This thing landed in my shop on February 12 as a parts car, but after looking it over I've decided to build it back as a daily driver. I've thought of adding a third gen to my stable for a while now, and on this one the price was definitely right. I took it in trade against some 2nd gen parts. It's an '84 Z-28 and originally had the HO 305 and a 5 speed which were both pulled for the previous owners project. I already have a warmed up '71 307 small block sitting on an engine stand and a T5 trans on the shelf, so that's not an issue.

The body is actually pretty straight except for the front fenders. Unfortunately, this thing has about 8 layers of paint on it and some bondo in the left quarter. On the bright side, there is virtually no rust at all that I have seen, so far. The interior is dirty and rough but mostly there. I have some better 3rd gen seats to swap in and the rest will be either rehabbed or replaced. The final goal will be to have a solid, fun, daily driver with minimal investment. Here are a couple of pics from before I got the car...

 

On February 19, I managed to score this parts car out of Coweta. It's an 87 IROC Z-28 that was used as a race car and had a bunch of bits and pieces that the 84 needs, specifically fenders. As a bonus, it turns out that the car was also loaded with extra body parts and a bunch of IROC goodies such as the IROC wheels, "wonder bar" steering/chassis brace, larger sway bars, a tilt column with keys, and a new steering box. Several crates of engine and brake parts were also piled in the trunk.

 

I have been spending some time stripping paint off this poor old thing. I started on top of the bumper and moved up on top of the hatch and around onto both quarters. As I expected, I found some bondo in the left quarter. This car has been repainted many times in it's life. It started out as a Brown Z-28. Next it was painted a bright gold, then maroon, then bright green with huge metal flake, and finally red and gold, again with lots of flake. The last repaint included a lot of striping by the Wizard. What a shame to have to take it all off, but the paint is just waaaayyyy too thick and cracked...


After the maroon paint job, the body wasn't scuffed in preparation for the green paint job. Consequently, I can slide a razor blade under the paint and lift and it pops off in chips. As I worked around onto the quarters I was able to get a putty knife under it and started lifting off palm sized chips. It's sad but it's saving me a bunch of time, elbow grease, and sandpaper...I removed the spoiler and sanded the hatch down to the original brown in a little over an hour. Then I removed the hatch to store it for when I have more pieces ready for paint.


Next it's off with the taillights, tag mount, spoiler ends, and maybe the rear bumper cover. Hard to believe this car had so many repaints in just 14 years. It was last tagged in '98...

 

Here are another couple of shots of the 84 before really getting started on the project.




The parts car had a nice tilt column although I don't care for the old Grant wheel...


I have since pulled all the interior plastics out of the back of the car for cleaning and a color change from tan to black. Luckily most of it is in pretty good condition but I did locate some minor sheet metal damage from a previous rear impact. Nothing serious, just some separated seams. This will be a long weekend for me so hopefully I can get some more progress accomplished.




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Keep it up!!

 

is your damage like this? (my car after peeling carpet back)

 

No. It's nowhere near anything like that. If you are anywhere near Tulsa, my parts car could probably donate a good section of the sheet metal you need to fix that. There is no rust on the body but the last owner cut the roof off with a sawzall. It would be nice if this parts car could help get some others back in shape. I've already cut the top of the core support off to replace the one on the 84 which was mangled...



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I'm in Illinois, but that's the only sheet metal I can't find to buy. IDK if I'd be easier to bang it out or cut/ weld. I'm going to buy both floor pans and try to get that stupid wrinkle off. I'm going to go try to get a quote on doing the pans, plus that wrinkle on the hump. I was told 1,500 per floor pan, if I strip out the interior. That shop has a machine to align frames.

 

You need to go further south then, the two closest yards to me have probably 10-15 thirdgens. All of the bodies are pretty straight. Sadly, most of the desirable pieces are either gone or broken.

 

I finally made it out to LKQ Self Serve this morning to see a 92 'Bird. That thing was a treasure trove. I even scored a few pieces that weren't on my list...

I scored a set of the correct manifolds, left wiper arm, hood release cable, B pillar speaker covers, door panel top rails, rear storage compartment door, B pillar trim, right outer door handle (that isn't loose) and a space saver spare that looks like it has never been run. I think I may have paid too much for the manifolds but they are the correct ones for the car and I really don't want to mess with headers on this project...

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Happy New Parts Day!

 

Got the rest of the interior out. The console is busted up trash and the carpet is filthy and worn. The floors are solid, though. Glad I don't have to deal with that... Here is a "before" pic.

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I found a possible rust issue on the T-top divider bar. What I can see is not too bad but it makes me worried about what's hiding under the hatch weatherstrip. I need to pull it up out of it's channel (without damaging it) and see what it looks like...

 

Well, I got a small infusion of cash this morning so I ran back out to LKQ to pick at the old 92 'Bird some more. I decided to snag the whole set of seats out of it since they were in really nice condition. They have a few dirty spots but if they clean up nice, I'll install them as is. If not, I'll dye them black... I also grabbed the blower/ evaporator case from the firewall and the passenger side wiper arm after finding out the one I had was jacked up. When it's all said and done, this may turn out to be a pretty nice ride for the investment...

 

I pushed the old girl out into the sunshine yesterday to swap on the last IROC wheel since the other wheels are now listed on CL. I sealed up the evaporator system on the new A/C box in case I decide to reinstall air conditioning some time in the future. With it being a T-top car, I don't really see it happening but you never know.

I spent the rest of the day peeling off more layers of paint. Not super exciting but it has to be done. I need to at least get the roof sections stripped and painted before starting reassembly of the interior. The front half of the carpet is so worn that it is beyond saving so I'm going to just order new and be done with it...


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I got the fenders and nose cap removed to expose the damage from the cars previous crash, back in the 90's. The bumper cover turns out to be an aftermarket part. The bumper mounts are damaged and of course the core support took a beating, too.





I managed to straighten out the bottom of the core support with a large hammer pretty easily. The top half was bent back by the impact and then further mangled by a careless engine removal. The center of it was actually torn almost all the way loose at each end of the radiator opening. I cut out the worst section of it and started trimming the replacement core support section I removed from the 87 parts car...

 

Nice project, Another one saved!

 

Well, it turned out to be a really nice day so I went out and did some final trimming on the lower half of the original core support that was still usable. Then I trimmed up the replacement top half off the 87 parts car and did one final trial fit. Once I was happy with it, I used a Greenlee knockout punch to enlarge the holes around the hood height adjusters so as to not have the hood sit too high when I reinstall it. They were screwed all the way down when I took it apart and I don't want to take any chances. The punch makes nice neat holes that almost look factory. After that I put it in place one last time and bolted it down and then added a few inconspicuous screws to help make it solid...
The frame ends are still jacked up but I think I may have an easy fix for that as well. I guess we'll see...




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I found another 85 Z-28 in a different salvage today. Unfortunately the ground effect pieces were all busted up but I did score an automatic console in pretty fair condition and the inner door handle trim pieces I needed. I even got the "holiday weekend discount". There are still some parts I need to go back for like the transmission cross member and maybe both doors. They had manual regulators and mine are power. (I hate power accessories) Have to do it soon though. I picked up my new hatch and door locks along with the hinge bushing kits from O'Reilly's yesterday morning. I'm wanting to start working on some doors ASAP...

Here is the console. Not pretty right now but at least it's all there and it's something I can work with. I'd still like to find a manual shift plate if possible...


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It'll clean up. Nice find, especially with discount.

 

Thanks, Dave... So far, I have been very fortunate with my parts scrounging. I got the console, door trim and a couple handfuls of small parts and miscellaneous hardware for just $25 and change. Hope my luck holds out. I'm a poor boy... :P

 

I ran back out to the salvage with the 85 Z-28, Saturday morning, and snagged up both manual window regulators and the top half of the transmission cross member and trans mount I was missing. As soon as I round up the new outer window sweeps I can start assembling two new doors. People may think I'm crazy for switching power windows to manual but I'm tired of power windows that don't work or have constant problems. Not to mention, it's a lot less wiring I have to deal with...

I snagged up the "aero wing" even though I'm not going to use it. I plan on selling it to help offset my costs on this project...

 

OK, Things have settled down a bit from a phone crash and a photobucket snafu, and it's time for an update. I scored these ground effects at different times. I found the red 91-92 set a few weeks ago on Craigslist.

The primered 85-90 set I got from Bill Rose Muscle Car parts about a week ago. They are still not "correct" but they are close and I think they will work if I can't locate a set of the early style. Either way, I will snag the Z28 emblems off the red set and use them on whatever set I go with...

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I got these bits from the Pick and Pay in Beggs 3 weeks ago. The inner sweep at the top is a good third gen piece. The 2 outer sweeps are 4th gen pieces that can be shortened to fit the 3rd gen doors and are much more durable over time. I had to pull the wiper arms to get the cowl screen off that I needed, so I went ahead and snagged them as spares...

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Here is the correct 3rd gen bell housing I got from my boss a week ago. It has a good release fork, the inspection cover, and even the factory bolts to attach the T-5 transmission.

The flywheel, I got from a friends dad. It's actually the correct part number for the car so I expect no issues with it.

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Here is the S-10 T-5 transmission that I already had on hand. It is a V6 unit with a 14 spline input shaft so I will have to be sure and not get too rough with it. The built 307 will be more than capable of shattering it easily. That's really not an issue since I have a herd of more capable hot rods for "spirited gear bangin".

The pressure plate I pulled from my stock. It's a V6 piece as well, but fits the flywheel. I just need to get a new 14 spline Clutch disc and I can mate the engine to the trans for installation. I'll have to swap the S-10 stick for the Camaro stick but I got it with the car.

Also, in the top left corner you can see the shorty headers I got from a friend. They are for an SBC engine swap into a Jeep CJ but they look like they might fit. If so, great. If not, Oh, well...

 

Introduced the Z to it's new power plant today. Still a ways from dropping it in but it's getting closer, even if only in proximity...

'71 model 307 Chevy small block. (3.875" bore x 3.25" stroke, 10.2:1 C.R.)
Stock flat top pistons with 4 valve reliefs
HO 305 heads with 58cc chambers, 1.84" intakes, and 1.5" exhaust valves.
Old Crane "Fireball" cam
Edelbrock Torker II intake
Holley #1850 4bbl carb (600 cfm, under construction)

I have to swap the flywheel to the manual and I want to change out the balancer, valve covers, and plug wires.