Tell me if I am wrong, but if I got my numbers right, GM built just 39,006 L98 IROC Zs out of a total of 157,981 IROCs. That would be less than 25% of all IROCS had a 5.7..... I wonder how many are left o the road and or in good condition? 39,000 doesn't sound like a whole lot to me. Maybee these cars are not so common? ALL this according to http://sethirdgen.org/production.htm

 

All 350 Camaros were IROC from 87-90, no Z-28's
87 12,105
88 12,116
89 12,370
90 2,415

They are not rare by any stretch of the imagination... Even the 1990 come around often enough. If there was a total of 1000 or so, that would rare...

 

I have a 1987 Chevrolet brochure that says 5.7 available in limited quantities. ask your dealer for more information (something like that)

But yet they where abviously pretty common in 1987. It does surprise me however that 87 was equal production to 1988 & 1989. It seemed it was much more common to see a 5.7 in the 88's over the 87's, but maybe that's because I was looking at the 88-89 collectively on the road at the time.

 

Originally I believe in 1987 there was supposed to be a limited supply of 350 engines. I used to have a magazine ad for the 87 Formula 350 that stated it was going to be limited to 2500 units or something around there. Later ads (same ad) the note was missing. But that never happened, and I think when they noticed that the demand of the 350 was so high that they decided to take off any walls that would limit its production.

John

 

Okfoz is correct, 5.7's were built in sufficient numbers as to not be rare but not as plentiful as 305 cars. Uncommon may describe them, but 38,000 built is much more than a collector would recognize as rare.

 

The 350 cars come around all the time, what you do not see very often is the LB9/MM5 cars with the Performance gear... I just think they are more fun to drive...

 

I wasn't trying to imply that these cars are rare by any means. But by just a shear numbers stand point, it is a very low percentage of Gen 3 Camaro's with a 350. For example, I would like to think that a 396 Gen 1 Camaro is one of the more desirable and sot after Gen 1's out there. Yet, out of 699,138 Gen 1 Camaro's 49,806 had some type of 396 in them. That's like 7% There were 1,512,816 Gen 3 Camaros built yet only 56,665 had the L98 option 1982-1992. That's only like 3.7%.
As far as Iroc-Z's are concerned they made 166,979 of them total. That is only like 11% of all Gen 3 Camaros. By way of compairson, there were 101,415 Gen 1 Camaro Super Sport's built that is like 14.5% of Camaro production.
I am in no way trying to compare the value of a Gen 1 vs. Gen 3 Camaro...there is no comparison. But it was not that long ago that Gen 1 Camaros were also what seemed like a dime a dozen. Salvage yards were full of them. I think were are seeing that now with Gen 2's.... there value seems to be going up a lot lately especially the Trans-Ams and they were not rare by any means.
I do believe that as time goes on that the Gen 3 cars will also do the same in a decade or so. My opinion is that the IROC's will be on the top of that list in desirability. After all, who did not want to have an IROC-Z that grew up in the 80's. It was one of the coolest cars out then.
Let's face it, the people that have the money to buy "collector cars" are mostly old farts longing for there youth. How many 20 to 30 to early 40 year old people have the disposable income to by these high dollar / value collectibles. It's older people that have made and saved there money all there lives. I am willing to bet that in 10-20 years when all these Gen X people get in there 50's and 60's they will want to relive their youth to.
If I end up wrong, then I am wrong and I just get to enjoy my 3rd Gen for a while with little investment required.

 

Your thoughts are right and as a function of percentage the 5.7 cars are much lower than the 396's produced and sold. 5.7 and 5.0 5speeds G92 will lead the pack in value of 3rd gen Fbodies. The only 3rd gen I have that I will keep is a 5.0 MK6 1LE.

 

Well that would make me feel even better since the on I have is a 89 G92 L98.!!!!

 

You are correct that for the Camaro side of things the IROC will top the list for desirability. The fact remains that it was the top model for any given year it was produced, If you got the optional L98 or the LB9/MM5 especially with the G92 gear it would add to its desirability all the more. T-tops are usually a Plus for most people, as are the more options the better. There are exceptions, the 1LE IROC will be worth more than a standard IROC with all the other options. All things being equal.

John

 

Amfornal, show us PICS of the '89 5.7 G92....a fun car to drive.

 

In process of paint. Will post pics soon.

 

That is why I picked up this little gem 1987 5.7 Iroc package #3, Leather, Bose Gold, T-Tops, Full Power, and only 6300 original miles. I do believe in about 10yrs from now these 3rd gen are really going to edge up in price! When you 15-19yrs old these were new and we were in HS these are the cars we wanted but couldn't afford and mom & dad more than likely weren't buying us one so it made us want even more. So fast forward to 2026 your now in your 50's the kids are thru with college and hopefully out of the house and you have a few extra bucks in your pocket that's when these cars go up in price.


Tried posting pic but for some reason they won't load.

 

John, Hope I'am not imposing on this thread, but do you have an idea on the number of 1991 Formulas with the L98? I heard it was 1,197. Total production of Formulas was about 5,300? Thanks

 

Here are finally

the pics. Car is almost done

 

Love the blue stripe cars!

 

The exhaust pipes are a little large and intrusive to the flow of the car. Was that from a previous owner, or is that one of your personal touches?

 

I put the exhaust in. When I got it, it did not have a cat and it was VERY LOUD and annoying. I think it was some type of small Flowmaster muffler on it. I put the Magnaflow duel Cat(s) in as well as Magnaflow Cat-back. Car originaly had the duel cats 240hp L98. It sounds fantastic!!! It has a great low growl to it without being real loud.

 

G92 L98 and 18,000 original miles. The more I research it the more I like it!
My first Domestic car, always drove Porsches. This car is a treat to drive!

 

Your car must be shy - looks like a girl just pulling up her skirt a little for the picture - still not sure if she wants to step into the world of ****.

Give us a full pic for crying out loud!

 

I'd guess any restriction on the 350 engines might have been from the EPA? Or maybe the corporate fuel mileage deal (CAFE) of the times? If the 350 had been available with a manual tranny those numbers would have been quite a bit higher I suspect also.

 

Yes GM was doing a dance with the EPA and federal emissions requirements. That's part of the reason that thirdgens had a variety of powertrains to select from. I would have liked to see a dual car L69 5-speed car with 3.73 gears and posi. Would have been great to have that along with the LB9 and L98 motors.

 

Yeah, the L69 T5 3.73 isn't any less fun than my previous LB9 T5 3.45. But fuel mileage was much better with fuel injection, by at least 25%. Granted I need to rebuild that old carb, but never less than 20 mpg in the fuelie no matter how hard I drove. Both cars are/were like a stock car wanna-be. Rumbly, growly, noisy, primitive cars. And totally stock. So cool.

 

The 3.73 is the key here for fuel mileage... Going from the highway gear 2.73 to 3.73 I went from decent mileage to marginal. However the 3.73 is a whole lot more fun to drive.

John