 and 4,900 respectively. The Iroc w/50,000 miles had bad hail damage, bad exhaust, bald tires, broken foglights, ripped seats, bad alternator and battery, etc. The formula w/96,000 had rust, trashed interior, an idle problem, bad paint, etc.

In 95 my 83 sport coupe was $3200 in nearly mint shape with the LG4 auto.

 

I'm glad I live in sunny CA were I just about stole my GTA for only $7K cash, at that was at $5K BELOW BB at the time! Granted it's not a L98, but damn, it's still one hell of a nice car......

 

Now that you mention it there was a 91 GTA I looked at a couple of times. Had 60,000 miles, Lb9 auto, black on black leather, nice shape, perfect body, guy was trying to sell it last winter. He started at $8,000 and ended up offering it to me for $6,000 after not selling it for a few months. Then it spend another month on a u-sell-it lot listed at $6,000... I don't know if it ever did sell. Thats kind of a wildcard, but then again it was december and a private seller, and a Lb9 auto... without ttops...

 

Wow! Surprised to find such a variation in expected pricing. I can add a data point - I just purchased a 1988 IROC-Z L98 wth T-tops in excellent condition, 92,000 miles with every option I can imagine for $4400. That seemed a good deal (especially compared to the $13,000 I paid for an '85 IROC with 305 new in '85) but from looking in the Auto Trader and checking out the online valuation sites it seems like it is only about $1000 less than the average asking in my area.

Good luck with finding a good replacement for the RS! Sounds like it was very good to you for a very long time.

 

I'm also surprised by the variation in what people think these cars are worth. especially in a forum where people like these cars. Another point of interest i recently paid $8750 for an 87 IROC with 39,000, and some interesting options, t-tops, leather, power antenna, tpi 305, etc. The car also has some nice upgrades, CD changer, k&n, airfoil, hyperchip, flowmaster. The receipts for the work done and the original window sticker helped seal the deal. I do believe that $8750 was pushing the envelope as to what this car is worth, though. I sold an 85 z28 for $5500 with 42,000. It was a nice car but no IROC option and no t-tops.

I've noticed that I seem to think these cars are worth more than a lot of the other members.

As always a car is worth what someone is willing to pay. ( firm grasp of the obvious )

 

Beast, yes my 91 RS was an exception car it had right at 229,000 miles on the orginal engine and tranny no work on either. It was a one owner car for it's entire life.

As to the 87 IROC I'm looking at, I don't plan to insult the owner or the car, but I can easily see that noise being a lifter problem or exhaust leak and their will be some work pulling the intake and/or exhaust manifold to fix this. I was thinking something like $4750 as my offer price on the car mentioning that was really $5500 minus the needed work on the car.

Tune up - plugs, wires, dist cap, coil, fuel filter, air filters
Change - Oil, tranny fluid, & diff fluid
Flush Radiator and refill
New cat back as the stock on has various leaks in it
Clean fuel injectors and maybe replace some of them.

I can take care of most of this myself.

The car will have to pass the sniffer test and have a North Carolina inspection.

Do you think I'm off base?

He said he'd be available today, I've called twice and the fax machine picks up. He very well may have decided to keep the car, however it's listed in the new car trader.

 

I think that you are on the right track dealing with this guy since there are some unknowns concerning the engine. Maybe try going to all the pricing sites (Edmunds, Kelly blue book, etc) and print out their numbers and have them with you. It gives you a foundation for your offer and he is less likely to be insulted by an offer that is backed by data. We all know their prices are not real reliable on these kinds of cars - he may not :-).

I had a similar situation with contacting a person selling an '89 IROC/305. Apparently he had some"personal problems" the weekend I was to contact him to go see the car, and by the time he got back to me I had already found the car I ended up buying - I liked this one enough to stop looking! Maybe he is just recovering from New Years. I have been amazed how often the sellers seem less motivated than the buyers!

 

Keep in mind the ticking could be the AIR injection valves. If its solely an exhaust leak its not going to be a huge deal and personally I wouldn't try using is as a bargaining point. Hell my S10 has had a leaking exhaust manifold for the last 20,000 miles, still runs perfect, just noisy. Give it a go and see how it turns out.

 

I just bought an 1988 IROC convert for 3400.....hummm, lets see, the top is 2 yrs old bu needs to be re blued in some spots and needs seat covers........

 

Go for a B4C if you can find one. 87' IROC'S are a dime a dozen around here in Arizona. Unless they are low mileage. $4750 is pretty high price for something you might have to go into the motor for.

 

even 4000 is too high for that car IMO. 91 Z28 350 tpi auto in nice shape sold for 5K even car was all stock not rusty, minor paint blemishes, nice int, ect. Dunno, like above says...who know what needs to be doen to the car..possibly internal. But if its what you want..go for it.

 

Just as a point of refernece. I bought my 89 L98/WS6/CC1 Trans Am from a Pontiac Dealer in 2000 with 23,000 origional miles for $7,500. That was with a warranty, new hood/hatch struts, Complete brake job inc 4 new rotors & 4 new tires. $5,500 is WAY too much for that IROC!

Jay

 

No it isn't...

I agree with Drew...many 350, t-topped cars with respectable mileage are going for good money these days. The depreciation curve on a nice one is over...they're going up, not down.

Leaf through any of the various auto hunters around here, and $5,500 is spot on for that car. Exhaust leak? Who cares??? Hardly anything to worry about. And 3 door dings barely qualify as "dents." How many of us here have an absolutely ding-free car? C'mon....

As for the idle, a tune-up will help that. Maybe the MAF is bad...who knows. But it isn't life threatening. To those of you who have found better deals out there, good for you. There are people out there willing to sell a car VERY cheap merely to get rid of it. Obviously this guy knows he has a decent car, and wants decent money.

There's nothing wrong with paying $5,500 for this car.

 

That is TOO MUCH to pay here in NYS. If you pay $5,500 & it has more than 60K, you were had. Most ones in the condition stated in the origional post would go for $3,000-$3,500. I would not pay a premium for a car that needs work, that tells me it was not taken care of to begin with, move on or get the price down.

From KBB.COM...

1987 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 Sport Coupe 2D

Engine: V8 5.7 Liter TPI
Trans: Automatic
Drive: Rear Wheel Drive
Mileage: 78,000


Equipment
IROC Pkg
Air Conditioning
Power Steering
Power Windows
Power Door Locks
Tilt Wheel
Cruise Control
AM/FM Stereo
T-Bar Roof
Alloy Wheels



Retail Value $4,735



Jay

 

Currently, the seller is unavailable. He may have changed his mind and that's ok if he did or he may have left his fax on.

I'd rather have a B4C RS anytime over an IROC. I purchased my RS new and picked it over the big spoilered 91 Z28 and would make the same choice. I like the RS styling better. That may just be me but the spoilers, fake hood louvers, fog lights aren't my cup of tea. It's fine for someone else and I know many like that styling and that's fine.

I think the engine issue makes the car more in the $4750 range. I've also priced a 85 IROC Z TPI for $1500, (needs engine work), I've found an 89 RS for $1500 as well also need engine work.

Seems to me if he wanted to sell the car he'd get it inspected, and since 75% of the potential buyers are in smog counties he'd get the car smogged...but that's just my .02 worth.

I may try calling him again, but I'd rather have a really KEWL B4C instead for the same $$$.

 

Is your interior still decent in your wrecked car? you may need it if you find a B4C.

thats my complaint about the B4C cars i have looked at in the past, they used the cheap seats and usually did not have option group 2. Im lazy and i like all the amenities and can live w/o leather, but i hate cheap cavalier seats.

 

My old RS was a PEG 2 equiped car so it had the pw,pl etc and I liked that. Most of the interior is in decent shape all in all. I didn't realize the B4C tend to need interior work. Thanks for the tip.

 

The normal wear item is the drivers seat due to the gun holster and other holes drilled for equipment. Typical stuff for the police but not federal B4C's.