Stratocaster25

My love for thirdgen Camaros started the summer before I started my senior year of high school. I had just started getting into building model cars and every couple weeks I'd go to my local hobby shop and pick up a new project to work on. Mostly old '60s Mustangs, Camaros, Vettes, etc... One day I walked in and saw a model of a '91 Z28 and it jumped out at me, so I bought it. Back then thirdgens were a dime a dozen. They were everywhere, but for some reason I never really paid much attention to them. I guess I just wasn't a car guy at the time.

As I was building the model of the '91 Z28 I just really started to like the looks of it. It had muscle car looks, but at the same time it had an exotic look as well. From then on I knew I wanted one, but I ended up having to wait almost a year before I got one. Right before graduation I noticed a white '87 sport coupe, and a red '92 Z28 convertable at a local car lot. My dad and I went down and took the '87 for a spin. He wasn't about to let me drive the Z28. I fell in love with it and a few weeks later I took my graduation money and bought it. Shorty after I put some '85-'90 GFX on it along with a new paint job. After driving it for 5 years it started to nickle and dime me to death and sadly I ended up selling it. It was really hard to do, but I needed something more reliable. As I watched it drive away I told myself that I'd get another one some day.

Back in 2006 after about a solid year of looking I came across a white '92 Z28 on autotrader.com. After running it through carfax.com I drove about 50 miles to check it out and ended up taking it home the next day.

Beltfed

My mom drove a POS Honda back when her and my dad were dating. Shortly after they were married, the Honda bit the dust and my dad being a hardcore Pontiac man traded it in on a brand new '82 Trans Am. She hated that car with a passion because my dad got rid of her beloved Honda instead of fixing it. They got into a big fight, and he said something along the lines of "Fine, drive it for a year and if you still don't like it, trade it in on anything else you want". Story goes that a year to the day she traded it in on a brand new '84 model Accord in '83. She was pregnant with me that year she was driving the TA, and it was love as a fetus I'm sure. During the 80's I was addicted to Knight Rider and my dad always griped about my mom trading in the Trans Am. When I turned 16 I bought a '84 Firebird for $900 and absolutely thrashed the crap out of it like a typical teen-ager. I had two periods of autoshop in highschool and was ALWAYS doing something to that car. The '84 was retired to the sideyard when I picked up a Blazer, and shortly there after a 1981 Turbo Trans Am. I had really thrashed the poor '84, and my mom was really upset about me having so many cars so I had to get rid of one of them. I was working in an autoparts store, and a regular customer was looking for a 700r4 transmission. I told the guy he could have the tranny if he took the whole car So he took the car, pulled the tranny, and sent the rest of it to GM Sports Salvage I'm 25 now, have two kids, and have been riding my motorcycle to work for the past two years, rain or shine. I started really getting burned out riding, so started looking for a car. I found an '86 TA on Craigslist, and snatched it up. It's like having an old friend back. You might say that I'm going through a quarter-life-crisis but there's nothing like being in the drivers seat of a 3rd gen. My kids call it my "race car", my wife makes fun of me for actually driving fast again, and I haven't been this happy in a long time. I'm already wanting another one.

jrhaus76

What became of the 81 TTA?

Beltfed

It had been sitting for some time when I got it, I had the transmission rebuilt and drove it for a few months. The transmission shifted so hard the back window popped out once, and another time really getting into the gas the airpump somehow managed to break off. The motor ended up going, and it being a 301T the prices I was quoted to get rebuilt was WAY out of my price range. So I yanked the motor, bought a TPI Vette motor, transmission adapter plate, and started the conversion. The 301T block ended up getting scrapped, but I still have the heads and some other parts somewhere out in my garage. The car got sold on eBay of all places and is in New York somewhere.

adamnkc

good stuff. I got a 91 gta ,in 08 .I was living in san diego in 1989, my step sisters boyfriend was in the navy .He had a 89 formula t tops powter blue n silver. red pin strips .I was 15 . She had the car 6 months while he was at sea .I took my drivers test in it . Iv always wanted one of my own.The gta i have now Takes me back to those days

adamnkc

good stuff. I got a 91 gta ,in 08 .I was living in san diego in 1989, my step sisters boyfriend was in the navy .He had a 89 formula t tops powter blue n silver. red pin strips .I was 15 . She had the car 6 months while he was at sea .I took my drivers test in it . Iv always wanted one of my own.The gta i have now Takes me back to those days

adamnkc

good stuff. I got a 91 gta ,in 08 .I was living in san diego in 1989, my step sisters boyfriend was in the navy .He had a 89 formula t tops powter blue n silver. red pin strips .I was 15 . She had the car 6 months while he was at sea .I took my drivers test in it . Iv always wanted one of my own.The gta i have now Takes me back to those days

Beltfed

How did you manage to post that 3 times?

adamnkc

slow computer

'86 Camaro BoSs

Growin up my mom had an '85 sport coupe.. and my uncle also had one, an '86 tho.. i loved my mom's car.. b ut my uncles' was in better shape at the time.. always said i wanted it..well i turned 15.. and by that time the car had sat in the seattle area for about 3-4 years rarly driven, and it looked like crap.. my uncle told me "you liked it so much, it's yours" then i really got into third gen's.. and i always wanted a 91-92 because i liked the half moon gauges, and the gfx.. then in the summer of '07, my grandpa had found a '92 in the paper.. he didn't wanna tell me about it so he waited a week (i think) hopeing that it was sold.. then showed me it.. it had a wrecked front end.. all flat black.. really didn't look that good. but it was what i wanted and it was for a good price. so we picked it up.. then i decided to part way's with the '86.. some guy at a stop light asked if i was selling it and i said anything of mine's for sale for the right price.. just so happened he named it..

racerquinny

iTrader: (1)

do you guys mind if i post a little something different. of my last car that i wrecked. then bought the camaro. i had a 88 mazda 323, a fence jumped out in front of me. not sure if it'll be allright to post other car pics on here. so give me a thumbs up or down. its a big upgrade from a 1.6L/ 82 hp to a 5.0L with 170hp +/-

avro206

post up! I had an 87 323 hatch..5 speed. I put a K&N and bigger exhaust. It was kinda fun little car....

went to 2.4L 5 speed Cobalt after that.

jrhaus76

Post it. I have posted pics of all my other cars at one time or another. I started this thread and love hearing car stories about how and why people are into them, any kind of car. Also if you have, lets see some of your Camaro, and why you got it after that fence ran out into the road!

racerquinny

iTrader: (1)

here some pics, i gota head off to work and for you who know about the 323. i think it was a very nice car- the hp, cuz mine was completly stock




----------
what i have now.

avro206

Here's mine



and a video





Fun fact that most don't know. They made a FWD Turbo 4dr with 132hp and an AWD hatch. That was cutting edge in the day.

racerquinny

iTrader: (1)

yes i did know that actualy. it was called the GTX, AWD turbo. i had mine that clean with American racing wheels and they shined. but anyway, i was coming home from vo-tech and took that corner a little to fast. and slide into the fence. after all that i was looking for a car and i found this camaro in reading, pa craiglist for $1300 bucks. went out look at it and got the guy to put the price down to $900. beacuase there was no tires-very low, no radio, paint was faded and still is( mostly on the hood and some panels. and it idled high at 1750rpm. i bought it for 900 and clean it up a bit. one day i was sitting at my work with the car sitting near the gas price sign and the guy who i bought it from. his wife drove by and saw it there all clean and shiny. she went home and told him why did you sell it. it looks so nice now. now the car is driven every day. but it needs a bath again, bunch of snow and salt dirt. its the only car i have right now. so it goes everywhere.

thats my story. not sad or exciting but i got a camaro!!!!

jrhaus76

Nice but why is the shed door swirly?

racerquinny

iTrader: (1)

i edited my photo, and thought the swirl was cool. but couldnt find out where to put so i did it to my shed. i didnt think anyone would notice.... hahahanice eye though.

87_Injected

I used to own 2 camaros before I purchased my vette. An 89 IROC Z vert and a 92 RS. After owning the vette for 10 years.. I had the itch to come back. The thirdgens will always belong to me. Thats what drew them to me.

jrhaus76

Do you still have the Corvette? I noticed on your other posted you wanted a C5 or C6. What Corvette do/did you have? My parents had a few Corvettes growing up. We had a 67 coupe in the early 90s when they werent nearly as cool as they are today. It ran...oh 50% of the time and no one could figure out why. It would just quit. Also had a 92 and a 95, both coupes. The 92 I think was rare as it had factory cloth seats. I think that is a SUPER rare option. Should have kept it.

But... my favorite of all my parents cars was this 89 IROC!

87_Injected

No I traded in my 87 vette roadster with another guy for this IROC. He wanted a decent vette since he got bored of the IROC he finished mostly restoring. So I couldn't pass up on the offer since there were a few things that needed to be done with the vette.

jhainer

I have had a life long affair with F bodys More the camaro than the firebird But here is my story.

Back in 1988 I bought My first camaro it was a v6 sc after about 6 months of driving it I got into an accident and it was gone. a few months later I bought an 86 Grand am withthe help of my father and the direction of my father aafter about 4 months of driving it i found an 87 sc v6 5 speed I proptly traded in the grand am and bought it. a few months later I loaned it ot a girl Friend of mine and about 10 minutes after leaving the house I got a call she hit a deer with it totaled So i started hunting again for my next one found one an 83 minus motor for 200 bought it dropped a 305 in it drove it for awhile but the body was really rough and motor just wasn't right I got rid of it and bought an 83 firebird 305 automatic it was a nice car Body needed repainted fo i sent it out to get repainted. Had it about a year and a half and my new wife at the time. wanted to trade it in on a minivan well she got her way and it was gone. a friend of ours got caught drunk driving and his 86 sc got impounded he owed me some money so he told me to go get the car and he would sign the title . so i got another one I was at work didn't take the car I took the van and on my way home I saw it going the opposite direction down the road while at work my wife sold the car. So i called a friend of mine who had an 83 ta that was rough and I bought it dropped a 86 corvette 350 in it and that car hauled. well the wife was on her way to work one day so she says and was racing a mustang and came home with a knock.
Few months later We were no longer together. Now jump forward about 10 years I remarried (different woman) Moved to Georgia and found a 90 rs on craigslist for $500 after a good cleaning a man came to the door and offered me $1500.00 http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2546870 sold then I bought an 92 for $300.00 Put a motor in it. wanted something different sold it for $1700.00 http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2946588 Now I have an 1986 Iroc It's not going anywhere I secured that by putting a motor that has been in the familly for so 15 years in it a BBC 468 Out of a drag car. the wife likes it so it will stay. http://www.cardomain.com/ride/3133097

DanJz

Hi everyone

My story is fairly boring probably, and I only have a couple pics

Basically, I remember watching Knight Rider reruns back in the early 90's at my babysitter's house ( I was only a wee toddler). I had a model KITT that I would "drive" around the room and everything. I never knew what kind of car it was, but I knew that it was awesome.

Fast-forward to 2007. I finally got my license, but all I had to drive was a 2002 Subaru Legacy and then my 2002 Nissan Xterra after we traded the Subaru in. The Xterra is no speed demon by any means, and I soon found myself wanting something cooler and faster.

My friend had an 84 Porsche 944 at the time, so I decided to go for one of them. I found an 83 that I thought would be a great project car, in the spring of 08. That car was awesome once we got it running on the road, but it constantly had engine troubles and needed a good amount of body work, and I eventually found out that this car would cost me way more money than my minimum wage income (I was 18 and in school) could afford, so I started looking to sell it.

At the same time, my other friend got a hand-me-down 87 Firebird from his Uncle. It's a carb'd 305, base model, needs lots of work, but when I rode in it, I thought that it was awesome. From that day on, I decided that I wanted a Firebird at some point. With my Porsche not running right, I decided I would pursue one.

A guy was talking to me one day about purchasing my Porsche, and asked me if I wanted to trade for anything. I said not unless he happened to have a third gen Camaro or Firebird, preferably a Firebird. He just so happened to have a 1989 Firebird Formula 350. I was pretty excited, and I told him I'd take it. Unfortunately I neglected to really find out how much work it really needed, which is why it is for sale currently, and will be parted out if it doesn't sell.

Recently, I came across a deal on an awesome 92 Formula 350 being sold by Bull here on TGO that I couldn't pass up, and it needs WAY less work, so I will be getting that and selling my 89. I am very excited.

Well that was really long, but I'm done now lol


This is the 89:

yes the spoiler is gone lol

89RS_82Z

iTrader: (2)

but you lost 100HP by taking the wing off

sorry i had to

racerquinny

iTrader: (1)

haha yeah and a like 150lbs of downforce.

p.s are those slicks or just that worn down

p.s p.s can i have your wheels

DanJz

hahaha I thought the same thing when I took it off. But that's ok. I've been thinking of turning the wing into a nice bookshelf lol

haha yeah the tires used to have tread on them lol. They got worn pretty good

As for the wheels, I wanna really leave the car for sale as a whole until spring ish, but if it doesn't sell as a whole, I will part it out, and then you can surely have dibs on the rims.

John81

I wasn't even looking for a third gen when I found my first one. It was 3 months before my 18th birthday - I didn't get my license until 18, parents couldn't afford the insurance and I couldn't make enough while still in school to cover it - and was looking at 80's Monte Carlo's, most were beat to death and probably should have been in a junkyard.

One day my mom picked up a used car mag at the gas station and found an 86? Olds Cutlass Supreme with a 305/auto for $800, I called and went to look at it the next day. When I got there I seen the cutlass, when I asked to have my dad take it for a spin (didn't have my license yet) they had to move another car to get it out of the garage... the other car was an 85 base model Firebird with an LO3/700R4 and 2.77 open rear. As the guy was getting into the bird his father said "he's selling that one too" and as soon as he finished saying that he fired up the bird. It had a 305 but it sounded awesome. I asked how much they wanted for it, he said $1000 then revved the engine a bit. I told him I'd give him $600 and pulled the money out of my pocket. 10 minutes later I was riding home in it.

Although I loved that car it was a huge mistake. The engine ran fine but the 700R4 was slipping a bit and the rear end gears had a bit of wear. When we got it home we pulled it into the garage and started lookign at it more.The floorboards were almost totally gone on the drivers side, to this day my dad still hasn't figured out how he didn't fall through on the way home. After spending about $700 and roughly 3 months of labor after work and every weekend we got the car road worthy, I spent 13 hours at the DMV to get my license and didn't have time to really go for a ride by the time I got home but I did take it just around the block. It was literally around the block, maybe 0.2 miles, but I managed to put 4 miles on the odometer In the 9 months I owned that car I drove it 6 months and put about 10 years worth of abuse on it


I had to sell that car 6 months later due to the work it needed. I was just starting at DeVry University and could barely afford McDonalds, no way I could afford a trans rebuild, rebuild the rear end and replace the subframe. That was 9 years ago and it took me until this last summer to get my second third gen. This time around I knew what to look out for and what options I wanted, I plan to keep my current Trans Am for at least 5 years, by then I should be married and we'll see how much nagging I can handle.... Or I could luck out and marry a cargal... but I'm not that lucky.

P.S. The body on the first one was in excellent shape. When I sold it it was still in excellent shape. 4 months after I sold it I seen it on the highway with several dents in it, it almost brought a tear to my eye.


I haven't even owned my second thirdgen for a year yet but I'm already considering another one. Kicking around the idea of a Formula once I finish fixing up my TA. Decided to keep my TA stock and restore it the best I can with what I can find and pick up a Formula for a LSx/T56 swap. I love how my TA looks but I would prefer the clean look of the formy for a modified car, and not have to worry about expensive gfx lol.

DanJz

I completely agree. I was looking more for a Formula when I got mine rather than a T/A, because the Formy has more of a "sleeper," performance-oriented look I think. And there are less ground affects and stuff to deal with, so the car is lighter and cleaner looking and easier to take care of lol.

I was lucky enough to get my 89 Formula, although it wasn't what I was expecting. Way too much money needed to get it nice looking and road worthy. I am really excited about getting my next Formula though, a 92 Formy 350. It's in much better shape, and is already roadworthy.

jimc1987

well my story isnt as exciting as some on here but here it goes

I always have liked/been interested in cars my dad is a Ford fan and he loves the mustang but the thing that really got me interested in cars was when i was growing up my family and i went to a place i think its called pioneer village but they had all sorts of old stuff set up to look like what a town would have been back in the day but they had a huge warehouse that had tons of cars like the first Buick ever built and so on ever since then i was hooked. I just loved how cars were made nothing fancy just a car. So time went on i was getting older and every time we saw a muscle car id be like i want one so bad my dad would just laugh. Well it came around to my 14th bday and i could drive with a school permit well that is when i inherited a 91 ford ranger. That is when i saw the most beautiful car i had ever seen my freind got a base Firebird nothing special just had a six but it was in good shape and i fell in love with third gens. So like 8 months or so after i turned sixteen i was in a car accident the truck was a total loss after a few days i was able to look at cars to replace the truck. I wanted to get a fourth gen camaro or firebird well my parents said if they have to co sign im not getting no sports car which they did cause i had no credit so i ended up getting a Pontiac Grand Am. Well i graduated and didnt know what to go to college for so i didnt go. Found a woman had a baby and just recently got married. Well it was almost a year ago and i was looking in the paper and saw a ad for 87 firebird auto and then the number to call i talked to the wife and she was like if its something u want we can go look well i went and looked at it i was like its coming home with us b4 i even got out to look at it because i saw it was a trans am. It looked good from the outside except few minor rust and paint was not good but the interior was a total loss it had no door handle panel or headliner and it was missing some cosmetic pieces but i had to have it. it had ttops , a swapped 350 the only thing i wanted was a five speed but i couldnt give up the car for that so talked to the wife talked to him offered 1000 he took it and next day we went to pick it up and ive been learning more about cars ever since it even inspired me to go to school and get a degree in automotive tech which ill start this fall. sorry if i bored anyone it would not let me post my pics (too large i think) so ill just give a link to my cardomain site in case anyone wants to see pics it is http://www.cardomain.com/ride/3069028

sorry its been awhile since i updated it

I H8 WWD

iTrader: (5)

I was maybe 15-16 when one of my friends said something about a LOUDMOUTH Cat-back. Me not knowing anything about cars at the time except that i wanted one I asked what the hell is a cat-back. They told me its the exhaust that runs from dah dah dah, blah blah blah. I wasnt interested in hearing about it so i went on with my day.

Next day i hear them saying something like Supercharger, turbocharger. I asked again what the hell is that. They stated its a cool (were kids) part for cars that gives you boost (we loved the word BOOST). Anyway now that I hear of something like this I decided why not see what all these cat-back and supercharger meanings actually mean. So I started my research. Whats this, whats that. Google define, e-mail out, e-mails in. Trying to find out as much as possible (as I was one of those kids who needed to know more about something others knew about before I did). So now I knew what some cars are, good bad.

I started researching (after I found some cool sites to check for parts). First place ever was

www.performancecenter.com

second

www.andysautosport.com

So after taking all my families cars, friends dads cars and anything I saw that i liked I would go to those two sites and find everything for them, THEN I would go search each part and where it comes from and why.

Now I had about 20 cars under my belt for parts to buy, when my friend bought an 89 IROC-Z. OMG, I found EVERYTHING POSSIBLE on these cars that can be installed and used for the better. I was 16 at this time and he was able to drive but not me (no license or permit).

Well that didnt stop me though. He threw me the keys one day and said take it for a spin. I DID JUST THAT.

He had a culdesac at the top of his street. BOOM, WAAAAHHHH, ERRRRRR, CHIRP, ERRRR

I fell in LOVE

2 years later (damn did I take long to get a job and get a car) I found the mother of camaro's (around me at least) and I bought it without hesitation remembering those times I whipped that car around faster than the hayride at geauga lake.

I am now 21 with almost 3 years under my belt for this car ALONE and WILL NEVER sell this car as its my first Car Love and my First Car.

Take care as I will (of my car...hahahahaha)

MikeSmith0890

kinda boring but here goes:

I didnt work until my 2nd semester of my senior year because of playing sports. So i didnt have much money. My parents wouldnt buy me a car because they wanted me to earn it and buy it so i would respect it more. (glad they did) Growing up i always have love for vettes and 1st gen camaros until i hit 15. I picked up different hot rod mags and a few Camaro Performers and got addicted to the third gens. So by the time i got a job i knew i wanted my first car to be a camaro, no matter what. Ended up picking up a '83 Sport coupe from one of my moms coworker's son for $700. I test drove the car and loved it. 2.8L w/ a 5 speed. body needed work and needed a new windshield and seemed kinda sluggish, but it was all the money i had and i wanted a third gen so i bought it. Came home from school the next day to have it in my driveway. Drove it to work that night and threw a rod, to this day i still dont know how because i babied that car that night. So after saving up some cash i rebuilt the motor. (still regret it to this day, wish i would have done a swap.) The car is my DD still but is in the garage. Cant get it out cuz of snow and ice lmao.. So me and my gf share her car. The camaro still needs body work.. and is getting a engine swap this summer or earlier. I'm in between keeping it or buying a '89 RS w/ a 2.8 for $2500... would def swap the motor the week it got home. (the '89 only has 41k miles on it but has a salvage title, sharp looking car)

Mailbox Hunter

well, i have a short story to add to this list...

...:::Back Story:::...
About 23 years ago my parents moved to Cali to live by my mothers family. In 1989 My mothers brother bought his first 1989 Camaro RS with a 305 V8. ever since then my father told him, "If you ever get around to selling that car, call me up, Ill buy it." My uncle replies with, "I'm never going to see that car, I love it to much." For the first 5 years my uncle owned that car, he wouldn't let his wife drive it, or any of his 3 kids. The car sat in his garge, he drove it on weekends and for crusing, and took extremly good care of it. Well a few years later he finaly budged and let his wife drive it to and from work for a few years. He still wouldnt let his kids drive it .

...:::Up To Date:::...
Fast foward to 2007, uncle calls my father up, "Hey Im selling that Camaro if your still intrested." Well naturaly, I turn 16 that year so ofcose my father says, "I'm on the next flight out." Wham-Bam, whats that? Father son road trip. We flew into Lax, stayed for a few days, and during that time, dad said i should go with him on a test drive. Well, on a stright away, he said, "floor it, i want u to feel the power of the car." WHATS A 15 YEAR OLD KID GONNA SAY TO THAT, NO? . So naturaly, I did. got up to about 45, when i hear a siren going off. SOB! Cali motorcycle cop. Lucky for me, my two uncles are Hemet County Sherifs. So away he let me go. (I still get hasseled for that) So then the next day 6am we left to head back cross contry to IL.

Ive had her since. She has 130xxx miles, no rust, and is all original.

thats my story. =]
I never want to sell this car
im 17 now, and love this car

PS: its under a tarp and snow right now
chicago weather =/.
i dare NEVER drive in the snow
crappy road salt.

jrhaus76

I am glad the car has made you go back to school. The car looks very nice, I like the color.

jimc1987

Thank you thats one thing that i will never change it just stands out everyone wants me to paint it black cause of knight rider but it will always be blue. Right now its in my garage with the interior out getting some new carpet but i cant wait till summer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! As for me going back to school yea its good to know what you want to do i just thought i would never go back then i got this car and im like this is what i want to do.

Frenchican

In 1986, my buddy and I were just finishing our hitch in the Marines. I guess they were in need of heavy truck mechanics because they offered us $13,000 each to re-up.. My budy took the offer and bought himself a new '86 IROC.

He tried talking me into doing the same, rubbing is new car in my face. But, I was anxious to start making some real money and got out and went to work in the California oilfields. Fast forward to 2007. I have a couple of Corvettes that I bought new and then modified. My detail guy told me he just bought an '89 IROC-Z that the original owner had just replaced the engine, trans and interior that he bought for 8 grand and thought he could flip it and make some money. The car was sound, but had original paint and trim.

One day he was working on one of my vettes and asked me about my '04 Yamaha YFZ450 quad. I only put hours on it before I crashed my Harley parked it in my garage. I ended up swapping that qad straight up for the '89 IROC. Since te running gear was OEM new, why not make the rest of the car the same. I ended up putting $9,000 and change into it plus the value of the quad (about 6 grand).

jrhaus76

Is this paint as amazing in person as it is in the photo? Thats what I want. Its all my car needs to be back to new condition.

88 Z28 Guy

iTrader: (1)

I was 16, buddy bought his first one. One day helping him move it around i took time to sit in his. Ive always loved 3rd gens but once i sat in his i immediately said i had to have one. Couple of months later i found my red one and fell in love, now i own 2 about to be adding a TA to the collection.

1LOMARO

IN 1986 my cousin purchased a SC V6 red t-top car...... that was all it took for this 8 year old at the time. Since then I've owned 8 camaros and 1 Trans Am. Now I regret getting rid of any of them. Lesson learned.

Frenchican

The paint is flawless, no orange peel anywhere, like glass. I personally inspected each panel after it was block sanded to make sure the stages were done correctly. The guy repaints the front clips on vettes every 2 years (rock chips from racing) so he knows that if it isn't done right, it's done again on his dime.

I don't think I would put the same effort if I were to do it again. I was under the impression that the car was was correct when I bought it. Turned out that the car started out as a 305 with an auto.

It's gonna be a decade before I could sell it for what I have into it, but like you know... the 3rd gens are F'n cool!

Nasphreak29

Wow..those are some amazing stories here.

Mine isn't really as awesome but here it goes.

It started when I was 14, I just moved to South Carolina and joined a new JROTC unit. One of the instructors there has an all stock 100% original 1969 z28 Camaro. At the time I knew nothing about cars so when he first mentioned it I didn't think of anything. Well then came the nice weather and he decided to drive it to school one day.

Our school has a huge parking lot so he blocked off about 30 or so parking spots with our "Drill Area" Signs and parked his car directly in the middle. When I went out there to see it..I fell in love with it..it was so beautiful and roared when he started it up.

So fast forward a couple of years when it was time to get my first car. I realized that there was no way I could afford a 69 Camaro, and I personally dislike the way 4th generation looks...then I saw the third generation camaro and thats when I knew thats the car I wanted.

Sadly my budget was 1150$ so it took me a while to find a car. I looked at atleast a dozen different ones of all kinds. Well I was about to give up after having looked at an absolutly horrible looking z28. But I gave it one more try, I waited for the next iwanna to be issued and looked one more time. I saw a "1988 Iroc-Z Camaro 112,XXX Miles, Shaved Door handles, Needs Cosmetics, Daily Driver Runs Strong 1500OBO" It was out of my price range but I decided to call the guy up and talked to him and I arranged to see the car.

Me and a group of my friends went to see the car. It was like I finally found what I was looking for..It was far from perfect condition and the owner before the one that had it at that time painted the air vents and speedo needles god awful neon green(I bought it and repainted them a much milder navy blue). Me and the guy talked for a bit and he said that he was getting the starter replaced and the car would be ready within a week and that he was moving and couldn't car 4 project cars with him. I offered him 1150$ and he said deal.

Its been about a year since then and I still love my first Camaro but several things about it have gotten annoying. The shaved door handles are more of an annoyance than I thought they would be. And sadly I don't have the time or money to put into the car to make it look how I want it to so I am currently looking for my second Camaro.



Sadly on the other side of it now theres a dent in the front quarter panel when some jerk parked right behind me in my friends driveway and refused to move his car when I had to leave.....I hit his friggan car port pole -_-'.

Hopefully my search for my second Camaro goes well ^_^!

Kevin91Z

iTrader: (1)

My dad bought for me in '89 or so a 1980 Camaro RS with a blown 305. As in dead, not supercharged. I helped him put that back together and that became my car once I got my license in 1993. Fast forward a few years (1998) and I had a better job and some money in my pocket, and I wanted a newer car. We went searching all over for something inexpensive yet reliable and we kept looking at thirdgen Camaros. We ended up finding a white 1992 Camaro RS 5-speed with 210,000 miles for $3500. That was my first experience with a stick shift and I learned quickly. I started searching online for more info on my "new" car and found the local SoCal Camaro/Firebird club, as well as thirdgen.org. Once I realized I had the low-output base model Camaro, I went searching for a TPI engine to replace it. My dad ended up finding a red 1991 Camaro Z28 305 TPI 5-speed in a salvage yard owned by a friend. We just wanted the engine but the owner told my dad the car wasnt in bad shape and it could be fixed. My dad ended up buying it for $3500 as well, and I traded him straight across, my RS for his Z28. We fixed the Z28 (right front fender and nose was smashed in) and I started driving the car in Feb 1999. I first raced it later that year, too.

He ended up putting a TPI engine into the RS (we've mentioned that before) and then he sold the RS to someone else in the club and bought a 1990 Trans Am (he's a Pontiac guy at heart).

89junkyardgta

I found mine while going for a nice leisurely walk through the snowy wrecking yard in December, 2005. I spotted this thing, and was looking at it for parts. My brother had just wrecked a door on his Camaro, so I thought maybe this car could spare a door. It was sitting in the snow, on the ground. No wheels, no seats, no spoiler, no tail lights, and a smashed up fender. I started poking around. "Hmmm...TPI car." "Hmmm...looks like it had GTA emblems." "No holes in the floor!?" "125,000km!?!?!" "What the heck is this doing here!?!?!" I grabbed my brother and went back to look at it, as I knew nothing about third gens at the time. We came to the conclusion that one of us would have to buy this poor thing. I did, for $575. But it was purchased as 'for parts only' with a branded title, at least that's what we were told. I pulled some strings and got a policeman friend of mine to get the old owners address. With used car paperwork in hand, I paid him a visit, and he signed the paperwork over to me, no problems. He told me he DROVE THE CAR INTO THE WRECKERS IN PERFECT WORKING CONDITION, had them pick it up so he could take the wheels, and then left it there. He said that he thought it had been rolled because the t-tops never sealed, and it had just lost a crank balancer, so he was done with it. The wreckers never handed in the ownership, so the car was never branded, and it is mine, clean and clear. It came with brand new KYB's up front, and new 8-way adjustable Koni's in the rear. HA! The car is and will continue to be built from other wrecked, unsaveable cars (rotten). It is getting a leather interior and 5 speed from a 128000km 1991 GTA that I also grabbed from the same yard. I just got it running this summer, and it runs excellent, after a few initial hiccups. And it was wrecked in its past life, hit hard on the passenger side windshield post and sail panel. The body shop did not do the work properly, which is why the t-tops leak. The windshield post is not pushed forward enough. Here are the 'before' pics right after I bought it.

Desarial

Wow. those are all awesome stories. me I don't have a good story, cause i'm not very fond of thrid gens. the ylook great to be sure, butit's not my favorite car.

when I was young I used to watch a hell of alot of speed racer, and, aparently I also enjoyed pulling the spark plug cables out of my father's caprice when I was an infant, but I never really had a interest in cars. I like video games an computers, I played rpgs and watched cartoons till I was oh well idk, 14? then at my neighbor's house I hung out with the one kids father alot, played alot of video games I never would have had an interest in. need for speed underground beig on of them. I liked the customization but never really go tinto it, halo, was the game for me, but that's another story another day. either wa few years down the road I get a job, few months later I buy myself a psp, second game I get is "midnight club 3: dub edition". that game is what did it forme, I had seennise cars on the road, but thought aboutthem as much as your average joe, then after a while I got the same game for my abox, raced in a '70 gto judge, from that day on I loved cars, I've been eager to learn but i'm still not that knowledgeable. I mean, I was 17 when I first go my interest, i'm 20 now, so. either way yeah, I like cars and especially ones with t-tops, I saw an ad for a camaro locally, well, moe or less, with t-tops so I desided my new car was going to be a camaro. they still don't stan dout to me. favorite cars are, 1969 GTO judge and 1988 Fiero. and I pretty much like anything pontiac makes. as general rule of thumb, I will never own a sunfire or a sunbird. they're too small, I think even a fiero has more weight.

jrhaus76

exactly!

Desarial

what's not to understand? never had an interest, then I played some racing games, and got interested. I'm not a camaro fan exactly, but I like most cars with t-tops, and I just also mentioned what my favorite cars were. what's so confusing? I'm getting a camaro cause it has a t-top, nuff said. it's not bullshit, I never had an interest in cars, and now that I do I want a camaro, they're not my favorite but I do like them.

aza454

My Dad has owned this 1967 Chev Camaro SS since '79....:

So I've grown up in it, loved every moment and I just turned 18 and thought stuff it, I want my own Camaro here (Victoria, Australia) but we aren't allowed to drive v8s for the probationary license period.... and since I really didnt want a 1st Gen with a v6 as it seemed underpowered to me at the time, and 2nd Gen really didn't do much for me... 3rd Gen was the option and in my price range, and lo and behold I end up with my much-loved '87 MFI V6 RS:


I should have my license in june and I can't wait to hit the road (between uni and all that)... also it was pretty trick pulling up to school in a "hot" car as a few of the local females put it as a 3rd Gen Camaro is something most of them hadn't seen before... not to mention the 2 1/2" system gives the v6 a nice purr...

Iroc550

Newbie to the forum. My first car was a 79 Camaro. I've always liked Camaros. Recently aquired my 88 Iroc under unfortunate circumstances. My Step-Dad passed away last September and it belonged to him. Bought it from my Mom about a month ago. He put a lot of money into performance upgrades(550 hp). I look forward to making it look a lot better cosmetically (mostly interior work). It wasn't supposed to be my daily driver.....but it is just so much more fun to drive than the Nissan Versa or the Suburban!

jrhaus76

Congrats on the car and welcome to the site. I am sorry to hear about your means of getting the car.

sleeper84

iTrader: (1)

I have never been much for Camaros. It was my senior year of high school and I was working on a V-8 powered S-10. A friend of mine called me and asked if I wanted to buy his Camaro body. The guy how owned the land it was sitting on was going to have it hauled off if he didn't move it, and he had not place to take it.

I told him I'd haul it off for it. He hung up the phone. He calls back about a week later. Asks if I'll give him $50 for it. I say again I'll haul it off for it. Again he gets mad and hangs up the phone. Finally, about another week went by, he calls again. Says I can have it, if I can get it by Friday. No problem I say. I hook up the trailer and head over to his place and we go get it.

Another guy shows up one day and says he has an 82 Trans Am I can have if I'll pull the tranny for him. No problem I says. I go pickup the car and leave the tranny laying on his doorstep the following weekend. So now I have two F bodys laying around.

I finally get tired of the S-10 spinning and not driving well, so I pull the motor/trans out and stick them in the 84 S/C. The Trans Am was too far gone (windows shot out and left sitting in the weather).

Well, my older brother calls one day and asks if I want to trade my 88 Cheyenne pickup for his 89 RS T-top. What the hell I think. His Camaro is as nice as my truck, so we trade. That's my story. From not liking Camaros to have two of them. Funny ol world.

strc09

iTrader: (5)

I've been a Firebird fan for what seems like forever. Obviously it started with Smokey and the Bandit. Then growing up we'd go and visit my grandparents. From the time I was very young until my grandfather passed away, one of the things we always used to do was sit on the front porch and watch cars go by. Don't ask me why, but it is just what my grandfather and I would do. It became a ritual for us so to speak and we'd sit there for hours. On one such visit we were sitting on the porch and that's when I saw the brand new GenIII body style Firebirds. It was love at first sight and I knew that I had to have one of these sweet cars when I got old enough to drive.

Growing up I watched Knight Rider religiously because of the car. That was the coolest part of the entire show. Watching and wish I had a sweet Trans AM like that...

Years later after my parents were divorced we were visiting my step grandparents and my Mom was coming over to pick us up for a visit. When she showed up she had brought a surprise. She was driving an old 76 Firebird. Granted it wasn't my dream car, but it was still a Firebird...the car that my heart had been set on for years. It wasn't in great shape and was sitting in primer, but I loved it. That's also when I'd first meet my future step-father (owner of the car).

Eventually my step-father and I struck a deal about the 76 Firebird. If I was able to keep my grades at a certain level by the time I was a Junior in highschool the car was mine with no strings attached. So I worked hard and got my grades up and kept them where they needed to be so I could get that car. Finally, when it came to my Senior year in highschool I was the proud new owner of that 76 Firebird. A couple of years passed and the motor went in the car. Since I wasn't making a lot of money working the job I had I was forced to sell the car for the body. It was a very sad day for me when I had to hand over the keys, but I knew that eventually I'd have another one.

In 1995, after joining the Air Force I came across the car that had been etched into my subconscience from my childhood. A shiny black/gold 1983 Trans AM. I had to have the car so I traded in my Monte Carlo for my dream car. The car was owed originally by a female and I became the second owner. It was a factory WS6 car and was fully loaded with 86K on the ticker. I even had the original paperwork on it. Talk about a major score! A few months later I was run off the road and totalled the car.

Then I found another 1983 that wasn't in as good of condition as the one I had recently lost. I did my best to ressurect my wrecked Trans AM in the body of this other one that I found, but that didn't work out like I had envisioned. Once the car was running it just wasn't the same and it made me depressed. I ended up selling the pair.

Several years went by before I bought another Firebird. I owned some pretty nice rdies, but none of them compared to what my heart longed for...a Firebird. In 2000 I bought my first brand new car, a shiney Navy Blue Metallic Firebird 3.8L M5. Yes it was a V6, but it was a Firebird! I was home again. I had this one until I got orders for Korea. I would have kept the car in storage while I was gone, but my wife and I were expecting our first child and since I was going to be gone I needed to leave her with a reliable car that she would be able to drive. Unfortunately she didn't know how to drive a manual so the Firebird had to go. As we drove off the lot she promised me that I could get another one when I got home.

When I got back from Korea I started searching. I didn't want another GenIV car. As much as I enjoyed my 2000, it just didn't feel right. I was searching for a 87-90 Formula 350. There was something about it that caught my attention and that's what I wanted. I searched and searched but couldn't find one. By this time the wife is hounding my to get another vehicle so she didn't have to get up in the morning to take me to work so she'd have the vehicle to run errands and take our son to his appointments. That's when I came across an 81 Firebird. It wasn't my Formula 350, but it was a Firebird.

This car was in a bad way. It had originally came from up North and the years had not been kind to it. The only body panel on it that didn't need to be replaced was the roof. It also came with a severly under powered 3.8L two-barrel carb'd engine. I did what could to the car to make it driveable and get me back and forth to work. One day I was going to lunch at Hooters with some co-workers and that's when I saw it...a grey Trans AM.

Months went by and I deployed for a few months, came home filed taxes, got our return and then back to work. Again, my friends and I head to lunch at Hooters. The same grey Trans AM is still sitting there. I go home that night and talk to the wife about it. I sell her on it because the car is more than likely fuel injected, newer, and in far better condition than the POS 81 I was daily driving. Plus it is more along the lines of what I'm looking for. She says okay and on that Saturday I go for a drive to check it out.

I get to the dealership and I'm surprised to find that it isn't just a Trans AM, but a GTA! These cars were awesome when they came out and now I had the chance to buy one. I popped the hood and there lay the TPI 350, the motor that I was looking for. Granted it wasn't the Formula 350 that I wanted, but this was a GTA! I took the car for a drive, haggled with the salesman, called the wife, and drove home with the biggest smile I could have because I was back in the bodystyle that I loved the most and the closest thing I was looking for originally.

Four years later I still have this car and as long as I have my way I'll have this car until I die. Two years ago, I had the chance to finally buy a Formula 350. So, I scooped it up and now my wife has a Firebird. The coolest part, her's is a 1990 Gunmetal Formula 350 to match my 1988 Gunmetal GTA.

Sorry for the long read, but that's my story.