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Well I guess this kinda qualifies as a barn find.....unfortunately it was BESIDE the barn and not in it, lol. I just got it picked up this morning, and will be my next project after my 89 is finished. The car is absolutely loaded with options. I believe the only options the car wasn't ordered with was leather, and rear defrost. It had the factory rear window louvers from factory, but they are MIA. I bought it from a 76 year old lady. The fuel pump went out over 20 years ago, and it was parked. It's all original, and everything is there besides the window louvers. It has 73k miles. 5.7 TPI, 3.27 gears, posi, disc brakes, auto dim mirror, overhead console, power everything, Bose, etc etc etc. NO ROT ANYWHERE...there's not even any rust bubbles, anywhere. It was sitting on a concrete slab, thankfully. Floor pans look awesome. It was an absolute PITA to get the car out of where it was at with the snow, but with more snow on the way, I had to get it out. Luckily a nearby farmer had a huge payloader so we were able to pull it right out with that.
I already mounted up some different tires on the factory wheels. The tires that were on the car had 300 miles on them before the fuel pump went out....and they were DESTROYED lol. I put my spare gold set of wheels on the car for the time being.. The tires had been flat for so long that they were a nightmare to dismount!!
I went down to the storage garage today to check on the cars in there. I had a battery drain on the Cadillac so I wanted to make sure that I had it fixed (I did), and I had to check out the IROC again while I was in there. You know...it's kind of weird that when you love these cars so much...that you still think they're gorgeous when they look this BAD.
I'm glad I went down there. The IROC had a flat rear tire, so that bummed me out since I just mounted them when I got the car. I want to get the damn thing to run so I can give it a much needed bath!!
I went down to the storage garage today to check on the cars in there. I had a battery drain on the Cadillac so I wanted to make sure that I had it fixed (I did), and I had to check out the IROC again while I was in there. You know...it's kind of weird that when you love these cars so much...that you still think they're gorgeous when they look this BAD.
I'm glad I went down there. The IROC had a flat rear tire, so that bummed me out since I just mounted them when I got the car. I want to get the damn thing to run so I can give it a much needed bath!!
Because they are still gorgeous, even with a little love needed. The body lines are still there, the aggressive look is still there etc...... That doesn't go away. I hear you on the bath, I have two cars that I bought this winter that I am chomping at the bit to get out and wash....it does the soul good to clean them up! Looking forward to the transformation on this one!
I went down to the storage garage today to check on the cars in there. I had a battery drain on the Cadillac so I wanted to make sure that I had it fixed (I did), and I had to check out the IROC again while I was in there. You know...it's kind of weird that when you love these cars so much...that you still think they're gorgeous when they look this BAD.
I'm glad I went down there. The IROC had a flat rear tire, so that bummed me out since I just mounted them when I got the car. I want to get the damn thing to run so I can give it a much needed bath!!
Dagwood,
Here is another. This is right up your alley.
It looks like they could have been sitting side by side for the exact amount of time lol. I can't believe what that car is getting bid to! The seats are trash, the engine is junk, and it has 144k miles. It makes me want to advertise mine
Sort of odd that it doesn't have rear defrost... I usually only see that option missing on California spec cars. Great find though and I look forward to seeing the progress!
It looks like they could have been sitting side by side for the exact amount of time lol. I can't believe what that car is getting bid to! The seats are trash, the engine is junk, and it has 144k miles. It makes me want to advertise mine
couldn’t agree more, that was the first thing that crossed my mind. I almost believe the bidding not to be legit.
couldn’t agree more, that was the first thing that crossed my mind. I almost believe the bidding not to be legit.
For a comparison, I gave $1,500 for mine lol....and I have a WAAAYYYY better car. My seats are dirty, but not a trace of wear, my engine is fine, and my car has almost half the miles
For a comparison, I gave $1,500 for mine lol....and I have a WAAAYYYY better car. My seats are dirty, but not a trace of wear, my engine is fine, and my car has almost half the miles
Yours is a MUCH better car and deal. I can't believe the bid on the eBay one, with the trashed motor and all.
For a comparison, I gave $1,500 for mine lol....and I have a WAAAYYYY better car. My seats are dirty, but not a trace of wear, my engine is fine, and my car has almost half the miles
Ha ha I pulled mine out from inside a barn and although the body was good and the interior was fair, the motor was just hot garbage. The worst part was that mice had gotten to it and ate a lot of the wiring and left nests all over the place.
Ha ha I pulled mine out from inside a barn and although the body was good and the interior was fair, the motor was just hot garbage. The worst part was that mice had gotten to it and ate a lot of the wiring and left nests all over the place.
Yikes. That was one of the first things I looked for on this car before I bought it, and remarkably, there is no trace of rodents, anywhere.
.... remarkably, there is no trace of rodents, anywhere.
That is, indeed, remarkable, especially for a car sitting out in the open for so long. Good on you for bringing this car back to life; they're becoming increasingly rare.
Yikes. That was one of the first things I looked for on this car before I bought it, and remarkably, there is no trace of rodents, anywhere.
As someone who has just cleaned out the most nest/dead mouse and other dead critter infested barn find car I've ever seen.......that's half the battle.
As someone who has just cleaned out the most nest/dead mouse and other dead critter infested barn find car I've ever seen.......that's half the battle.
Was selling some parts the other night and the guy asked what possessed me to remove the entire dash? When I showed him the pics of the nests I pulled out from inside the vents, behind it, and everywhere else, he just looked at me in awe and said he would have just burned the car lol!
Was selling some parts the other night and the guy asked what possessed me to remove the entire dash? When I showed him the pics of the nests I pulled out from inside the vents, behind it, and everywhere else, he just looked at me in awe and said he would have just burned the car lol!
Lol! Don't think that thought didn't cross my mind!
The car got a bath today, and hauled to a friend's auto repair shop to get the old girl running again! Hopefully she will be burning rubber again very soon!
Well, the engine had a stuck spot, so I hauled it back to my brother's shop. I ended up getting the engine to turn over, which definitely helped to remove the tongue converter bolts. So the original engine will eventually get rebuilt, but I bought a different engine to put in it for now. Believe it or not, I found a 20k mile 5.7 TPI engine out of a mint, all original 1987 IROC-Z that got smoked in the rear end and totalled. The TPI setup was already sold from the engine,, so I will install my original TPI. So...the engine swap has started, and the gas tank is ready to drop to put the new fuel pump in. I bought a new set of injectors, too
And I got my new reproduction dash pad from Eckler's installed, too
And the engine is back in! The transmission is still in about 7,647,583 pieces, lol. My buddy in the picture that is helping me on this project works at a transmission shop, so he is rebuilding it for me while it's out. After sitting all those years, the front and rear main seals were hard as a rock, so we're just overhauling the entire thing. All new clutches, band, seals, etc.
So close I can hear it run already. The fuel pump runs, and engine cranks over. Then I ran out of time for the night. Still have to plug in the injectors, plug wires, distributor cap, and put fuel in it.
It ended up getting new Bosch injectors, new fuel tank, fuel pump and filter.
Awesome progress, it appears as though this car was never under coated?
Yeah there's no undercoating anywhere. There's some surface rust, but there isn't any rot. It needs a damn good cleaning. I'm going to get a hot water pressure washer around the entire car and give her a really good cleaning
Thanks Charlie....I'm getting pretty excited to get it on the road! I can't wait to give it a really, REALLY good bath, along with the interior,, too.. The seats don't have a single sign of wear, no burns, nothing. The inside should clean up great.
She runs! The damn key chime stays on all the time, and the tach and fuel gauges don't work so I gotta get that figured out. Next on the list is brakes
The maiden voyage is complete! Zero issues. I took the instrument cluster apart and was able to get everything working as it should. I had to replace the tach. The fuel gauge started working when I removed it and slid it back into place. The damn power antenna crapped out, though. So I guess I'll have to get a new one coming. They aren't any fun to change. I was THRILLED that it worked, just too bad that was short lived. I got my new brake components installed today, too. The car runs awesome.
I want to get the damn thing to run so I can give it a much needed bath!! 
So I guess I'll have to get a new one coming. They aren't any fun to change. I was THRILLED that it worked, just too bad that was short lived. I got my new brake components installed today, too. The car runs awesome. 
