My first car was a near-basket-case '57 Chevy back in 1965. I learned how to work on cars while rebuilding it as well as building a '56 Chevy E/MP, a '61 Corvette D/MSport, and a '70 Olds 442 SS/F drag car with my brother way back in the day. NHRA rules changes, along with life changes (the mid-'70s oil embargo, hostile auto insurance companies---and especially---restrictive EPA smog regulations) separated me from performance cars for many years. I spotted this '86 Z28 in the showroom of one of the local Chevy dealers in 1986, and after doing some research, I struck a deal and drove it off the showroom floor; I've had it ever since.
I've looked at ZL1/1LE Camaros for the last two years, and have considered buying one except for the fact that I only have a 1-car garage, and am not willing to let this car get away from me, as I have done with so many other cars in the past.

 

Awesome car! Awesome story!

 

 

My First Thirdgen, and my 1st car was a 1985 Trans Am I got from my uncle Ron. I would go over to his house rather frequently for holidays, and would see the car just sitting in his garage. He told me that if I did well enough in school, he would give it to me when I was old enough to drive. It was kinda my goal growing up. I didn't care about the subjects at school very much, I just wanted the car! Anyways, I ended up getting the car, and spending the summer of my Junior year In highschool Restoring it (for the most part). It was just little fixes. One last thing I Needed was new tires. All I knew at the time was that there was these fancy old tires that said "Goodyear Eagle VR50" on the car. This was in 2014-ish. A tire came off the rim of that car causing me to lose control of the car. That was basically the end of that car. Tore it to Pieces in my dad's garage. I used the Insurance money to buy my current 86 that I have been building to my taste since then. Also bought a 85 Sliver Iroc, A 83 daytona (was way too far gone), 85 Trans Am (Same car w/ TTops!), and a very rare 86 Digital dash car.

 

Thnx. There's a lot more to it; most guys my age still into cars have similar stories, but I'll just add that when the muscle car era of the '60s-'70s died, what next came out of Detroit was enough to sour any hope of a resurgence in performance. But Chevy's TPI V8 and Ford's 5.0 Mustang in the mid-'80s are the two cars responsible for the 500-600-700+ hp cars readily available today.

Detroit never really gave up on us; it just took a while for them to figure out a way past all the performance-killing regulations.

 

I just turned 18, watching the office when I saw dwight's Trans Am, instantly fell in love and know I wanted a 3rd gen. I drove to my friends house one day and a mechanic next to his house had two 3rd gen camaro's for sale and this 1990 RS was the one I bought for $1950 and have had no issues with it almost have owned it for a year now.

 

This is a neat thread so I'll pitch in. As a kid, my dad always had whatever cool muscle car came along, which sparked my love for cars. When I was really young, he had a red ttop Iroc and I remember driving around with the tops off and thinking it was the coolest thing in the world. Then my uncle bought a Convertible Iroc and for my 5 year old enjoyment, did a monster burnout in his driveway that carved a crater in the concrete. Now I think Irocs are not only awesome looking, but the most powerful cars in history. I was in love. Now we're somewhere in the late 2000's, I'm about 10 and my dad picks me up in the 91 GTA that he just bought. 5 speed, ttops. I could point out a Trans Am vs a Firebird, but I had no idea what a GTA was nor did I know that 91-92 had different designs. I instantly fell in love, and whenever my dad would drop me off (separated parents), I would stand at the front door of my house and watch him rip roar a screaming fish-tailing burnout up the street because he knew how much I loved it. Then I'd go inside, wipe the drool away, and google pictures and videos of 91 Trans Am's.

Fast forward to 2017. The car has been parked for 5-6 years untouched, I'm 20 and just starting to make some money, and it's time to harass my dad about letting me finally show the car some love. Few days later in -30 degree temps, I'm hauling it out of the garage. I hadn't even looked at the car in years, and when you're young you don't really pay attention to what's worn and tired on a car, you just think it's cool, loud, and fast. Body is covered in dents, interior is trashed, tires should have been replaced in 1997, wont start, no brakes, and that's only what I could point out in the 7 foot roll from driveway to the lane way. Didn't turn me off one bit though, so on the flat bed she went and off to the mechanic. Full brake overhaul, fuel pump, tires, and a bunch of other little things and she finally turns on. SWEET.

Now 2 years and almost 10k later, I've replaced the whole interior with excellent condition Beechwood cloth from a 80km parts GTA, had any rust issues repaired, rebuilt or replaced basically every mechanical component on the car, and considered selling/burning it every time (at least 20) that it's left me stranded in a place I'd really rather not me. But the finish line is finally sooooooorta in sight, with the right binoculars. Time for paint, some cosmetics, a couple mechanical tweaks, and eventually an LS.

 

I have always been a gear head. My dad had lots of cool cars growing up. He is a Mopar man at heart. He taught me everything I know about cars. I have always wanted a 1st gen Camaro. a 69 SS 396 with the 4spd to be exact. Only cool cars I have ever really had was a 67 Plymouth Barracuda and a 77 Monte Carlo that my pap bought brand new.. Loved those cars but both became to far gone to salvage. To many years of Pennsylvania salt. My cousin had an 88 RS with 305/5spd. Car was nice and liked it a lot. He put a 327 from a vette in it and I liked it even more.

So come to a couple years ago. A friend of mine owns UMI performance. I went to their first autocross event they hosted. Did a couple ride along's and fell in love. come to this past year and rode with my buddy in his 91 1LE Camaro at this past years autocross and lets just say that was it I had to find a car to autocross in. I knew my uncle had a 3rd gen camaro sitting behind his house. So one day I just asked if he wanted to get rid of it. He said yep. So I looked it over and from the outside it wasn't bad. A few rust spots but didn't look to bad. Car had a 2.8 v6 and automatic. He said it ran but tranny was shot. So went down a week later to look it over and found that the floors were completely gone. So did some looking on market place sites to see what I could find. Found one a couple hours from me. Called and they just sold it. So maybe this will have to wait. Then I remember my buddy wheels and deals in cars. Called him up and ask if he has any camaro's. Yep he has 2. A 82 and an 85. The 82 is way to much for my wallet. But the 85 sounds good. He says it's been sitting for a couple years and to come look at it. Well $1500 later and I'm the proud owner of a 85 Berlinetta.

 

I usually pull up on the door handle, open the door, and sit down in the seat...

 

359 posts in and someone finally makes the joke

 

*Takes bow* Thank you. Thank you. I'll be here all week. Please tip your waitress.

 

I had a 1995 Cutlass Supreme Convertible with the 24 valve DOHC 3.4 V-6 I'd been daily driving for about 6 years. Ran very nicely, but those LQ1 motors are something of a bear to deal with. I'd already experienced two timing belt failures, which aren't impossible to do yourself, but are challenging. Finally, the alternator went, which is at the bottom of the engine, near the firewall, which required dropping the subframe, (so much for the wheel alignment I'd just done)...

Day 2, while I was putting the entire mess back together, and looking for the bolts the previous owner hadn't bothered installing, my wife came outside to see how it was going. Said, "I know you'll get all this back together, but isn't there something else you'd rather have, that would be easier to work on"? I told her I'd always wanted a third generation Camaro, but had no idea what one would cost. She suggested I should see if I could find one...3 months later, I bought my '88 5.7 IROC, with a T-5 swap. I've been daily driving it ever since...a little over 50,000 miles over the past 3.5 years.

 

The door opened, I got in... <Johnny-Cab eyeroll>