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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!
One of the fist things done to the car when new was to tint the windows darker than factory. They were afraid someone would steal the dedication plaque on the console. after much thought I decided to keep the tint in a nod to the cars uniqueness and the concerns of the winners.
I'm looking for a Red 1987 IROC Camaro last registered around 1998 in Van Lear, KY with 140,000+ miles on it. It was a 5.0 liter (305 CID) Automatic with Grey Custom Cloth interior and T-Tops. Finders fee paid for information that leads to the purchase of this car - please let me know if you have any knowledge of the car and where it might be. Thank you!
LOL...Yea I took the bait (error) entered into the title record concerning the location registration by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet too. After spending the better part of three weeks on the ground in Van Leer - I determined the car was never there.
One of the fist things done to the car when new was to tint the windows darker than factory. They were afraid someone would steal the dedication plaque on the console. after much thought I decided to keep the tint in a nod to the cars uniqueness and the concerns of the winners.
How, when, and where did you find the car! This has got to be a heck of a story. The Van Lear, KY location and 140,000+ miles had to be from a post I submitted years ago on this board from a Carfax search I did.
Very cool picts. I have wanted to do a similar early/current photo with my 78 Y88 Trans am. I have a picture of it at a local park in 1986 & I have driven the car down to the park a couple times hoping to duplicate the picture, but there has always been cars parked in the spots the picture was taken. Was a newer unpopular park in 1986 & today, its always busy especially with dock fisherman & they always park where I took the photo.
Anyway, its sad to see the plant closed. Thats got to be hard to look at with so much history there, but its so cool that you took those photo's back in the day. Something so few of us did back in the day as cameras where not only expensive, but bulky & sure not popular.
Such a different time. Now we have pictures of every day of life.
The owner of the '85 4 mile IROC-Z left it off the car also, because that's how it left the factory. Personally, I would put it on to show the car in it's completed state, as that's how people saw these at the dealership. At shows and in pictures, most people don't know the car shipped without the chin GFX attached, and will question why it's missing.
I say, show the car as it is completed, not as it came off the assembly line.
The downside to doing that is that the front chin GFX was part of the dealer prep, which also involved removing the seat plastics, tags and other markings left on/in the car.
Great meeting you at the show Phil & thank you for the time you spent with me & the access you gave me to the car. Great story of a car that needed to be found!
How, when, and where did you find the car! This has got to be a heck of a story. The Van Lear, KY location and 140,000+ miles had to be from a post I submitted years ago on this board from a Carfax search I did.
After I completed the Echoes book in 2013 I started getting regular contact from guys that were convinced that they had the last car and were looking to sell it to me.
I dismissed most of these approaches outright, but there was one individual that was very persistent and hit me with a big $$$$$ number out of the gate. Like the others I told him "no thanks" and several months later he again made contact - this time with a realistic asking price.
So I ask for pictures - and he sends one with a license plate visible, so I ran the plate and got the VIN which was not a match for the Spirlock car.... but now I had already made plans for the car if I got it - and I was hooked on finding it. That's when the search started in early 2014.
Car was never in Van Lear. That was a KY transportation Cabinet mistake.
Dan has convinced me to do a website on the car where I will tell the overall history on the car. Look for it early next year.
After I completed the Echoes book in 2013 I started getting regular contact from guys that were convinced that they had the last car and were looking to sell it to me.
I dismissed most of these approaches outright, but there was one individual that was very persistent and hit me with a big $$$$$ number out of the gate. Like the others I told him "no thanks" and several months later he again made contact - this time with a realistic asking price.
So I ask for pictures - and he sends one with a license plate visible, so I ran the plate and got the VIN which was not a match for the Spirlock car.... but now I had already made plans for the car if I got it - and I was hooked on finding it. That's when the search started in early 2014.
Car was never in Van Lear. That was a KY transportation Cabinet mistake.
Dan has convinced me to do a website on the car where I will tell the overall history on the car. Look for it early next year.
Reproducing the original interior was not an easy task. I had two people at the show ask me "gee why not take the easy way out and just buy a good car and just part it". I replied "absolutely not because that would be the easy way out".
Stay tuned because I suspect the one and only Princess Dion will join us here to tell us what it was like to do a one off exact 1987 spec reproduction seat cover set and what that work entailed.
Reproducing the original interior was not an easy task. I had two people at the show ask me "gee why not take the easy way out and just buy a good car and just part it". I replied "absolutely not because that would be the easy way out".
Stay tuned because I suspect the one and only Princess Dion will join us here to tell us what it was like to do a one off exact 1987 spec reproduction seat cover set and what that work entailed.
Well let me tell you, many hours of painstakingly thoroughness went into those seats, but well worth it in the end to see the results, not to mention being part of this restoration was a privilege. Measuring out every single line perfectly to be exactly like the factory original seats were, was a real task as well. I knew everything had to be exactly right and as some of you know me, nothing leaves my shop unless it is perfect. I can't thank Phil enough for considering me to do this job, and to see this car now is just unbelievable.
For those who need precise interior there are none better than the covergirl. I went all the way on the interior including a complete refinish/restoration right down to the seat frames.
Now that she has the '87 seat cover templates, people can start getting exact replicas made, rather than the obvious aftermarket with the angles in the wrong direction. I'm sure some of that has to do with GM licensing for products being sold, but....
Now that she has the '87 seat cover templates, people can start getting exact replicas made, rather than the obvious aftermarket with the angles in the wrong direction. I'm sure some of that has to do with GM licensing for products being sold, but....
Yes I sure can. I'm not sure why they made the aftermarket covers with the lines going in the wrong direction, but there is no telling with GM really. When a person is trying to restore their car back to the original factory specs, they don't want covers with the lines going in the wrong direction. That defeats the whole purpose.
Yes I sure can. I'm not sure why they made the aftermarket covers with the lines going in the wrong direction, but there is no telling with GM really. When a person is trying to restore their car back to the original factory specs, they don't want covers with the lines going in the wrong direction. That defeats the whole purpose.
Here are some pictures of what I did. Everything on the seats was just like factory right down to the vinyl that was put at the bottom of the front seat (upper) cover that zips shut. Yes I could have just put cloth there, but the covers did not come from the factory with cloth holding the zipper. They came with the vinyl.
The thread lines that had to be sewn right next to the edge of each bolster was a real pain to try and make exactly the same on each side because of the curvature.
Here are some pictures of what I did. Everything on the seats was just like factory right down to the vinyl that was put at the bottom of the front seat (upper) cover that zips shut. Yes I could have just put cloth there, but the covers did not come from the factory with cloth holding the zipper. They came with the vinyl.
The thread lines that had to be sewn right next to the edge of each bolster was a real pain to try and make exactly the same on each side because of the curvature.
Wow the finished product speaks for itself. That's amazing work. And you live in Milton, which is so close to me. You might of bought a set of 88 GTA Beechwood seats from me over a year ago in Pensacola. Not to get off topic though that's great to see a set done to original spec.
Wow the finished product speaks for itself. That's amazing work. And you live in Milton, which is so close to me. You might of bought a set of 88 GTA Beechwood seats from me over a year ago in Pensacola. Not to get off topic though that's great to see a set done to original spec.
Yes I live in Milton. I remember you and I did buy a set of GTA seats from you last year. Good to hear from you.
Phil spent time telling the author of that piece, myself and another friend the whole story of how he found the car. The verbal story is a bit more gritty.
Phil spent time telling the author of that piece, myself and another friend the whole story of how he found the car. The verbal story is a bit more gritty.
I bet the verbal story was awesome! Thanks for the link though!
Thanks for starting this thread and sharing. My dad bought an new 84 Z28 when I was a kid, and I have a lot of memories with him and the car. It looked like the silver Z28 that's at the very top of the ThirdGen website. He taught me to drive a stick shift with that car. On one humorous occasion, he brought his coffee and newspaper with him. I was getting good with the clutch, so he intended to relax while I drove. Well, I had a relapse and stalled the car as we left the house. I let the clutch out too quickly, the car lurched, and Dad spilled coffee all over himself and the newspaper.
We both replaced the radio and speakers with a CD radio. Back then, CD's were a new thing. I was making good grades, so he let me drive the car every Friday. I loved that car. But...on Friday April 22, 1988 , I misjudged a left turn and caused an accident. It was relatively minor, but the other car was a Baja style VW bug with a gas tank mounted on the front bumper. The gas tank ruptured, gas spilled onto broken fog lights, and both cars burned to the ground. I was horrified as I watched the car burn. My parents quickly forgave me, but I had trouble forgiving myself.
I never forgot the car. After I turned 40, I decided to look for another Z28 and restore it. I came across an 84 Anniversary Trans Am, and I knew it was the one. It's not exactly what my dad owned, but I need to let that car go. This one is close. When I first drove the Trans Am, more memories came back. When I turned the engine off, I could hear the engine cooling down (ping ping ping). I remember that sound when dad came home from work.
I've been slowly restoring the car for 6 years. I'm not going for pristine like the 87 Iroc above. I intend to keep this car for a very long time. A couple of photos are below. I recreated the coffee incident with Dad. He didn't remember it, but he humored me and went along with the photo.
Last edited by johnw999; Jan 26, 2018 at 06:57 AM.
Ha! I can’t believe it will be 30 years this April. I’m looking forward to more restoration on the car. I finished the LS swap last year, and the carpet is next. Besides the engine and transmission, I’m keeping everything else original. Making the LS engine work with the original gauges was hard but worth it.
