Killer deal on the wheels, unsure about if they look better than the red wheels. Those buckets are screaming for vinyl coating lol...that may be the key to pulling off the iroc wheels.

 

Well.....the purist guys are gonna probably want to crucify me, but I had to do it. I just couldn't take it anymore. I really have no plans of selling this car, and the damn headlight buckets absolutely drove me nuts. So, I painted them today. I used PPG Hot Rod Black, which is a single stage, kind of a satin black. The sheen is similar to what the factory used.

 

Now I need to find some 88-90 Gray IROC wheels...I just don't know if I like the gold wheels...unless I ditched the Heritage stripes and put a black/gold IROC lower stripe on it. I dunno....I really want the 89 style wheels, either way

 

So much better.

 

Beautiful RS with or without the buckets being painted. Good color combo. If you ever decide to sell you should have no problem finding a buyer.

 

Looking good!

 

The black buckets look great! The gold wheels will look good on someone else’s car🤓

 

That looks sharp!

 

I like the gold wheels on red paint over the red or grey wheels. I did the same thing on my '85 California IROC.

 

I had a really nice set of grid style taillights out of a 91 RS that I parted out....so I threw them in the car today.

 

Looks great Darin. It is nice to see you putting some love in a RS. My car has the same stripes on the deck lid and it is kinda cool how the way the 3rd brake light cuts into the stripes, it like a Chevy Bow tie.

 

Great car! I couldve gone either way on the buckets. It is an RS so little touches don’t hurt it too bad... Might even be seen as an improvement to some if you sell it...

I actually liked the red wheels on it...

You know what would be killer though is a set of Ronals... Red or Black...

Saw a set of used red ones on eBay a while back...

I like gold on red, but the black stripes are begging for something else IMO

very sweet car

 

I will trade you. I have the gray 88-90 wheels but prefer the 85-87 gold wheels

 

Man I wish you were close!!!

 

I am seriously thinking about making an IROC clone out of this thing. Going with the gray 88-90 wheels, etc. I found a hood for cheap, and being a professional painter, I can make it look like new. It's an RS and just turned 29k miles last weekend. It isn't a big money car anyways....but it's nice. Actually it's DAMN nice. I paid a whopping $6,500 for the car, and I don't really plan on selling it.....so I'm thinking of making it look how I wish it did lol. And, I don't think it would really affect the value of the car. I would also keep the stock parts that I would take off. It wouldn't take much for me to make it look like this....

 

Not really my thing nor does it really matter what I think. But I gotta say I'd vote Yes just so you remove that Golf Cart steering wheel!! Those things really ruin the look of any Camaro interior, IMO.

 

I'm with ya there! I absolutely HATE the steering wheel

 

I agree. The Z28/Iroc wheel would look nice. Recovered versions are a big pricey, but I would probably do it if it were me.

An IROC clone would look good and I agree that it wouldn't hurt the value. It's your car and you should do with it as you wish.

Just my opinion, but another thought would be to do all of the IROC exterior parts including the silver 88-90 wheels, but leave off anything that says IROC. Do the IROC stripe above the ground effects, and leave the RS badging, and remove the top stripes. Or, leave the top stripes, do black 91-92 hood blisters and don't do the stripes above the ground effects (more like a 25th anniversary heritage package). Just some other thoughts, but whatever you do, it will be great. Make it the way YOU want it.

 

Hawks 17x9 88-90 grey IROC wheels are ordered! Along with a set of 275/40/17 General G-max RS tires, brand new IROC steering wheel, and decal kit. NOS rocker and bumper emblems are on the way. Picking up an IROC hood on Saturday.

I sold my 88 IROC convertible on Monday....it went to Los Angeles. I'm not sure what I'll replace it with. Tossing around a Yellow, 85 IROC-Z that has a built 6.0 LS swap.

 

It’s an interesting experiment actually. What if it really is all about the IROC look and when you go to sell the car it goes for much more than an RS if visually inside and out it looks exactly like an IROC.

These rocker emblems Phoenix Graphics makes look pretty dead on:

https://www.rickscamaros.com/1988-90...E&gclsrc=aw.ds

would you hook up fog lights too?

 

I was going to check on here and see if someone knew if the wiring harnesses in these cars were the same, but yes, I am planning on fog lights as well.

As for rocker emblems, I have an NOS set bought and they are on the way. The Phoenix Graphics ones are close....I had them on my 88.....the bad thing about them is what they're made of. All 3 are made like the rear bumper emblem. Actually the rear bumper one is EXACTLY like OEM, and their rocker ones are the same exact thing, minus the bowtie. The factory rocker emblems are a very hard, thick plastic. I just happened to run across an NOS set, so I bought them

I'm thinking I will probably convert the suspension components as well..this car floats down the road like a Cadillac

 

I'm curious as well, I'm wanting to add a Z/28 grill with fogs to my 91 RS

 

I know what you mean about the rocker emblems... I’m just glad they got the font and colors right... It’s a step in the right direction! That’s great you got NOS ones... very hard to come by!

I might like the Cadillac ride... I don’t know that I’ve ever driven an RS come to think of it...

 

You can drive this car 6 inches and know that you're definitely NOT in an IROC lol. As soon as you step on the gas and feel the nose rise up immediately, you know that you're in a soft suspension car. The difference is night and day. I never really noticed it before, until I had both at the same time.

 

I support this message. Congrats!

 

Wow... I’m picturing a Monte Carlo... Yeah it’s cool in one of those 80s boats, but not in a sports car...

 

I am no expert, I have had alot of help from members here. This is how I put fogs on my RS: I bought a Z grill years ago when they were affordable, I picked up the Hawks repro fog lights, was lucky to find an OE fog light switch online and through a search found the underhood wiring section from TPI parts. The car is already set up as far as the harness goes;a relay is all thats needed (provision is near the fuse box). The underhood harness comes with specifics for installation in the driver side dash harness. When complete it all looks / works factory. Everyone that has chimed in to this point has helped me with something, I hope this information helps you!!

 

THANK YOU!!

 

I got my hood today, and took it to the body shop immediately and painted it. Then I started removing the stripes from the rear of the car, and the stripes made the paint peel on the rear spoiler, and the stripes were covering up a few bird **** stains on the trunk lid so I had to paint those, too.

 

Good view of the squeaky clean engine compartment with the hood off

 

I found a guy right in the little town I live in that had this hood on a 1990 RS that he started fixing up like 20 years ago, and has never finished. It got pushed to a corner and there it's sat, untouched. The hood actually had brand new paint that has literally never seen more than 5 minutes of sunlight (and was also red). Anyways, he traded me the hood for my RS hood. And, to top it off, this hood has a brand spanking new GM hood liner on it!

 

It’s going to look great! Of course, that’s what we’ve come to expect from your projects!!

 

The fog light wiring (like most things) depends on the year of the car. 85-87 the fog light harness (under the hood) is it's own harness. 88-92 the headlight harness is different if the car has fog lights. The later cars should all have the wiring for the relay and switch in the dash harness already. Either change the headlight harness to one from a fog light car, or get a few feet of the correct color coded wiring and terminals to plug into C100, and sneak it into the bundle. Or, leave the fog lights out. When I was 17 the fog lights were cool and trendy. Now I just would worry a stray rock will chip or crack a lens, and the benefit is nothing more than "looks cool". They're not really worth the trouble, but they're part of the look.

The trouble with base model cars is they're always going to be a base model car, even if you gut it all and replace with "Iroc" parts, it's still an RS. That goes back to the often repeated advise to just buy the car you want in the first place. You could get the steering box, sway bars, springs, and other parts to make the suspension closer to an Iroc or WS6 car, and it'd handle better. To get the exact feel it'd take changing bushings, etc. Given it's a 15" wheel car originally, I'm guessing no F41 code? The F41 is sort of a hybrid of FE2 and the soft suspension, still comfy with sporty feel, vs the no holds barred FE2 suspension with all compromises towards handling instead of comfort.

Neat car!

 

Thanks Drew! I did order fog lights so I'm gonna try to get them installed and working properly.

I totally agree with buying the car that you want in the first place, but here is why I chose to make a clone out of this car. The car is SUPER clean, and just turned 29k miles. I bought it for $6,500. Being a painter at a body shop, I can easily do this without having to pay to paint a hood, etc. I bought the Hawks 17" IROC wheels, new tires, and EVERYTHING to clone an IROC for right at $2,500. So when it's all said and done, I will have right at $9,000 in this car when it's all finished. (I probably won't do much, if anything to the suspension) That's half of what I would have pay for a 29k mile IROC convertible. When I bought this car, it wasn't what I wanted at all, but for $6,500 I wasn't going to let it get away, either lol. I know it will always be an RS, and would never try to pass it off as anything else. I just want to make a great looking car out of it.....a sheep in wolves clothes I guess lol

Also, I decided to go with the full "visual" IROC clone because my OCD won't let me do it any other way hehe. I hate IROC hoods on an RS. I hate wheels switched around. I hate steering wheels switched around, etc. If EVERYTHING isn't changed....then to me it just looks like a car put together with all the wrong parts. This way, anyone can walk by the car and everything will appear right. I know I'm a weirdo when it comes to that lol

 

Well I like the gold wheels way better without the black stripes!

 

Was the hood and deck lid painted with the same batch of red paint as the body?

 

The deck, spoiler and rear moldings were painted by the fine craftsmen, (sarcasm) at ASC.

 

Looks fine, in the photos. FWIW

 

All buffed up, hood installed

 

Wow, you do nice work. That looks great!

 

You're gonna cause some neck injuries with all the double takes and turning of heads as you cruise by.
You leaving the antenna alone for nostalgia sake?

 

Wow!

 

Me too!

 

Thanks Charlie!

 

Thanks fellas!

 

What I meant was, that ASC did little to no prep on those parts back in the day, sometimes even skipping the clear coat. Look at how the paint peeled off Darin's spoiler. Darin's repaint of those parts is at an exponentially higher quality level.

 

You are 100% right, Charlie. Where the paint peeled on my spoiler, the plastic was not scuffed AT ALL. Zero prep, whatsoever. The trunk lid did not peel anywhere...just that area on the back of the rear spoiler in the pic.

 

What did ASC do with the IROC Z VERT decklid spoiler? The pedestals on mine look like they were cut and glued back on. Twice! Was it adapted from the coupe spoiler?

 

T-top cars were delivered to ASC without the tops or rear hatch/glass.

 

So what about the spoiler? Pedestals' cut and glued on.