Hi all!

Way back in 1989 I was in college at a place called Spartan School of Aeronautics in Tulsa, OK. I drove out there in a 1976 Buick LeSabre which promptly died of traumatic oil loss. I was then raped by some a**hole used car dealer who sold me a 1982 Subaru that threw a rod after 2 months. I then happened upon the most beautiful thing, a 1985 Camaro Sport Coupe V6 with Z28 rims and Craiger louvers. It was a beautiful shade of Charcoal Gray. The day after I bought it, it was stripped right in the dealers lot! They took the hood, doors, seats, steering wheel, hatch, radio, and wheels! When I came to pick it up, it was sitting there on 4 cinder blocks. They told me it was covered under their policy. A few days later I pick it up with new tires, rims, doors, hood, paint, etc. Within the next 3 months, I had the radio stolen twice, the drivers window broken twice, and the ignition ripped out once. Later my cousin and I tested the glide properties by driving WAY too fast when a car pulled out in front of me. We went up a bank to the side of the road and nearly flipped it. I continued to drive it for about 2 years and then was forced to sell it due to high insurance costs. Damn thing was crime-bait! I missed it fiercely.

20 years later, I'm surfing Craigslist for a friend for some parts. Lo and behold I find a gold 1982 Berlinetta stored in a barn for 15 years! And just an hour away, a set of gold Z28 rims! Fate was practically screaming at me! I called on the car first. The guy says he found it in a barn with a blown engine. He pulled the engine & rebuilt it. He was going to give it to his grandson. The kids mom says no way! So the guy puts it up for sale. He says he has $700 in it, so that's what he'll take. Only one condition, keep it stock. He had it for sale for over a month, but refused to sell it to guys who were gonna turn it into a drag car or racer. I then call on the rims, 4 near-perfect condition Z28 rims! They said they'll hold them for me. The next Sunday (11/22/2009), I and a friend head down and pick up the car in York, PA then up to Boyertown, PA for the rims.

Now she sits in my garage awaiting warmer weather (or a heater) to finish getting it all fixed up.

Pics on Flickr

 

Welcome to the site. I'd grab it and restore it.

 

Thanks Tony! I see your face on a lot of these threads!

I've been thinking about it a lot lately. I want to keep the body & interior stock, so I'll restore those. Since the engine is rebuilt, I might as well keep that stock too.

I think I might do some LED conversions on the lights, some modern headlights, and a radio upgrade. I want to drive it now and then!

One problem I've got with restoring the body is that I can't find the special "berlinetta" lower body stripes! NOBODY carries them!

Anyone have any ideas?

 

looks like a fun project

 

Very nice!!

 

dude i know how you feel, because i have an 82 berlinetta as well. I cant find the stripes, so im thinking of pinstriping them on after i paint mine.

 

Yeah, that seems to be the only solution unfortunately!

 

Great story!

 

Nice find.

Any halfway decent sign shop could easily recreate the vinyl stripes you need, as long as you have a pic to go by. Either as individual stripes, or some shops have a 1-piece clear stripe set, with the stripe colors printed on the clear.

 

Sweet find!

So what kind of degree/certificate did you get from spartan anyway. A&P?

 

if you can look and see if the broadcast sheet is under either seat, it tells you the code for stripes. im wondering if you were to go to a GM dealer if they could RPO some stripes

 

very cool, just don't wreck this one and get a really good alarm!

 

I was going for A&P but ended up dropping out due to financial problems. Ended up with a Computer Science degree from the local community college just last year.

 

Nice man. Very good condition for the money.

 

What happened? Almost 2 years has gone by. Still have it? Pics?

 

that car is in awesome condition. the only thing I dislike is the steering wheel and the double pointer speedo wich I changed in mine. but overall nice car though much maligned even for a third gen welcome to the berly club

 

You can call me Captain Procrastinator! I haven't done much with it I have procured another engine (3.4L), seats out of a 1995 Firebird, IROC sway bars and K-frame brackets, doors off a '92 RS (anyone know the best way to get rid of the body cladding holes?), and a World Class T-5 out of the same 1995 Firebird.

Now that the weather is getting warmer up here, I've recruited the 16-year-old daughter and her boyfriend to help me tear it down and start getting things cleaned up for assembly.

 

Thanks! Though I think I kind of like the steering wheel, it's the same one that was in my '85 Sport Coupe I used to have. We'll see how the speedo works out, it's kinda weird

 

double needle speedos are hard to find, if you swap it, KEEP IT

 

Don't worry, I plan on keeping it

Though I do have some stuff I'll need to get rid of:
-TH200c transmission & crossmember
-TH200c driveshaft
-TH200c shifter assembly
among others...

 

the driveshaft should be okay if your gonna swap to a 700rf or a 4l60

 

True, but I'm putting in a World Class T5

 

might want to look for an aluminum driveshaft from a 4th gen

 

Definitely! I'm hoping to find one at the local junkyard

 

It is with a heavy heart that I must announce this: I have given up on this project. The money and time needed are beyond what I can give. Despite appearing in good condition, the storage was detrimental - almost everything needs to be rebuilt/replaced/refinished.

As such, I'll be posting some ads in the Classifieds soon. I'd prefer if it went to someone who wanted to continue the restoration, but as it's disassembled, it might be easier to sell off all the parts.

I'll be picking up a 1987 Camaro Sport Coupe on Thursday (7/25/13). Many of the parts I have already purchased will work for this new car, 3.4L V6, WC T-5, Dynomax Exhaust, Headers, Louvers, etc.