any pics of this beauty?

 

My love for third gens actually started with my friends 84 Trans Am which he picked up for 300 bucks, it was a total wreck, but we loved it. Shortly after starting a new job I decided I needed a third gen, and hit the internet. I found a metallic purple heavily modded 84 z28 and went to look at it. The guy was was asking 1000 for it, but I was able to talk him down to 5 since it was just sitting in his back field. I unfortunately had to sell it and it was sold again and wound up being totaled. I became really fortunate when a friends son in law just happen to come up as selling his 1984 Z28 with T-tops and a 350 swap! So after 4 years of searching for another 84, yes it had to be an 84, I finally have another one. She needs work, but totally worth my time and love.

 

I have been a Camaro fan for as long as I can remember. I have always appreciated Corvettes for their place as America's representative on the world stage, and although I know that Chevrolet is able to compete statistically with most of the world's greatest supercars and do it for less money than the other companies charge for their cars, the price for 'Vettes is usually too rich for most folk. The Camaro to me always represented American muscle for the common man. My parents had a '72 when I was a baby, but my dad traded it in on a '73 Monte Carlo in part because the Camaro had a windshield leak that the dealer could never fix.
As I got older (elementary school age), knowing that my family had once owned a Camaro (even though I didn't even remember it) was pretty cool to me. When we went to the store, my parents would buy me copies of Super Chevy and magazines like that which continued to fuel my love. Then, in 1982, Chevrolet released the third generation, and I was dumbstruck. The new body lines, the rectangular headlights, all of it sent me into orbit. I loved it.
I never got one, and although I looked for one to buy once I graduated from college, I couldn't really find what I wanted for what I could afford, and my wife and I were about to start a family, and Camaros are not that practical for a family with kids. I never gave up on my desire to own one, though.
About this time last year, I was running some errands in town and I noticed an IROC sitting in someone's side yard. I would drive by every few days to see if someone was going to slap a "For Sale" sign in the window, because this thing never left its spot on the lawn. They never did, and that just frustrated me. I wanted to be the first in line if they sold it, but it didn't appear that they were going to do that. I started searching online, and was trying to convince my wife to take a road trip to Chicago to look at one (about eight hours from where I live) when I found one about an hour-and-a-half away. I grabbed my younger brother, who's a little more mechanically savvy than I am, and we headed up the road. When we pulled up to the dealership, they had the t-tops out, and I was just smitten. I'm old enough that that sort of thing wasn't going to sell me on it, but it didn't hurt. My brother and I took turns driving it, we took it to a parking lot looked it over (mechanically it was very sound, there were a few places on the body that needed attention but no rust anywhere) and took it back to the lot. I wanted it very badly, but I wasn't sure I should pull the trigger. It absolutely was not my intent to take it home that day, I just wanted to drive it, look it over, and think about it, but I figured as nice as it was, at the price they were asking, it probably wouldn't last. I pulled the trigger, gave the guy $500 down, and took it home. My wife was less than happy, but she has mellowed some.
There were some things on the car that were not original (steering wheel, radio, the paint is not factory [it's a Z28 but the ground effects are the same color as the body which was an IROC thing - the Zs had the silver GFX], wheels are the wrong color), but the body was straight and rust-free, and therefore is a great car to get back to original, which is my intent. I absolutely love it, and I am so ready for spring so I can pop the tops out and just ride. And by the way, after 41 years of life, to have finally gotten something that I had always wanted, that's what prompted my username on here. Thrilled to have my dream car.

 

Great read... I can feel your excitement. It must have been so much sweeter after waiting for all of that time! Good luck with the car!

 

It has been pretty sweet, sweet enough to fight off the cold shoulder I received for about six weeks after I brought it home! Thanks for the wishes! It's going to take some time, but I'm committed to doing it right!

 

Figured I'd pop into my own thread.

Love the stories. My car should finally be back on the road this spring. Mechanically it's done. Finally got the 3.70 gears in and it all tuned up so that's a big accomplishment. It's off to paint next Friday so that's about it.

It was painted this time last year but needs reshot. Here she is all scuffed up, ready to go in!

 

Mine needs new paint, too, so I'm envious that you're ahead of the game compared to me. Enjoy!
I noticed too that you have Camaro signage in your garage. I plan on doing the same once I get the garage where I keep my Z completely straightened up and cleaned out.

 

Lol, I have a lot of Camaro stuff. I used to have 3. A 67 coupe, a 2010 SS/RS and the 89. Now I have the 89, two kids and a Honda accord. Lol.

Iroc has been 2 years getting redone but I can see the light.

67 was sold as it shows in second pic.

2010 was just traded off.

Considering the torque thrusts... Hmmm

 

Would love to have owned that many Camaros, but thankful for the one I've got!

 

What wheels are those? They're awesome.

 

The only 3rd Gen F-Body I have left is my 86 T/A. I got her from a girl who was going to junk it when I was stationed in Germany. She owed a lot of fees where it was stored and was looking at junking it just to get out from under it. I offered to pay the fees in trade for the car, which amounted to just shy of $300. With the exception of the short block, the entire engine was in boxes and the car had been previously sitting outside at the Opel (GM) dealer for about 6 months (it had blown a head gasket and they didn't know how to fix it). Long story short, I bought the car, used the block from my 92 RS (which I had just put a 92 T/A engine into) and rebuilt the engine. I shipped the car back to the US to San Antonio and drove it everyday until about 6 years ago when I got stationed back to Korea. I just returned to the US last Dec and picked up the car last week and trucked it to New Mexico. Due to a problem with the fuel pump circuit it doesn't run...but that will soon be rectified. Look for future posts as I start tearing it down so it can be repainted it's original red/silver color (versus that ugly crap that's on it now).

 

these stories are all amazing!!
i guess it's my turn...

i was 15 about a month away from my 16th birthday. i was driving around with dad (on my learner's permit) and dad said "stop at this lot." i looked over at this rinky-dink lot and thought "no way am i going to find anything that i even like at this lot." i get out of the car, start walking around and see a 91 RS sitting in the back. all red... ALL red. (body, seats, seat belts, carpet) but i instantly fell in love with the body style and t-tops. FF 30-ish days. i pull up with my mom to dad's house and there it is! my new Camaro! i drove it around for about 4 years making small mods. Head unit, subs, speakers. then i got into go-fast goodies 3.73 gears with a torsen unit, 28 spline axles from moser. i blew my tranny and decided to rebuild that 700r with a good kit. added a trans-go shift kit and a TCI 2500 stall. feb 2009 i left for the military and went through training and get popped for my first assignment to Germany. decided not to take my car with me (bad decision on my part) and bought a 93 BMW M3, drove that for a year, then picked up a 03 Mustang Mach 1. i was glad to be back in a v8 but nothing ever felt the same as that f-body. here we are, 5 years in the military, i'm getting rid of the mustang (hopefully) and i will be going back to my parent's house and picking up my camaro! and man do i have plans... LSx swap with a t56. can't wait to get it all started.

 

I got my 86 T/A October of 2012 from my aunt & uncle . She was the only owner of the car so I knew more or less what I was getting. I live in Missouri and at the time they where in Illinois, we would go over there usually twice a year to go skeet shooting at Scott Air-force Base where my uncle used to be stationed before he retired a lieutenant colonel from the army. It was cleaned and polished sitting in the driveway every time we visited, I would stop and dreamed of having one one day. After 9/11 we stopped going over there being the base was closed to civilians at the time and they were busy with family trouble . In 2006 they moved down to Peidmont Mo just 200 yards from the Black River on a plot of land her mother owned and the car went with them. I went down there for the first time in 2010 to visit and sadly found it on of cinder blocks on the side of the house covered in dirt and stuff stacked on top of it. Wondering why it was in that condition I asked and found out it had gone through 3 floods that went all the way up to the windows and that lead them to not running it since they moved down there. I started going to Ranken Technical College for Automotive Maintenance in early 2012 so I had a itch for a project car after seeing everyone else s cars in class. We went back down there in October and the car was still it that sad state so I made up my mind that I was going to asked to buy it. During dinner I brought up the idea to buy it being im going to school and it would be a good learning experience rebuilding it. They thought it over and they decided to just give me the car under the one stipulation that I don't sell it after fixing it up. I was ecstatic I get my dream car! My dad and me rented a uhaul trailer and drove down to pick it up, we had to push it on the trailer which isn't fun with 4 flat dry rot tires. Got the car home and the next day I started tearing the engine out. Took me a week by myself with hand tools to get it out. I got it on the engine stand in the basement and pulled one of the heads off and to find the ring rusted to the cylinder walls and gas pooled on the pistons. Sadly there was no saving the 305 so I went to pick and pull and got a L05 350 out of a Buick Roadmaster. It took me year to completely rebuild it with all new gaskets, bearings, Edelbrock Rollin Thunder hydraulic roller cam, Performer intake and matching carb. The car sat for a few months with the engine in it being school and my new job at a toyota dealership kept be busy. I finally fired it up for the first time February 16th 2014. It runs alright but needs to be tuned, bought a AF guage and its running rich at idle and lean a WOT so im in the process of finding time to tune it. Luckily the used car tech I work with is a genius with carbs so he offered to give me a hand tuning it. Im one of the few lucky guys that can say I own my dream car.

 

The sleek scarlet car crouched in the icy dealer lot. Aside from the headlights that glittered in the dark like diamonds, the car appeared to have nearly lost the will to ask again, “Can anyone hear me?”

Suddenly, another car drove onto the lot. A girl got out and froze for a second and then rubbed her eyes as if she was dreaming. She approached the shining car, bent down to gingerly touch its gleaming metal and whispered, “Hello, Cam” as if she were talking to a much-cherished, long-awaited friend.

The two let out deep sighs. They knew they had found a home.

 

Kinda creepy...lol
sorry but yeah

 

My first 3rd Gen came from wanting a GM V8 to drive again. My family always has driven GM cars and trucks. Olds, GMC, Chevy, and Buicks with V8's. Dependable, fixable and some performance. I was wanting a Monte Carlo but saw nothing. I expanded my search to include Firebird's and Camaro's.
I spent 3 months looking at cars. I should say, I take a lot of time finding the right cars. I don't want someone's project. I always look for the best kept, lowest price car I can find. The more documentation the better.
I was hooked on finding a Firebird Formula 350 for a while, but every one of them I saw had already been turned into a race car. I wanted a driver. I looked at at least 10 Camaro's along the way, but each had their own problems. Usually paint and interior problems. Easy fixes, but I had time and kept on looking for the right car. This was before Craigs list and looking took time and lots of local papers around KC.
Then I saw a new ad in the local paper. No picture, but low miles 64K 92 Camaro and Needs Nothing, listed in the ad. It was a Teal RS Camaro. Perfect inside and out. Drove like a new car. The sad part was I bought a 17 year olds dream car. He had purchased it at a local lot. The previous 1st owner was a Florida woman who babied this car. His dad cosigned the loan, but the kid had to pay for the insurance. He **** his pants when he got a quote. Dad said, no insurance, no car. The kid was heartbroken and had to sell the car. Before you cry, I found out he and dad made $1200 for their 1 month of ownership. But I didn't care. I got the car. I fell in love with the car from day one. I drove it for another 240,000 miles before dumb drivers and engine/tranny failures ended my time with her. I sold it to some kids who are drag racing it I hear. Glad someone else found a good use for her. Now I have a 91 Firebird Formula, but that's another 2 month search and weird story......

 

I was about 7r8 yr old when the IROC hit the street and my aunt had one. I loved em from day one.Those GTA Trans Ams I liked even better! So after driving a yr or two my dad let me trade my 89 Ford ranger for an 87 Firebird Formula. It was modified, had gold pw7s, I thought I had the world by the tail. Went through several 3rd gens over the years and finally had my dreamcar.87 GTA 350 red,black interior..mint! Hada costly surgery had to sell it in 07. This past year I found a very clean 89 Formula already had ground effects added like I liked 90k miles on clock, ive done some upgrading and swapped the ugly turbo style wheels for the black pw7s. I love it and really plan on hanging onto it for now on! Really thinking hard on building my old 350 to go in there but im liking that 22mpg too much rite now im just gona cruise around in it for awile. Maybe down the road I may buy an IROC to keep it company.

 

My mom bought my iroc brand new in 85. She ended up parking it and drove a blazer instead. To many kids kept trying to race here she said. She drove it 19,000 miles and then it sat in the garage. My parents gave it to my older brother and he trashed it. Never drove in the salt or major wrecked but engine, trans, rear, interior, suspension were wore out at I think 85k when I pulled it apart.

Brother passed away a little longer then 2 years ago. I took possession and did a full restore using a 92 camaro parts car to make it a 85/92 teal iroc. Always like the teal 92 z28 car so built the 85 how I wanted.

 

My in-laws have had the 84 since 1987. went through a motor swap and then the motor blew in 1999 and so it sat under a tree. My wife now, but girlfriend at the time took me over there and I saw it, when I did they saw a rust bucket and I saw a beautiful project. after a few years I bought it from him November 2014. Motor and trans swap, front end all gone through, body work the front end is done, all that's left is the rear suspension and brakes, weather stripping and bodywork and then shes done!

 

The first car i ever rode in was a 91 firebird formula ttop auto 350 tpi maroon. my dad came and picked me up from the hospital after i was born in a snow storm flew on his way to get me. ive been looking for it since i turned 15 i never knew why i liked them so much till he told me that lol

 

One foot at a time, ha.
I tried to buy an '88, but did not have enough of a down payment.
Poured this literature for the '89 Formula 350, worked a 2nd job, then bought in Aug '89 as they were dealing to make room for the '90 coming in Sept.

 

I dragged it out of some guys back yard for $ 500.00

Other than him saying it’s a Camaro I had no idea what I was getting but he said it runs.

He sprayed something into the TBI as another guy jumped the starter and it did run for a second or two so I counted the plug wires and that came to eight so I bought it.This is my first build ever and I was not a member here until a few years later so I had to wing it and it came out exactaly how I want it. Here's what it needed.
.Needed a fuel pump ,water pump , power steering unit ,new steering column ,VATS Module,intake manifold gasket, front windshield ,rear hatch ,new front bumper cover and lower valance,side ground effects, new rear hatch motor, some of the interior including head liner ,door skins, console, etc.

 

I have been a long time third gen-er. I got my 1st one when I was 17. It was a 1984 sport coupe that someone had swapped a 350 "race" engine into. It was bored .060" over, had a big lumpy sounding cam, 327 double hump heads, true dual 2.25" exhaust with stock exhaust manifolds. It was for sale at a local car lot for $2,000.

Since then I have had a few of them.

My current one, I bought in 2002. It's a long and kind of sad story so I won't go into all of the details... But here is the short of it.

I had a bad car crash in 2000 that left me with out the use on 1 hand. I needed something to take my mind away from the pain, and the fact of what I went through, plus give me something to re-teach myself how to enjoy this hobby with just 1 hand. I sold off some of the firearms I owned at the time and started looking for a good project car.

I found a 1988 RS for $500 running with a swapped in 350 engine and trans. Interior was shot, body was straight. It was going to be a dirt cheap, pure street car build... That snowballed like crazy over the years.

Here's how it looked when I bought it.

 

Bought my '83 Z/28 from a local cop for $1000, who naturally was driving it on the streets with no taillights, no seat belts, no wipers or wiper motor, and a badly mangled wiring harness. He had just bought a 1990 RS and swapped the built 350 from the '83 into that, taking his 4" cowl hood with it, and putting the half-disassembled 305 from the '90 into mine along with the RS' hood. He was supposed to have given me the car in running condition, but he had numerous issues getting the 350 to play nice in the '90 so I was left with a non-running project and instead she went into storage for a year. Since he didn't give me the ECM, TBI unit, or half the missing emissions equipment I instead sourced a complete '85 Corvette TPI system off Ebay and installed that on the 305. I also replaced the rear with one from a '95 Z/28 with disc brakes, 2:73 gears and limited slip. The interior was trashed so I swapped in one from a junkyard Trans Am for a while, as well as replacing the original ground effects with the current mix it has now. The 305 kept fouling the #'s 6 and 8 plugs, and was fairly worn out so I built my current 327 for it and installed that after a couple years. When the Trans Am interior started to fall apart I dove into a 4th gen interior swap and put in one from a '94, complete with a custom harness. I also found another 4th gen Z/28 rear in the junkyard with 3:23s and limited slip, and since I already had the disc brake setup got it for cheap without axles or brakes and swapped that in. It's down currently because of body damage from an accident in January, but hope to either get that fixed or find a donor body soon.

I also have an '88 IROC-Z I bought for $300 off a neighbor's kid who was going to scrap it. It's a LB9 car and mostly intact, needs TLC and paint. I'm rebuilding the 305 with an LT1 cam and port/polish work, but otherwise leaving it stock. It was meant to be a daily driver for my wife, but at this point once it's together I think I'm going to put it up for sale.

 

Here is how it looks now

 

There are some really great reads here! I've long believed that cars are a collection of stories - their owners, mods, how they were first bought, driven & left. It's not just how they were built that makes them interesting, it's how they've been loved (or not) that helps to make the story. Here's mine...

I've always been a fan of cars, since my first ride in my neighbor's 69 GTO at the age of 6, I've been consumed by them. My first car was a 77 Formula that I bought used, and blew the motor the second day I had it. Luckily (or not) the 400 from that same GTO was still next door & that went into my car. My first NEW car was my 87 IROC-Z that I ordered on February 17, 1987 and enjoyed for 2 years & 5X,000 miles.

In the years since I've been lucky to have owned some of the most special & rare muscle cars Pontiac ever built, & some others in between. The list includes 69, 70 & 71 Trans Am's, 70 RA IV & 71 455HO Judges, Formulas of almost every year, and some special round port GTO's. My current hoard includes:

1968 RA II/Auto GTO - Verdoro Green over Black Hardtop
1971 455HO/M22 GTO - Quazal Gold over Black with black Convertible top
1971 455HO/Auto GT-37 - White over White Pure Stock/F.A.S.T. race car
1972 455HO/M22 LeMans Sport Convertible - Lucerne Blue over White with White Convertible top
1973 455/T10 Trans Am - White Custom over Black Recaro interior - 14k mile California Show Car

and...

1983 305/5spd/L69 Z-28 - Red over Graphite Custom Cloth
1987 305/5spd/G92 IROC-Z - black over grey custom cloth https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/memb...ine-again.html
1991 305/5spd/1LE Z-28 - Arctic White over Grey Leather

On bad days when I get home from work I grab a set of keys and walk back out the door. When I get back home in 20-30 minutes, I have a completely different attitude. A good friend of mine who is no longer with us once said.."Cars, like women, come & go but you always remember the wild ones."

 

My love of these cars started with the IROC years of the Z28. In 94 my best friend bought a 92 Z28. All black F-1 spoiler and the new style ground effects what a beautiful car. For the past 5 years he has wanted a vette and I told him that if he sells the Z i have to have it. I have been making him offers for the car over these years(more than its worth) but he truly loves the car and is having a hard time with the whole selling thing even to his best friend, We have known each other for over 45 years. Fast forward to this April. We are having Easter dinner together and the car comes up again. We go back and forth about selling me the car and I make him another offer. He thinks about it and says to me "I think you may have to find your own". I was bummed, I really hoped that one day that car would be mine. So I started looking for a 91 or 92, something close to original,driveable, but not a full project car. After a month of finding nothing worth a dam here in So Flo, I just about gave up. One morning I came into work and was venting my search frustrations on a co worker and he said look elsewhere, you never know, today could be the day. He was right! I looked in North Flo and there she was, 1991 Z28 vert, Original execpt for Vette wheels and stereo, original window sticker to boot. The car was 4 hrs away so I was worried about the distance, but the seller e-mailed pics and I decieded it was worth the trip, and it sure was. I even drove the car home and she ran great! Now my car is nicer than my friends and by me getting this car it got him motivated to fix up his. Now we work on them together and after we clean his up we are going to take them to a couple of local car shows. I drive this car to work everyday and at some point during the drive I get this great feeling about the car. I have always been a car guy and I FINALLY got my car!
Thanks to this forum and all it's members for keeping these cars alive!

Here are some pics.

 

After the demise of my first 3rd gen, I was depressed. Shortly after, my wife and I both lost our last parents within 6 months of each other. We started our latest business (landlord) and began buying foreclosed homes to repair and rent. My Camaro sat in the drive this whole time. I began to prepare the car for rebuilding, but my wife was tired of my project and the time I put into it. She knew from previous projects the time and effort I would need to put into it and pointed out our new business was too important to devote the time to the car. I eventually agreed.
The search for the next car started soon after. I looked at 4th gens, but they just didn't feel right. I looked at a couple of Corvettes, I liked them but it still was not the right vehicle for me. Most of the Camaros I was looking at were trashed. I did find a blue one that had just been restored. It was just like my old one. As I drove it, the love for these cars came back. However, a comment from a friend of mine kept haunting me. He told me once that buying the same car was not a good idea. He said, even if you buy the same model, get it with different options or you will always be comparing it to the one before. So I made a low offer that was refused.
When I bought my Camaro, I was looking at Firebirds more. This time around I decided that was what I wanted. I began looking and soon found the one I eventually bought. However, it began a 2 month ordeal to just get in touch with the owner. I first saw my Formula on CL. The ad was a couple of weeks old, I sent him an email but got no response. I continued to try to contact him for the next 3 weeks, still no answer. I looked at Ebay one day and there it was. I tried again to contact him. I wanted to see the car in person, before I would bid. He was only 3 hours drive from me. Again no response. The car made it though ebay without a bid. I again tried to contact him. A week later, after I had given up, he finally calls me. We set a date 2 weeks from then to meet.
Finally the day came when I would finally see the car. I fell in love with it first sight. The reason the owner was hard to contact was, he no longer lived in Omaha where the car was located. He and his wife had moved to Seattle. He had bought a storage facility/warehouse and had bought 50 cars to rehab and sell with his 2 boys. They fixed a few, but the boys went to college and moved away. He had to sell most of the cars so he could sell the building. He did not have the space for them in Seattle. He was down to 35 cars when I met him. The warehouse was sectioned so I could not see them all, but in the section my car was in, I saw a 65 red Mustang convertible, a 71 Charger convertible and a 69 Chevelle. They all needed repair, but what a collection. Sometimes buying a car can be a challenge, but when you walk away with the car you want, its always worth while!

 

Since I'm part of the video game generation, video games are what made me fall in love with F-body cars. About seven years ago I started playing Gran Turismo 4 for the first time and I scored an 88 Iroc Concept. I had no idea what the hell it was other than that it was a Camaro apparently since I had never seen a 3rd gen before. I really liked how aggressive the front end looked and how the roofline was low like a Ferrari. After a while, my PS2 broke and I forgot about the car. Then in high school a friend of mine whose family has a lot of cars called me one day to say his dad picked up the 15th anniversary Trans Am that he had for his second car. At this point I had an idea of what a 3rd gen looked like because I was starting to get into the muscle scene. I got into the car and I was hooked immediately because of the way the car felt. The low seats, the long hood, and, of course, the V8 sound. Fast forward to last week and I finally bought myself a 3rd gen, a 1991 Camaro RS V8 with a 700r4.

Needs a rear axle shaft, bearing/seal, one rim, a head unit, a window motor, an AC blower motor, a repaint, and one hell of a fluid flush but I consider myself damn lucky for $1100

 

Well one day i was going down a backroad in my monte carlo and i seen a sign on a mailbox that said 91 trans am firebird for sale $400. you tow. So i was like what the hell, and stopped. So i talked to the old man who lived there said it has been sitting for 10 years...Fuel pump went out in 2005 hasnt moved since. Interior is shot as is 400. So i was pretty let down but asked to see the car anyways. We drove to the back of the field to the barn where the car was parked and the second i saw it something told me I had to get this car! It was covered in mold and dust and the interior was completely ruined.said the t-tops were left off for a year or so...well i ended up getting the car. I towed it home on my buddies wrecker and pressure washed it with bleach first thing. It was unbelievable how good the car looked after a bath! So anyways i pulled the fuel pump replaced it, cleaned the tank changed the fuel filters and flushed the lines.then changed plugs and wires. Put a battery in and new injectors in it and it fired up first crank! This 91 firbird with 87k miles sat for 10 years and fired up first try with a fuel pump and a tune up! Car is alive and kicking! Right now im replacing the interior.just need carpet for the front portion and the headliner for the ttops

 

I grew up as a teenager loving the 5.0 fox body mustangs.....mainly because my older cousin who I idolized had one. Naturally I wanted one too. While looking at one at a used dealer when I turned 16, right beside it was this mint blue iroc-z. I wasn`t too familiar with the thirdgen Camaros, but man oh man, I fell in love with that car. My quest turned to finding an ideal iroc.

I came across an ad for a black one. The poor guy was going through a divorce, so I really got it for a steal back then. This was about 1996 or so. Had it since.

 

I was playing Xbox while my dad sat next to me. He then began reading an article of the 50 worst cars. Number 2 was a 1982 Camaro Iron Duke, then I needed one. lol

 

Some of these stories are like miniature movies full of anticipation. I can almost feel it through the other end.haha

I never really like the 3rd gens. I actually used to think they were the worst camaro body style they have made. A few years ago I realized the 4th gen is when they really gave up cosmetically. A buddy of mine who is a member on here bought a 91 RS and all the information he kept telling me about these just contradicted everything I had ever heard about these cars. When I started looking into it throughly, I found he was right. People were getting 25+ MPG with 305 V8's. Some people were pushing 400+ HP from 350's and pulling close to 10 second quarter mile times. I didn't even realize it but slowly the desire to own a 3rd gen was growing in the back of my mind. I had a 2001 3/4 lifted dodge diesel I was driving at the time and that was my dream truck, so I never really cared too much about getting something else. I was sitting on a small pile of money, and thought, I could use a good daily driver that's fuel efficient and I like the looks of. So I jump on craigslist and start my search. For about 2 weeks I looked and only concated 3 people because I was very picky on what I was getting: had to be a 305 TBI manual. They are hard to come by here, or at least at the time they were. Nothing was striking me as a good deal and I was looking for something that ran but needed work for not much money. Then, as I was scrolling through, I was looking for so long I didn't even realize I was passed a month old ads and I came across an 88 305TBI 5spd for $1800. It was all dark grey primer with cheap 15" steel wheels. It didn't look like much and the ad had no information other than the fact that it was a 88 camaro and 5spd. Then I saw the ad was already at least a month old so I figured it was probably sold already. I figured, what the he'll, worst case scenario the person never responds to me. I called him and he still had it. I started to get excited, asked about it, then went to see it. As soon as I rolled up I knew I was buying it. But I told myself no matter what, I'm not leaving the first time I see it with it. I looked it over and assessed what kind of work it needed (full cosmetic restore, interior and exterior, exhaust leak and it needed a battery) then started talking numbers. Got him down to $1500 and I walked away not trying to buy something out of just being too excited. I thought about it and the next day I went back and bought it. I actually bought it on Valentine's day but not on purpose. My girlfriend wasn't too excited when I decided to go out and buy a car on a day we were supposed to have all these plans. But she got over it. And it's been a work in progress ever since. I have spent most of my free time since I bought it working on it. I have gone through 2 tows already (once for clutch going out and the other for the water pump) and a conversion to AC since it didn't come with ac from factory. Still have lots to go and I'm painting it in the next few weeks so when I do, I will be throwing up pictures of it. Needless to say, this thing is more time consuming than anything I have ever invested in, so I don't know if I could ever sell this car. (Unless these damn brakes don't start working...kidding)

Edit: just painted it so I wanted to post a picture.

 

an old post, I know, but a good one all the same... deserves a revival

Very good stories indeed.

Mine goes back pretty far, but I will try to keep it brief. I grew up with a dad that was a car guy. He also worked for GM in the 60's through 80's. In 1978 he bought 2 new cars. A red Chevette for my mom and a red 78 Z28 4 speed for himself. In 1979 he got mom a new Blue Chevette and a matching Blue 79 Z28 for himself. I remember being a little giggling kid in the back seat one snowy christmas eve on our way home as he posi slid around the corner by our house, with mom complaining the whole time. It was AWESOME.

Fast forward about 5 years. I am 14. My dad gave me 2 junk cars to build, with enough time to be driving on my 16th birthday. I had a 75 Formula 400 that was crashed in the rear and a 79 Z28 that was crashed in the frt. Took 2 years to make a car out of them, and 2 months to destroy
During that time my dad wanted a 350 IROC bad, and my mom had gotten tired of getting the short end of the deal, she wanted a blue 3rd gen with t-tops.

1990 was the year. Mom found a sweet 1986 Z28, blue with about 20k. Dad found a red 1990 IROC 5.7 with about 10k on it. I found a 1982 Berlinetta. 2 tone blue, blue cloth interior. t-tops, fresh paint and REALLY clean. Only problem was the 2.8 with 3 rods knocking. No problem, I had a 355, fuelie heads, cam and intake I was going to put into my 72 chevelle, but this was a more worthy cause at this time. I also happened to have 2 parts cars at my disposal at the time. An 85 firebird 5.0 and an 85 Z28 (5k miles, crashed hard on right side.) Took all the close ratio and big sway bar suspension off the camaro. 700r4 to back my small block and I was rolling. Those 14 inch gold alloy Berlinetta rims didn't even see it coming.

Moved from Chicago to Tucson right after getting it together. I was 18 living in the land where cars don't rot away. Drove the wheels off that car. Went from a 700r4 to another 700r4 to a t5. Had a 3:08 in the back that thought it was a posi, I wasn't about to argue with it. 23 years, couple sets of wheels and tires and a paint job later it was sitting in my garage collecting dust. Had 2 other Camaros at the time and wanted the space more than the car. Sold it to a youngster nearby. His test drive was watching my drive it around the block because he couldn't drive stick. Should have been a sign, I still look on CL from time to time looking for it. I loved that car.

The other 2 I had at the time were my 79 Z28, dad's old car with all new sheet metal and a 4 speed, and mom's old 86 Z28.

Over the years I have owned about 14 or 15 f-bodies. My brother caught the bug too. I am down to 1 now. Mom's old 86 Z28 was given to me in 2001. I drove it for a couple years and then the paint started to flake off. After being parked for about 10 years I brought it back to life. Paint, exhaust and fluids. a good cleaning as well. Now at 81,000 miles it is a fun car once again. People now pull up next to to ask questions or give thumbs up. These old guys are getting less common these days.

 

Friend of mine's mom had an IROC growing up and if we had to go anywhere we had to ride in it. I didn't know much about the car back then.

I grew up with knight rider and even as recently as a few years ago I re-watched it and thought "man.. that bird looks really good. I kinda want a black firebird like that."

I was actually on craigslist recently looking for an 88-98 chevy fullsize pickup project (trucks are easy compared to cars cos they're so modular) and came across my 89 already on a trailer, already black (well most of its black ) and decided to give it a shot.

I've never owned a 3rd gen or drive one, but I've seen some around town that have really turned my head and I've always been attracted to the body style.

I've been chewing on a 3rd gen project for a long time but the entry point price wise was always too high or I didn't have the room.

Well now I have a workshop and this car delivered was pretty much what a scrapper would have paid, so I'm happy.

oh, and a pic just for fun.

 

brother from another mother? My mom owned two chevettes.. one blue one (78 I think) and one yellow one (80 I think) while Dad worked at GM and bought me a black 83 camaro and 3 years later an 86 TA..also black..
I was an only child and spoiled... sorry...
but now I have my 88 GTA and pretty happy with it.

 

HOLY CRAP what a restoration you did, you did a great job and i turned out amazing, I have a 1984 Sport Coupe Camaro, only a 2.8l v6 3spd auto but its my first car, interior looks brand new, exterior is ok, shes getting repainted white again soon hopefully, also going with some 18'' chrome aftermarket iroc wheels and a 4th gen ws6 aftermarket hood. Baby only has 68k on the motor and tranny so no complaints here, one day im going to get a formula 350 or a gta, i love those cars so much.


Here are some pictures of my car now

 

i know that you pieced that car together from 2 other cars, but it was still a great turn out

 

Short version long story

My friend, IE: best man at my wedding my kids call him uncle, his kids call me uncle. I have known him almost 30 years. Well he had an affair / midlife crisis.

Was talking with my wife about it and after listing some of the people we have known that have midlife crisis. I said to my wife, "honey I'm gonna have a midlife crisis too"

Now any of you who are married know the look she gave me. I'M GONNA RIP SOMETHING OFF AND BEAT YOU TO DEATH WITH IT look. I then said " I'm gonna buy a sports car and our insurance is gonna go up" I am not kidding when she looked right at me and said "How much money do you want"



Two years later and a lot of searching, I got an early birthday present. My 91 rs 5 speed convertible.

She bought it for me for my birthday. Which is today, happy birthday to me Had it for month now.

Wouldn't trade my wife for anything

 

^Congrats on the wife! (and car!) and happy birthday!!

 

I asked my step father why he likes Camaros back when I was around 14 or so. He said he just does. That has stuck with me ever since, being that he has been a huge inspiration in my life. Ive had 4 Camaros in my life so far, I'm 33. One gave up on me while the other doesn't run, and probably never will with me owning it. The wishful thinking project faded from view when family means more. I lot of BS was behind the production of these cars, I'm sure many would agree on why they would make such bad decisions on designing some of this stuff. I'm a real fan when someone has kept up or built up with there own hands.

 

I'm 40 now. When I was a kid, i was into toy cars, got the posters, then got the magazines. Around age 12 my dad took me to check out the new IROC-Z, probably the '88s. But that wasn't my strongest impression, there was a ride in a mid '70s 'vette.
I've never found any running Corvette I could afford, and I was still in my early teens when my dad told me about a '73 Z/28 he bought new, then had souped up. Well, family pics confirm he did own one, and he was correct that a Camaro could be made faster than a Corvette, or a Ferrari, or even a Countach. Even before turbo LSx miraculousness.
So at age 14 I bought myself a '78 Camaro, and I have had many since. The oldest was a '71, the newest was a '95.
I have read Muscle Mustangs and Fast Fords magazine from the very first issue, along with all the others, and in the 1990s, Camaro excitement was fading, for everyone but me. So I have owned 3 Mustangs, but as much as third gens were compromised, and they really were, the fox-chassis 'stangs were far worse.
A lot of fans think the third gen was the best, but it really was the 4th, and i have one of each. Both hardtops. The 4th gen will end up my supercar killer, my 3rd gen is just for fun. The 3rd gen has only one advantage, and that is access to the entire engine compartment. The days have arrived when you can get a 4th cheaper than a 3rd, whether rolling shell or running car.
The thing about the 4th that i most dislike is how the seats look so good, but were designed for a 5 foot woman, not a 6 foot man. The 3rd gen seats weren't so bad, but also need replaced with something that keeps the driver in place when cornering near 1g. So no advantage to the 3rd gen there.
Anyway, these cars are fir cheap performance and easy upgrades to those who can't afford a better chassis to start with. If you can afford an FD, or a Z32, or any of the good years of Corvettes, then forget Camaros.
I am currently hunting a '74-'77 Camaro for a road trip car, but as much as i like the first gens, i hate them more solely because everyone else has driven the prices so high. If you can afford one, you aren't one of the few who could enjoy it properly. Aaarrrgghhh!
If you can't build it with your own hands and skills and tools, then you are just a driver, not an enthusiast. If you can't spec a really close to ideal cam and explain it correctly, you're not an enthusiast, just a wannabe.

 

I bought a 1984 Pontiac Fiero used from a new car dealership in 1984 had it 8 months was a piece of junk it was broke down more than it was running luckily I had a second car at that time.

Or would have been without wheels quite a few times they didn't offer loaners back then.

So by this time it was 1985.

I told the salesman all the problems I had with Fiero so he said i take the car off you hands for what I owed on it and said what kind of car do you want and I said a Firebird.

So I went out into his lot and found a white Firebird with a 305 (5.0Liter) engine, 5 speed Manual transmission with the Trans Am plush interior package and the dash had idiot lights.

Now this car was built in November of 1983 and I didn't purchase it until May of 1985.

So in other words this car sat on their lot for 18 months and had a total of 117 miles on it when I purchased it.

After I bought I said that was the first thing that was going was the idiot lights and I found a complete instrument cluster with gauges out of a 1982 Trans Am, Out of a automobile savage yard so I had to take what I could find there was many around back then to find.

The only difference between the 1984 and 1982 cluster was the 1982 Firebird cluster lit up at night in light green and the 1984 lit up at night reddish orange.

So I looked at the original cluster (idiot lights) and the 1982 and figured out how to do it.

Also had to repin the cluster from idiot lights to the Gauge cluster that wasn't hard but I don't why these auto manufactures can't make things uniform.

I still own this car today.

I owned for 31 years.

Also it never seen snow or salt that they put on the roads.

Always been kept in garage.

I'm going to try and post some pictures.

 

Welcome aboard dwyczalek!


Pretty car, with a great story.

 

Nice car! Cool mod!

 

I dont know where my desire for a third gen came from originally... I just remember seeing a third gen camaro when i was around the age of 10 or 11 and I fell in love with the car. There was absolutely nothing about this body style that I didnt like. Since that day I vowed to have one.

When I turned 16 and got my learners permit, I told my dad that I wanted to look for a Camaro for my first car. A statement that was met with a large amount of laughter and disapproval. I've went through numerous vehicles since then...97 mercury mystique, 87 gmc jimmy lowrider, 00 ram 1500 sport, modified 06 lancer ralliart, modifed 91 civic hatch, lifted 99 cherokee, heavily modified 97 jeep tj, and now a 16 gmc sierra elevation which i purchased to pull my tj around as it grew too large to be on the road.

Well as they normally do, circumstances changed about 4 months ago and I ended up selling the tj along with the trailer I bought for it as well in order to fund the purchase of a house. My girlfriend knew that it took everything I had to let go of my tj, so when it went away she had the idea to take some of the cash and put it into my dream of owning a third gen.

I found an 84 z28 for $1000 with no motor but only 130,000 original KM ONE OWNER. After I brought it home and started looking online for a powerplant, I came across an 89 RS with a 383 stroker and 5 spd, 104,000KM original on the chassis, all ready to go for a price couldnt say no to. So now I have 2 third gens, one of which I have no plans for, and the other I just want to drive. LOL

Thats my story.

 

MY step dad purchased my 87 firebird. He was fighting his second bout of cancer and was told that he only had 3 years left, no chemo, surgery or anything was gonna stop it this time. he said that he had always wanted one and he came across it on craigslist or something of the sort for $1800 and it was only a few miles from his house, so while my mother was at work he pulled the trigger and drove it home.
After he got it he managed to do a couple of things to it, new headlight motor, new tires, got the radio working and then it just sat. about 3 months after he purchased it he passed away. He left it to me in his will.
Now I've never been a big fan of Camaros (sorry) and really didn't know anything about the firebirds. And even though I'm an owner of one I still cant say I'm an enthusiast, I don't bleed third gen. For me its not about the firebird name, its not about the history or the design, not intrigued my the power the stance or the sound. I'm on here everyday learning everything I can to do all I can to restore this car the way he wanted it.

 

Nice story jworks. Don't hesitate to start a build thread in the Members Firebirds section of the Auto Detailing and Appearance section. If you have questions, people will definitely step up and help you.

 

My first bird. 1987 Formula back in high school 1994

 

I have always been a big Chevy guy, growing up watching racing and wanting to some day own a Corvette, but I never got into Camaros until my teenage years. My obsession with Camaros began when I was 16. At the time, a good friend of mine was given an '85 Camaro Z28, grey with T Tops and a 305 TPI, as his first car. Being it was our first summer with our driving licenses, we drove it EVERYWHERE. I absolutely loved it. It was the first really nice, classic V8 muscle car I ever drove, and it left an impression on me.

Even though I loved it, my friend always took it for granted. He used it as his daily driver and at a few times drove the hell out of it. Eventually, he gave it to his sibling and bought something else. He never appreciated the car, and it bothered me that he could be given such a cool car like that for free and not love it.

Ever since then, I've wanted a 3rd gen Camaro of my own, but never had the money (and I didn't want my parents to buy me one like his did). Fast forward four years, I get a solid job, and start making decent money for a 20 year old. I decided that I had enough of sitting around "wanting" a 3rd gen, and to save up for one myself. Starting in June 2016, I began piling all my free-to-spend money into my savings, and started hunting for a clean 3rd gen. Finally, in January of this year, after months of continuous saving and hunting for a good one, I found the perfect 3rd gen that I wanted.







This is it now. After just a month and a half of owning it, I already love it. And God willing, it's found its "forever home".