Hey guys, looking for some help. I am restoring my old high school car I’ve had for almost 27 years. It is a 1989Iroc Z G92 optioned car with the 5.0 L and five speed transmission and 3.45 rear end.
It currently has 80,000 miles on it. It is in great shape. I am, however, looking to restore it to 95% stock and I am running into a few issues getting there. I understand becuase of a few issues I won’t be able to restore it 100% back to original.

For example, the car was repainted because the previous owner liked the grand sport Corvette admiral, blue metallic color. It also has the 91-92 ground effects. I want to repaint it with the correct color and I will be replacing the ground effects back to the correct 89 year parts. Unfortunately both the man and his wife I bought it from in 1998 are deceased now so I don’t have a good source for what the original color was on this car. The parts ID sticker on the armrest console is gone. I think this car was wrecked along time ago. It wasn’t totaled, but I can tell both front fenders, the hood, front clip and both doors were taken from a different car that was red and the VIN on the doors do not match the VIN on the dash or the VIN in the rear wheel well fender. I also think the front seats were taken out of the donor car also because after doing some digging I found the tattered pieces of paper and the VIN matches the doors.

Here are some photos of the car and the different parts that are throwing me for a loop. First is the car itself and the VINs that I feel are correct with the car.

Second are the bits of red on the front clip, front fenders, doors and the “other” vin.















my best guess is the cars original paint color is Bright Blue Metallic due to a slightly lighter blue overspray in the inside of rear fender, under the carpet and also by the rear speakers.

What are your thoughts? Any help is appreciated.

 

I'd agree that the OEM color was 98 / 9591 Bright Blue

The only other blue in 1989 was much lighter and not an Iroc color IMO.

Swap the grill for a "camaro grill", repaint 9591, and find a car for the GFX and it will look 5 times more original if going back to that look.

The 85-90 GFX (Iroc and Z28) should all match up. I didn't realize there were slight differences in the screw holes on the top part (under the door) on certain years until i had to replace one of my 86 Rockers GFX

 

Thanks for the reply!!

Yes my goal is to repaint the car the correct color from 1989, replace the ground effects and the Camaro front grill, paint the black headlight pockets back on.

the car is in great condition and so is the interior. I won’t have to touch the interior.

Couple other questions. Do all Iroc zs in 89 have the bottom stripes around the car? Do the 5.0L cars have a “tuned port injection” sticker under Iroc Z behind the front wheel? The 350s had 5.7 tuned port injection correct?

 

The stripes and IROC-Z on the doors could be deleted. RPO DX3.
TUNED PORT INJECTION decals would be below the fender emblems.

If you took your VIN to a dealer, they may be able to provide more info on the original colour, not sure how far back their records go. If the car was purchased in Canada, this would be a piece of cake.

 

What an awesome car! I'm biased though. I for sure would return it to it's original color, ground effects and grill. Does it still retain it's original N10 dual cat exhaust?

 

Yes! It does still have the dual cat exhaust. It sounds great and it’s very snappy.

im just trying to make sure I restore the car correctly. Like I’ve said it won’t be a 100% restoration becuase it does have some front fenders, front clip and doors from a different car. The car is in fantastic shape however. I feel with new correct ground effects, correct stickers (if I can find out if it had the bottom stripes) and a new paint job it will be how I want it.

only thing mechanically the car needs is to replace the valve seats in the heads. The car smokes at start up and just a little bit when it runs

 

I appreciate your guys help!

Just thought I’d show you guys the cars I’ve had in my lifetime. Wish I still had them all. The only one I have left is my 89 Iroc Z. It should be an “easier” restoration. I am also working on restoring my late father’s 1979 Ford F150 Ranger Lariat pickup. That one is gonna be harder and a cost a lot more!!!!


1986 Trans Am Recaro Edition. 5.0L carbureted “G” motor??

1987 Ford 5.0

1979 Trans Am. 56,000 miles.

1979 Ford F150 Ranger Lariat. 2wd. 400M, auto.

 

The 1986 TA HO was nice. That was the last year for that motor in 3rdgens, and so few were produced that it was already considered extinct. That's one to find and get back someday.

An oil change to Valvoline MaxLife should cure the seal-related smoking issues by the time the car is ready for its follow-up oil change, and then you can put off changing the seals until you're ready. Continued use and you'll probably forget all about it. It cured mine 25 years ago when Valvoline first released MaxLife, and it hasn't smoked since. Since then, I begin using it in all of my cars and trucks when they're new, and they've all kept going and going and going... like new. Hundreds of thousands of miles on each of them. I don't know if all high mileage oils work, but MaxLife is for real. It was probably created specifically for leaking SBC engines. Then you can focus on other parts of the restoration... and search for the 86 TA.

 

thata great info on the oil! I’ll try that. Thank you!

im wrong on the G code motor. What is the other non HO 305 motor? That’s what it had. So not so rare besides the recaro seats.

 

Maybe "H"