If theres one thing i love on this site its reading peoples build threads and looking at all the pretty pictures. so, i hope some people will read this thread and like the pictures i post, but also this thread is to help me document my build. anywho, little background, used to have a daily driver 85 iroc that had the tranny blow twice in a year and a half, money was tight so i had to part her out =(. watching the body get hauled off on a trailer is probably one of my saddest memories. fast forward about a year and i pick up an 87 z28. car is a hardtop, like my iroc was, and as an added bonus is a 5 speed so i dont have to worry about blowing up any trannys. now for the good part, some pictures:









as you can see, the paint is a little rough (alot rought) but car is from california and is completely RUST FREE. this is important because i live in ohio and everything around here is a rust bucket.







as you can see ive started to strip the interior. i love the style of the seats and door panels, way cooler than what i had in my iroc. for some odd reason the rs and regular z models got better interiors than the irocs, which i find odd. one upgrade that ive already made and unfortunately dont have before pics of is the steering wheel. sent it out to chuck pelton and got it recovered (took about 5 days and looks 50times better than new) and picked up a horn button off ebay since the car didnt come with one. im hoping to make everything on the car look this good when im done.



heres an engine shot. nothing special, i have an 89 vette so i wasnt really concerned about finding a tpi engine since i already have one. car had a slow crank problem when i got it, cleaned up the battery cables and rebuilt the starter and good as new, starts right up.

plans for the car are this:

this summer, get interior cleaned up and repaint the car. going to paint the whole car bright red (ditch the silver gfx). i toyed around with changing the color to something newer like precision red, but i dont want to bother painting the engine bay since the paint is good in there and this will be the first car ive ever painted so i want to keep work at a minimum. i have a set of wheels of an 88 iroc that will go on, i actually like the 85-87 iroc wheels better but wanted something different than on my last third gen so picked these up

next summer, suspension build. bilstein shocks and umi and spohn wherever possible or feasible given the cost.

sometime after that an lt1 swap. im not too worried about originality in this car as its one im building and didnt buy nice. car is built to race from the factory: radio delete, ac delete, manual windows and locks, etc. so i plan on making this thing FAST. i know a lot of people will say why not ls1 swap? and thats a hard decision since its about the same work and cost isnt too different, but, ive always wanted an lt1 but not a big fan of the cars they came in, and i feel an lt1 is much more "muscle car" than an ls1, and this is going to be a true muscle car.

i think thats enough rambling for now, post some replies and let me know what you guys think!

 

damn dude you've gotten more done than i did! i'm glad your rippin into it and gettin success!! personally me i hated the silver ground effects on it and not sure who in GM thought that would be a nice lookin option. i'm subscribing to this thread and i'll let you know when i get the paper for you!!!!!!

 

it mustve been an 80s thing. between the silver gfx and the vinyl stripes above it its just wayyyy too busy down there. i dont do enough coke for it to look right lol. the only ok part about it is it matches the wheels but i dont plan on keeping them so itd look even worse with some iroc wheels on there. i want this car to be clean and simple, and a little bit of a sleeper. ill keep you updated

 

oh and i forgot to ask, took the trunk panel off yesterday and it looks like theres an electric hatch pulldown motor, but its not wired up and i dont see a switch for it anywhere in the car and im pretty sure it didnt pop up what i ran the rpo codes. know if anybody swapped that in there? guess ill be looking for a manual one maybe someone on the forum wants to trade.

 

heres a quickie update. picked this 145mph speedo up off of ebay, took it completely apart, cleaned and reassembled. will install and test on wednesday, hopefully it works because it looks a hundred times better than the faded 85 mph unit

 

Looks like this will be a promising build thread. Decent body, decent drivetrain, always good to start off with something that isn't just a rusted out junk yard car.

 

definitely, especially since my welding skills are non existant. i took some painting classes at the local community college so im feeling pretty up for painting it myself and can save alot of money that way, plus if i dont like something i can sand it all off and start over again. the interior is great and the drivetrain works for now, but i do want to put something better in there eventually.

 

if you really want to eliminate trans problems you might want to think about a t-56 swap, and than you can use that in your LT swap too.

looks like a solid car and you've already torn into it so the best of luck with everything

by the way.....subscribed

 

good looking car. i love the way it looks now , also i love that steeringwheel and the seats..gonna be watching the build

 

thanks, i definitely play on putting a t56 in later when i hopefully get an lt1. ive only driven the car about 50 ft so far lol but the t5 seems to be doing ok so far. and evilmokid thanks i LOVE the design of the seats if i get ambitious ill take a picture of the rear seats, theyre out already and spent an hour or so cleaning em up and they look brand new. and as for the steering wheel, its amazing, chuck pelton does amazing work i recommend everyone send their wheels to him.

 

i figured u would do that with the LT swap, i was just throwing out there to get rid of the possibility of any potential transmission failure.....the T5 should be good enough if that motor stays stock though

 

its mostly stock for now. it has an edelbrock carb and thats the only mods that im aware of. it will have to go at some point though because from what ive heard theyre known to blow up if you add any power lol thanks for the comments! i hope to have more pictures later this week

 

and it has a MSD distributor, i forgot which wires i put on though that new speedo looks better than what i had to look at lol

 

if i knew it had an msd distributor, i forgot lol good to know!

heres a tiny update not even worth posting but i will anyways. tested out the new gauges, they all seem to work so thats a relief. also replaced all the bulbs in the cluster, about half were burnt out. got the broken drivers side mirror off and scrubbed all the old glue off but it was too cold to put the new mirror on (40 degrees). and finally replaced the old rear view mirror which was pretty rough with a new one off of a 93 camaro.

old:


new:


hopefully next time out there i can get something a little more worth while done =P

 

pink slip coming your way bud . . . in 2-3 weeks lol stupid DMV

 

cant wait! and here i thought you were gonna wait til i got her done, report it stolen and have the cops bring it back to you

 

dammit you found my plan out lol

 

wow has it really been almost a month since ive commented? not much has gone on as its been finals and all that, but, ive got the interior pretty much all stripped now. rented a rug doctor and went from this



to this



carpet is a little faded in a couple spots but i think it will be ok, i have better things to spend $100 on right now.

also replaced the beat up console lid with one from an 82 berlinetta. before:



after:





hope to get somemore work done soon!

 

Looking good..

 

lookin good man!!!!! feels good to drive her doesn't it?

 

oh man, i can sum it up like this: =D !!!!!!! felt so good to drive a third gen again. the guy at the chevy dealership where i got it inspected seemed to dig it too. of course it could just be because i brought my old man along and he was asking about grand sport corvettes. id pretend to like a project if i might have a $70,000 sale in the works too lmao. i might be changing my plan on painting it myself, we still havent gotten our air compressor hooked up so i might just have a shop do it =/. oh well, im sure theyll do a better job than i could. if i go that route ill have to wait til i get my student loan kickbacks lol thanks federal government!

 

so heres a quickie update. been taking more interior stuff off (very) slowly, thought you might like to see how i clean up the interior plastics. i didnt take a before picture so sorry. i use a drill buff pad and plastic polish i have left over from a 3m headlight restoration kit (works wonders on tail lights) and then i finish it up with just a little bit of armor all.





and ta dah!


the lock delete plate needs just a bit more work but you get the idea =)

 

Looking good, i hope you dont mind if I clean all my interior plastics that way.

 

id be flattered if you did! just a couple tips, only use the polishing part and its just like buffing paint dont run it dry and dont stay in the same spot too long, otherwise its pretty fool proof!

 

heres another smaller than it should be update. replaced the coolant and washer fluid jugs (everyone loves a girl with new jugs lol). it was kind of a debacle, the old retaining clips were no good and i bought some new ones that i thought would work but were too small (1/4 inch, need to be 5/16) and couldnt find any 5/16 of the right style or a style that i liked so i got some 5/16 inch flange bolts and nuts, i think it looks pretty good =).





oh, and i also got a 95 camaro while i was at it, thought id share a pic .

 

oh, forgot to mention, also put new bulbs in for the brights and they work now =)

 

Looks good!!!!

 

Promising build. Love the 87 Z28's. I see more irocs and standard camaros on the road, but to find a just a 87 z28 is harder than most to find where im located.

 

The lateral vents are blocked, why? is it to try to get more flow in the vents of the center?

 

formulakid, ive just noticed the same thing and thats why im going to keep this one all original. i have some iroc rims on it but every build i see on here looks like an iroc, plus this car has some pretty rare options (ac delete, radio delete, etc) and i feel like in the long run it will be worth a lot more if i keep it original =)

 

apolo, im not too sure what youre referencing but if youre talking about the tube on the left side of the air cleaner, its not going to the proper spot because i have it loose to connect and disconnect the battery easier. i store my cars that way because i find the battery lasts ALOT longer.

 

thanks bud, and if youre talking about the 95 i gotta finish ripping those nasty stripes off. ick. heres a random *** question for you, i noticed the smog pump was painted like a midnight blue but nothing else is. know anything about that? im just curious, probably a replacement or something.

 

A part of me wishes I had kept that car lol now about the smog pump . . . haven't got a clue lol I was goin to take it off the engine with all the rest of the smog crap, but I never got around to doin anything with it

Btw I was referring to both cars looking good!!

 

well, i got the title in my name so its too late now lol. heres my plan for the rest of the summer before school: buy carb rebuild kit (going to get this week) and attempt rebuilding old carb, then take out tranny. tranny rebuild will probably take the whole semester since im taking 5 classes and i dont think ill get much time to devote to the rebuild =/

 

Im talking of the seven image, the ac vents on both sides of the dash, they are blocked,

 

It's a low option z28: no a/c and no power options, hardtop, manual trans . . . pretty much a 1LE before they came out. This was my car and I sold it to him and the options were the only reason I bought it

 

what he said lol the car is ac delete and the cars that didnt have ac didnt have the vents on the left and right side of the dash; came from the factory that way

 

update time! slowly but surely getting the interior back together. since last time i have redied the carpet and put the center console back in with the missing radio delete plate. i somewhere misplaced the screws for the console, thats why its not all the way back together. oh, i got a brand new parking brake handle from ecklers.... and it came all scratched up. so i called em and got another.... and it came all scratched up. i dont blame them, they were nothing but curteous, i blame the manufacturer as they come in a box with no insulation whatsoever. so i put the second one in but im not very happy, but i have a good idea of how to fix that more to come!

 

also, fixed some of the rust on the hood. its not great, but itll do until i paint it next spring =)



and the first pic of the two maros together =)

 

I like the "it has a 5 speed so I won't break any trannys" lol t5 is weak! I have one, it'll break soon! But sweet build thread, car looks better than mine!

 

wellll, i dont think this engine is strong enough to break the t5!

 

I don't think it is either lol put a short throw shifter in there!!! My old car is lookin good

 

i definitely think a pro 5.0 shifter is in my future... but on the other hand, im kind of back on the engine swap train. i just cant make up my mind! but a buddy of mine just bought an 05 goat and gave me a ride.... i wanna build something that can beat that .

 

Nice project. That interior is gonna look really nice when done

 

thanks! im not rushing everything here, im just getting parts at my own leisure and making sure theyre up to my standards before i put them back on. it might take a lot longer, but i know in the end ill be happy with the results. just waitin on tax money now!

 

waitin too lol keep me updated and i'm gettin my roller soon!!!

 

man i bet youre excited, that things gonna be killer! i think ive got the 95 sold =( maybe ill get some money to throw at the 87 out of it =P

 

Well the 01 has been paid for for 2 weeks now and it's still in his garage . Any word of the 95 if it sold?

 

im actually trading it today for an 05 colorado =( one less camaro in my stable =/

 

trade it in for a man's truck not a girls truck lol