I worked for a guy in High School who was the king of the auto body scene where I lived. Back in the 90s when I had my 87 G92 IROC 5-speed I told him I was going to keep it mint forever.. he laughed and said, these cars don’t last forever.. the sheet metal is junk, they fall apart, bla bla bla..

It was 15 years old when it got rear ended and totaled but still looked mint inside and out. I avoided winter driving as much as possible.. but man, the motor was as good with 100k+ miles as it was with 26k miles..

So post up a pic and story about your high mile thirdgen because I think they’re like Goonies and never die (unless you give up on them)..

Who has an age and miles defying thirdgen out there!?

 

My previous 89 GTA 5.7L car (bought in July 1991) had 139,000 when I sold it. Looked like a 20k mi car. But that was back in 2005, so haven't seen it since.

 

Too lazy to walk to garage but last time I looked it was 167k on my 91 camaro vert


Only drove about 1200 miles this past summer. Still runs strong and no signs the engine has ever been out

 

Your old iroc was sharp looking! My car's odometer says 64,xxx on it now, and I'm sure it's 164k. Not sure if it works, I've only taken it around the block a couple times, but I think it hasn't moved the odometer at all.

 

A buddy over here in germany has a 91 LB9 T/A that he owns since 92. First engine, first tranny, first paint... about 350.000 km / 217.000 mls. Car looks still great!

 

217k is a lot! 167k too on a Vert.. wow

I remember my old 87 just seemed like it would never quit.. was a reliable car as well and didn’t cost a lot to maintain.. My detail skills kept the inside and outside pretty mint for a daily driver.. from 17-26 it was my only car..

I love seeing cars at cruise nights and assuming they are 20k mile cars and the owner tells you it’s got 150k..

Big&BadGTA, I see you have a GTA Vert? That’s pretty awesome.. I’ve never seen one in person

 

212k here, recently dumped original engine and tranny for something better, ran strong when I took it out though.

 

Yeah, but w under 50k mi, it doesn't qualify for this thread

I put about 35-60k mi/year on company cars.

 

1988 GTA, 194k miles

 

I can’t imagine a better example of a perfectly kept car than that one Bob88GTA!

I wish I could show that car to my old boss and say, “remember what you said about these cars!?”

I figured your GTA Vert was a lower mile one Big&BadGTA.. I’m just interested in them.. always been a GTA fan

 

Thanks for the compliment 88IROCvertZ! I try.

 

You succeed.

 

I'll try and find pics of my previous one w 139,000 mi then. Who knows now, 12+ years later...

In the meantime, I did start a thread on the 89 GTA convertible
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/conv...-asc-5-7l.html

 

I’m subscribed! Would love to see the 139k one

 

I've got well over 200k on mine! ....2nd motor, 4th trans, 2nd front bumper cover, 2nd interior......but the majority of the foundation is all original! (not the paint, lol).

 

Abubaca.. dude, that car looks amazing..

Good decisions were definitely made to get there!

 

1991 1LE Formula - 133,802+ miles



My 1987 IROC, 109,965 miles & original paint (other than repairs made prior to 1989).

 

84 Z-28 L-69 all stock, factory paint, clean unripped interior,
176,000 miles, NC car from new. Orig. engine and tranny.
Shes got a few bumps and bruises and parking lot scars.
Spends her winters in the garage.
Owned for 13+ years.

 

250,000 miles. 15 transmissions/combinations and 8-9 motors (trying different things). It's been a fun car that I'm now getting to share with my son, daughter and wife.

 

"15 transmissions/combinations and 8-9 motors"

Dahamm, Tony!!

 

I like to party

 

My car currently has 188,000. I put the current engine in when it had 175,000.

 

Clearly!

Wow I forgot that car had high miles.. 1/4 million!

That’s a lot of lives lived for that awesome bird

 

And how many tires in that time?

 

A question often asked, for a few years straight there were 4-8 rear tires a summer. A lot of gatorbacks and GSCs put up the good fight but left a lot of goodyear snot all over the roads.. (still do )

 

I'm surprised there haven't been more high mileage cars posted. I know they are out there. My car's odometer quit at about 217k when it was still my daily driver. It has to have about 270k+ on it by now. Original V6, trans, and rear. Aside from me changing electrical and fuel related parts, I believe the entire drivetrain to be original.


This is when I bought the car with 123k in 2004.





123k


At 250k+



I could certainly keep this car going by fixing it's current problem, but I promised myself that I wouldn't drop another penny into this V6 and start saving for a swap. So, here is the last time it ran. Made it 3/4 of the way down my driveway and died.

 

270k.. damn!

I had a Tahoe that made it to 300k but I had to give up on it.. the rust underneath was too much..
The a/c was unfixable, gas gauge broke, heat stopped working, suspension was shot.. Still looked nice inside and out and the motor and trans were still solid..

My wife was really upset when I traded Terry the Tahoe..

What’s gonna swap that V6?

 

I think it's great to see how nice the high mile cars are.

Sort of destroys the idea that they are junk over a certain mileage.

 

Here's my 84 2.8L. My dad bought new and drove it daily, all year round here in Toronto, from 84-06. Passed onto me as my first daily driver as well, but now it's more of a summer/weekend car.
325,000kms (201K miles), original paint, interior, engine, etc. It's had 1 transmission, a few exhaust systems, beyond that, just wear items like tires and brakes. Still runs and drives great, most reliable car I've ever come across.

 

Exactly!

I saw a comment about low mile cars getting attention whether a show or around these parts, but I know my 100+ mile IROC was probably better at 100k than 26k when I got it..

I always found these cars to be pretty reliable, easy to work on and easy to keep..

They have their creaks and rattles which later generations didn’t have but that stuff is also easy to fix too.. Made people think they were junky

Your Black IROC is awesome.. always wanted a black one..
And I want a 1LE someday too when I start “collecting”.. nice cars man!

 

Really impressive Firm! The paint still has gloss too! Was that a Norwood built car? You don’t see those cars around anymore.. nice to see stock wheels, stripes, emblems..

 

Very impressive Bob. Is this original paint?

 

The nose was resprayed do to a "run in...into the back of my 2000 RamAir's rearend by my wife one day!!!" IN OUR DRIVEWAY!!! Claims the brakes went out.....NOT! Chipped the paint in the middle.

 

217k all original (trans, motor, 9 bolt, paint and all body panels) AND it made it a whole HPDE day at Road America (drove there and back!)!


After that day, I decided resto-mod was better than resto. Now about 225k or so.
I need to drive the car in the states north of Yankee Stadium (New England trip) and also MS & LA (New Orleans trip) to have driven the car in all the lower 48 states.

 

TEDSgrad awesome car man.. made it to 217 and now it's got a new life with a sick motor..

Two things I wish were that I knew what it was like to buy a brand new thirdgen from a dealer and have that first drive home and that my 87 G92 5-speed never got hit and I could have it still shined up and kicking with 250k on it and still turning heads

Some of you guys on here have both of those feelings.. It's awesome

 

Thanks! Yes, it is a Norwood car. The biggest thing is that my dad (who put most of the mileage on the car) is a big car guy with a big collection of British cars. This was his daily, but he treated really well....frequent oil spray (rust proofing) and waxing to keep the paint and body from rotting away. Obviously, I've continued the same over the last 10 years or so that I've had it.

 

Whatever you’re doing to preserve that car works!

 

I picked up my car at lunchtime when it was new and then went back to work. I walked into the back hall of the office from the parking lot and one of my co-workers said I looked like I just got laid.

 

LOL, no way was I going back to work.
When I picked it up in Mpls MN at noon, one of the tech mechanics came up to me and told me I was getting a really nice car - all the mechanics liked it. They opened the bay doors, I hit the gas, and the steering wheel jumped half out of my hands . The wheels didn't stop spinning til 11 pm or so. Then, every time for the first year or so, I would walk away and just have to look back at it.

4 months old over Santa Barbara


4 1/2 months old and drove it into a tree in No. California - no damage LOL

Stored my car back in Mpls after 5 months - odometer had 33,000 miles in 5 mos!!! The wheels never stopped turning!



5 years old at Zion Ntl Park, Utah - one of my favorite pics.


8 years old in Key West

 

I left work in Belmont, MA right at 5:00 that day and drove straight out to my parents house near Springfield to give my Dad the first ride in it. Had dinner there that night and then drove back to Framingham where my then girlfriend, (future ex-wife) got the second ride. 50,000 + miles (on the odometer) and two years later (after I got married) it got sold & I bought a Nissan Pathfinder, built my 1st house, started a couple businesses, had a couple kids....life goes slowly marching on.

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/memb...ine-again.html

 

I picked up a new 85 at 5PM on a Friday. Also picked up my new 88 on a Friday.

Both were very happy Fridays!

 

Bob88GTA, PurleyPMD.. so jealous of those Friday’s!

TEDSgrad, thanks for sharing those pics man.. I like seeing old pics of the cars from the 80s/90s..

 

I will be going LSx. I don't care about originality. That is the benefit of having a V6 car. If it was a 305(tpi, not tbi)/t5 or a 350/A4 car I'd keep it original. I hear many people say the LSx swap is overdone. That may be so but I want something I will enjoy and is reliable.


Beautiful car by the way!!! I love convertibles. Would love to have one and may purchase one in the future.


TEDSgrad, awesome photos! You have many memories with your car. You have truly enjoyed it like you knew it would be yours for as long as you live.

 

Don't be jealous! I'm also 55. But man, what goog times!!!! Rows and rows of IROC's and TA's. What a sight it was.

 

Oops.

 

.

 

Charcoalbird.. thanks man for the compliment.. yeah, I wanted a Vert this time..IROC verts are one of the most beautiful cars of all time to me..

LSx is freakin awesome.. it’s done a lot for a reason.. I wouldn’t say overdone.. it will improve the car and be lots of fun for you!

Bob88GTA.. I don’t know, you said don’t be jealous but in the same breath talked about how awesome it was to see wall to wall IROCs and Birds.. ha ha

 

My former Purple Haze, '92. I think it had about 127K miles here.

Here's it's thread: https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/conv...rple-haze.html

 

My former '83 before it shipped out to it's new owner in Germany. About 106K miles. Wonder how it's doing there?


The great thing about higher miles cars is, you can drive the heck out of them and feel no guilt about miles.


One of it's threads: https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/hist...crossfire.html

 

That purple Vert looked really nice! You told me it had 20-30k from the pics and I’d have believed it.. looked original and unhacked