Hey Guys, newbie here... I just picked up a 1986 IROCZ-28 and don't remember these taillights being original. Can someone tell me how to find out?

Original or aftermarket?
They aren't fully blacked out just smoked. Just looks really dark inside.

 

Those are the original tail lights, but they've been tinted. The below image is what they looked like originally.

 

Likely original and painted with a spray on taillight coating to make them look darker.

 

Thanks allot guys!! Not something I can easily take back to original.

 

Is that your car in the pic? I'm also missing that decal on the back bumper. The left side has the 5.0 tuned port decal but the right side decal is missing. I thought it was supposed to be "Z28" with bowtie but the pic has "IROC-Z" with bowtie. Which one is original? This car is basically a survivor so want to keep it as original as I can.

 

If your car is an ‘86, it would say “Z28” for that emblem. 85’-87’ would be “Z28” and 88’-90’ would be “IROC-Z”.

 

Thanks man. I'm new to this so how can I check these types of things out to know what is original to this car? The pic of the '87 above has the IROC emblem. Is that not the original?

 

Look in the factory showroom brochures. They are fairly accurate as to what the cars looked like, although sometimes the pictures are of pre-production stuff, that gets changed before production begins.
Pretty much, things are generally grouped into 82-84, 85-87, 88-90, and 91-92 being similar or the same.

 

Ok, thanks. I will try to find a factory showroom brochure for this car.

 

How about some photos, mileage, details, RPO sticker? Then you will get more information on your car.

 

That car in the photo is not likely an 87’. Probably an 88’-90’ with aftermarket wheels.

Like Leonard said, post some photos of your car and the RPO codes and we can help you determine what’s correct and what’s not for your car.

 

I found a few stickers on drivers door but can't read them. Does this look like them?



Here are a few pics I took. I just picked it up today so this is all I have right now.

 

Auto or 5 speed manual? Mileage? Look under the center console lid for the RPO codes.

Only a few of us must not care about the Super Bowl😎

 

Found it!!
Yeah, NFL is not my thing... I'm all about college sports so I'm waiting for March Madness next!! Hahaha...

 

I’m no expert on the RPO codes, but some of the guys on here are Masters of the details, so they can answer most questions on original content for you.

 

That's what I would love to learn next. How do I read these codes and where do I find the details on the codes and find out what is factory, you know? Thanks for all your help with this man!! This car is pretty much a survivor car. They did replace the alternator but left the original in it if I wanted to get it rebuilt to put the original numbers matching alternator back in the car. The only thing I know that isn't original is they put headers on it. They also repainted the ground effects all the way around the car but the body is still original paint. They wanted to fix the front skirt from rocks and road debris and bugs and thought they should do all plastics around it but blended it really well to the original metal body parts.

 

Find a copy of the “Camaro White Book” for reference on RPO Codes, production numbers, number of cars built with each option, etc. Or, once the Super Bowl is finished the guys will probably chime in.

 

In your photos, it looks like your right front fender may have the “jacking bulge”, from someone jacking up the car under that fender. Compare your fender/door fit, to the one in the photo Scott posted. The one Scott posted lines up very nice. See if yours bulges out a ways from the door. If it bulges out, it can be fixed.

 

His line up really nice!!! I noticed that on my door line also but didn't know what it was. I've never heard of "jacking bulge". I figured it was a door adjustment thing. The doors seemed very strong for being such big, heavy doors. No sag at all in them but I figured it was that adjustment that caused the body panels to not line up just right.

 

Scott has fixed them before and can explain it better than me. There is a 1/2” of metal at the inside base of the fender, and many people place the jack there and flatten that metal which causes the fender to bulge out. That could be the issue with your panel fit.

 

You have an 86, LB9 TPI 305, G80 posi rear end, J65 4 wheel disc brakes, and GU5 3.23 gears
CC1 factory t-tops

 

Dagwood to the rescue👍👍

 

Wow. Ok. Thanks man. Where is Scott located? Now I want to take off work tomorrow just to spend the day in the garage playing with the car but I guess I need to go to work to pay for all this playing, right?? Hahaha....

 

Thanks Dagwood!!! Is all this found in the camaro white book?

 

Scott’s in Florida, but I don’t know what town.

Dagwood is a body/paint man, so he can probably explain what to look for and how to fix the fender bulge.

 

No problem. That's a great looking car!

Leonard is right about the fender bow. It's a simple fix. Just look at the pinch weld under the car, behind the front wheel. The bottom of the fender bolts to the pinch weld under there. If it gets jacked up there, it folds over the pinch weld and makes the fender bow out. You can get down there with a pair of channel lock pliers, or a crescent wrench and straighten it out and it will line your fender up again.

But you're gonna have to jack up the car a little to do that. Just NEVER jack it up there lol

 

I'm pretty sure Scott is in Sarasota....

 

Dagwood, thank you very much!!! I hope the fit really is that easy to fix. I will check it out tomorrow nite. I will have to find Scott. I'm in St Pete so really close to Sarasota. I bought the car down by Sarasota today so I hope to meetup with him sometime.

 

Scott's car is pretty unbelievable. 20k miles, every option available, been in magazines, on shirts, etc. It's showroom new appearing and all original.

I also had a flame red metallic IROC-Z. Mine was an 87, 350 TPI and had 48k miles. I got it in 1993 when I was a senior in high school. I absolutely loved that car!

 

In high school, I would have stood on the roof also but today?? I would freak out if I saw someone on the roof.... Hahaha....

Do you see the rear view pic that scott put up top of the thread? I'm assuming its his '87? Look at the emblem on the rear bumper. Its an IROC emblem. I thought factory was Z28 emblem. Do the codes say what emblem should be on there for my '86? Mine is missing.

 

That is 100% NOT Scott's car. Yes, yours should say Z28

 

This is Scott's car...

 

Ok, awesome. Thanks. Another question. They put headers on it. Way too loud. I couldn't get under it to really see but what I heard when laying down next to car was it sounded like the noise was actually in front of the muffler maybe a leak in the pipe going over the rear axle. It just sounded the loudest in the wheel wells versus out the back of the tailpipes. I want to get the car up and see if the pipe is bad and needs to be cutoff and replaced but in doing that, I would also like to get a new muffler and tailpipes. I would like the low grumble that is common with them but really quiet down the headers. Any recommendation to type of muffler or brand/model of muffler/tailpipes?

 

Wow, that's beautiful. I see he has the brake light in the spoiler instead of the window like mine. I was thinking of getting the window louvers also. I don't know how they attach to the window though. Do they rattle and make noise inside the car when driving? I've never had them in a car before.

 

Flowmaster exhaust sounds killer....especially with headers. Not too loud, and very throaty.

Yeah, 1986 was the only year with the third brake light on the top, outside of the hatch glass.

The rear window louvers are held on to the glass trim with little brackets. If installed correctly, they really don't rattle.

 

I don't remember seeing any louvers that would clear the 86 3rd brake light..

 

Yeah I would freak out too, lol. It took me a long time to get up there..I was being super careful, had help from buddies, and my feet never touched the paint. I was on the t top bar.

 

Yeah they made them with a big hump in the top louver that goes over the light. It was a 1 year only deal, so you never see them.

 

Bird91zrag, I have seen them that actually fit around the light so the light is part of the top row of space between panels.

 

After I posted that, I did google and see that they made some. Hopefully you can find a decent set!

 

Haha... Finding some will be the tough part.

 

Nice looking IROC! Same color as my Formula. Love that color! As for louvers, I bought a set for my 89 after a 2 year search and then it took me another 2 years to find all of the factory brackets. Paid more for the brackets than I did the louvers. Brackets are the hardest thing to find if they don't come with the louvers. Good luck with the car, looks great!!

 

Thanks KITT! And thanks for the info on the louvers. I don't want them bad enough to search 4 yrs or pay as much for brackets as the louvers so maybe a quick search and see if there are any out there with brackets included or I leave it as is.

 

Also, the Phoenix Graphics IROC-Z door decals are factory exact, and relatively cheap. Yours are quite a bit smaller than the originals.... Not sure if you really care about those kind of things or not. But your car looks great, man.

Here's the original door decals...




Here's yours....




See the difference? The factory ones go pretty much back to the center of the door, if not maybe even a touch past it

I'm not criticizing your car....it just looks WAAYYY nice and deserves the correct decals. They're only like $45 each

There should also be little silver TUNED PORT INJECTION decals underneath the Z28 emblems on the ground effects. Phoenix Graphics makes those, too.

Like I said, your car looks really good. I'd just fix those couple little things if it were mine and enjoy it.

How many miles are on it? Got some interior pics? From what I can see, the dash pad looks really good, too

 

Also, I have a pair of factory tail lights in good shape. No broken mounts. $75 plus shipping if you're interested. They're out of my 1991 parts car, but are the same tail light

 

Oh crap. I didn't even notice the lettering was smaller. Thanks for letting me know.

 

Hey, I still don't want to come across as ripping on your car, lol. It looks GREAT, and the decal change is a super easy and cheap thing to change to make it right. And the car is definately nice enough to warrant that!

 

Don't worry about it. I know you aren't ripping on it. I appreciate the open and honest comment. The tuned port small one under the Z28 on the ground effects I'm guessing is easy to line up but I'm more concerned with lining up new door decals. I may start with the small ones on bottom and then the back bumper one. I'm thinking hard about your taillights. Can I think about it? I just got the car yesterday so getting used to the look of what they are but may want to have them to put on before I would get rid of the car just for the originality, you know? If you sell them before I decide, then my loss but I appreciate the offer. I will let you know when I finally decide.

 

I think Chazman has a post on here somewhere about the original decal placement. I'll see if I can find it..

 

Man, I really do appreciate all the advice and help you've given me. I've never even been on a forum before so this is all new to me. I've learned allot already just after one day.