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History / OriginalityGot a question about 1982-1992 Camaro or Firebird history? Have a question about original parts, options, RPO codes, when something was available, or how to document your car? Those questions, answers, and much more!
This year, 25 since the last ones rolled off the production lines, marks the eligibility of all thirdgens for historic license plates in most states. Just curious, how many on these boards are original owners of a thirdgen which is more or less original?
I purchased my '88 IROC in, well, 1988. I plan to keep it a matching-numbers car, have had it repainted, added SFCs, and all mods that I have done are easily reversible.
Purchased loaded Iroc in February 1987 delivery delayed until June due to strike. Dark met. Red Saddle interior 305 5-speed, 355, then 388 stroker. Two kids through college and a big wedding. Time for Papa to do an LS7, T56 Ford 9 inch FINALLY!
Enjoy this site and already getting ready to do a C6 Big brake conversion to start project.
Purchased my 1991 TA Convertible with 8,000 miles on it as a Pontiac "Test and Development" vehicle via Pontiac in Michigan to an Atlanta GA dealer in Feb 92. I am the original owner outside of Pontiac Corporate. Car was built and run in Sept of 1990 at Van Nuys, got its final production line work done in late 1990, and made a convertible via factory order (VIN Code 3) at ASC in March of 1991. Great car at the time I bought it and still great 25+ years after.
Thirty years ago this past Friday (02/17/87) I ordered my first new car - my 1987 IROC. I sold it two & a half years later, shortly after I got married.
Three years ago, I got a free coupon code for an Equifax Autocheck report and plugged in the VIN fully expecting to see the car had been totaled in the early 90's. Much to my surprise it had been in Janesville WI since 1998 and was still there. With the help of a Wanted post on the Yenko site, a member there helped me locate the car (within 50 hours) and later that year, I brought it home.
Original owner once again, however there were 4 others in between.
The day I picked it up from the dealer. Hadn't even driven it yet. I had to wait a few extra weeks for delivery. The EPA put a "do not ship" on it from the factory, until the N10s got final certification.
Original owner of three, but only one still exists: my 1987 Formula. It turned 30 in December, 2016, and it's still stockish/relatively original, save for stock-replacement upgrades.
Pretty cool we have some original owners after all these years. I'll never be an original third gen owner, but they'll always be my sentimental favorites. My new plan within the next 2-3 years is to score both an original IROC and a Formula/TA/GTA....and now I'll never have to let them go
As much as I love my SS and my CTS-V, and will keep both forever, there's nothing like a third gen for me...
Thirty years ago this past Friday (02/17/87) I ordered my first new car - my 1987 IROC. I sold it two & a half years later, shortly after I got married.
Three years ago, I got a free coupon code for an Equifax Autocheck report and plugged in the VIN fully expecting to see the car had been totaled in the early 90's. Much to my surprise it had been in Janesville WI since 1998 and was still there. With the help of a Wanted post on the Yenko site, a member there helped me locate the car (within 50 hours) and later that year, I brought it home.
Original owner once again, however there were 4 others in between.
July 2015 at GingerMan Raceway both my IROC and Son's Trans Am
I bought mine in August of 1988 was an impulse purchase. went looking for a 4x4 pickup to replace the 84 F250 diesel I had but didn't like the new GM pickups (couldn't fit a the slide in camper I had for it). So left with a red 5.7 car that was on the lot. We used as a toy & occasionally a DD car for a few years. But then with my 2nd child in '93 it got put away in the barn with about 35k on the clock. I pulled it out for the 100th birthday of the automobile parade/show in Detroit back in 1996 but mostly it sat since '93. Now 1 marriage and 4 kids later I started a couple of years ago when the SCCA started the TrackNight in America program. This will be the 3rd summer of doing track days with it. A year ago I took and decided since I am going to enjoy the car and not let it just gather dust anymore. So with going thru the car to freshen up the motor with some decent heads & cam with other bolt ons, putting one of Dana's Pro-Built shift kits for the 700R4, RBob's EBL P4, LS-1 brakes, weld in sub frame connectors and all new poly bushings/Founders suspension hardware.
I now have 51k on the clock. No it doesn't keep up with my youngest son's 450hp 2000 Trans-Am in the straights BUT I can out brake and out turn him All while having the time of my life After all isn't that the goal in whatever way suits you the owner of these third gens to ENJOY owning and driving them!
Is there a thread anywhere that has pictures of the cars and their owners "back in the day"? Looking at PurelyPMD he has 2 pictures of the same car, then and now. I dont know what it is or how to explain but the car looks more "natural" in the first picture. It could be the style of the houses, the car in the background, etc, etc. Would be cool to see these cars when they were new back in the day.
Mom got it in 89' for her high school graduation. She paid half, grandpa paid the other. Its still hers but she doesn't use it. More of mine, being that I do most of the work on it. I'm only 15 so I cant drive it yet, just a cruiser for my dad and I, but sooner or later I will be the owner. 39K miles, all original, and every document for every service. Oh and not to mention the window sticker.
I tried to buy an '88, but too little down and not enough credit history. Saved for a year and came back - Formula 350 all the way. Purchased 8/12/89 as a friend suggested that the dealer tries to move them as the new '90 come in during Fall (also, according to insurance it's a year old). A couple weeks later, I drove to Road America and watched Danny Sullivan win the CART race. I told my friends that one day I would drive my car on the track.
Drove out to Cali 4 months later, and drove up and down PCH from Oregon to Tijuana (border). Here's the car 4 months old above Santa Barbara '89.
Dream is to drive the car in all lower 48 states (MS & LA, plus New England left).
On track at Road America just before the LS Swap and re-paint in '11.
After 212,000 miles and the HPDE at Road America, I decided that rebuilding was too much cost for the performance, so in went the LS2/4L65e and MW 12 bolt. All body panels are original (minus the wing).
Is there a thread anywhere that has pictures of the cars and their owners "back in the day"? Looking at PurelyPMD he has 2 pictures of the same car, then and now. I dont know what it is or how to explain but the car looks more "natural" in the first picture. It could be the style of the houses, the car in the background, etc, etc. Would be cool to see these cars when they were new back in the day.
Here's one with my then girlfriend, now ex-wife. Other with my ex-brother in law who's no longer with us.
Is there a thread anywhere that has pictures of the cars and their owners "back in the day"? Looking at PurelyPMD he has 2 pictures of the same car, then and now. I dont know what it is or how to explain but the car looks more "natural" in the first picture. It could be the style of the houses, the car in the background, etc, etc. Would be cool to see these cars when they were new back in the day.
The video on YouTube simply took material that was posted on Leonard's website. Leonard also has shared the story about his car: http://www.last1992camaro.com/story/
Originally Posted by brianlibby791
i saw he build video documentary on YouTube and always wondered where it was or who had it. Glad to see its still around.
The video on YouTube simply took material that was posted on Leonard's website. Leonard also has shared the story about his car: http://www.last1992camaro.com/story/
And JT gets credit for the website! He did all the work as I'm not that computer literate. I don't know the person that made the YouTube video.
That is awesome. I am assuming that car will never leave your family and I hope it doesnt. With all that history and the story behind it, if your car cant be described as a "barrett jackson car" then I dont know what can. So glad you took the time and effort to save a piece of history. It would be a shame if that car had fallen into other hands when it was sold new and they didnt appreciate what it actually is. Yours would be a car to see in person one day..............
This is my car back in 1996 at the auto 100 parade that ended at the Mich state fair grounds. Somewhere in an album art home I have more photos and of the day I bought it. They had about 2500 cars in the parade Leno was the grand marshal. Ch 4 in Detroit broadcasted it live took about 8 hours for the 3 mile parade to complete!
I am not exactly the original owner of my 84 Camaro, but my dad was....He bought it new in 1984 after a pretty serious accident in his Jaguar XKE. It's just a relatively basic 2.8L Auto car, no power options, but it does have the overhead console, ERS stereo and a couple other add-ons.
The car proved to be the most reliable car anyone in the family has owned and he drove it daily (year round in Ontario) from 1984 to 2005 accumulating over 320,000kms (200,000miles), when I was old enough to drive and it became mine.
My dad is a car collector (mostly british cars), so while this was his daily he went above and beyond with the maintenance. The 2.8 has never been apart, and still runs strong. Paint and body is still original and thanks to regular oil spraying, the floors/underside are remarkably rust free for a winter driven Ontario car. He also kept everything over the years, I literally mean everything...the original key punchouts, dealer paperwork, every receipt for every repair, oil change, etc.
It's just a high mileage V6 car, but I'll never get rid of it. Most of my favorite childhood memories revolve around this car; riding with my brother in the backseat, working on it with my dad, sitting in the driver's seat pretending to drive....good times that I'll never forget.
Here's a really poor photo from last summer; it hasn't been driven much at all the last 10 years and it's getting a little rough around the edges. So my plan this spring/summer is to get it out and tidy it up.
I am not exactly the original owner of my 84 Camaro, but my dad was....He bought it new in 1984 after a pretty serious accident in his Jaguar XKE. It's just a relatively basic 2.8L Auto car, no power options, but it does have the overhead console, ERS stereo and a couple other add-ons.
The car proved to be the most reliable car anyone in the family has owned and he drove it daily (year round in Ontario) from 1984 to 2005 accumulating over 320,000kms (200,000miles), when I was old enough to drive and it became mine.
My dad is a car collector (mostly british cars), so while this was his daily he went above and beyond with the maintenance. The 2.8 has never been apart, and still runs strong. Paint and body is still original and thanks to regular oil spraying, the floors/underside are remarkably rust free for a winter driven Ontario car. He also kept everything over the years, I literally mean everything...the original key punchouts, dealer paperwork, every receipt for every repair, oil change, etc.
It's just a high mileage V6 car, but I'll never get rid of it. Most of my favorite childhood memories revolve around this car; riding with my brother in the backseat, working on it with my dad, sitting in the driver's seat pretending to drive....good times that I'll never forget.
Here's a really poor photo from last summer; it hasn't been driven much at all the last 10 years and it's getting a little rough around the edges. So my plan this spring/summer is to get it out and tidy it up.
My Sonoma (my DD back then) and my red 85 T/A (which I later sold) in the background.
Steering wheel was replaced by my dad when the car was only a few weeks old. I do have the original, but this one is much nicer, feels great and fits the interior well.
Taken with my then girlfriend (now wife).
Thanks! Careful what you ask for....I was able to dig up an album from 2010, the last summer I was driving the car regularly (it's been relegated to a couple rides per year since).
crazy to think you guys all were 18-30 buying these cars new and I wasn't even alive for the production years. Must have been awesome cruising around in these during the 80's
That car looks great for being a daily driver in Ontario. My grandparents use to live in Toronto and commute everyday on the 401. I was always surprised to learn that 3 years was the most they would get out of a car because of the salt. When you say "regular oil spraying", am I correct in thinking the product called "Rust check?". I live in Alberta and I have done that on every single vehicle I have owned as well as the rest of my family and we swear by it. Your Camaro is a perfect example of it. Keep it up, looks like a great car.
crazy to think you guys all were 18-30 buying these cars new and I wasn't even alive for the production years. Must have been awesome cruising around in these during the 80's
Tyler,
I was 23 and living in Boston when I ordered & took delivery of my 87. I had a good job in the computer industry then and was making money but with rent to pay and going out on weekends....it was still A LOT of money to buy (and finance at 14% interest) these cars when new. On top of that I had to pay for parking too! I lived on Sutherland Rd just outside of Cleveland Circle in Brookline, MA and had to pay an extra $200 a month for an off street parking space - even then the car got stollen!
The cruising (and street racing) was fun! On Friday or Saturday nights we would head up to Kelly's on Revere Beach after we got out of the clubs to get something to eat. At midnight up there the strip was full of cars and I remember somebody saying that IROCs were like rear axles - everybody had one! We would cruise along in 2nd letting the car just idle down the strip, the exhaust burbling behind us with the Kenwood cranked.
That car looks great for being a daily driver in Ontario. My grandparents use to live in Toronto and commute everyday on the 401. I was always surprised to learn that 3 years was the most they would get out of a car because of the salt. When you say "regular oil spraying", am I correct in thinking the product called "Rust check?". I live in Alberta and I have done that on every single vehicle I have owned as well as the rest of my family and we swear by it. Your Camaro is a perfect example of it. Keep it up, looks like a great car.
Sad but true, cars typically don't last long here unless you're really taking care of it. This Camaro ran a similar commute (West Mississauga into Midtown Toronto) everyday, all 401. Somehow it survived 21 years of that....
Yes, oil spray is 'Rust Check' or any of the other brands out there....'Krown' is the biggest out here and that's who I've been used for years.
