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First off I want to thank you guys for the nomination. It is an honor to be in the running.
A little history on the car:
I purchased this car in April of 2004 as my first car and daily driver. I found the car on ebay and purchased it from the original owner with only 36,000 miles. Unfortunately the car had sat outside on the streets of Yonkers NY it whole life, so the paint was faded with multiple dents and dings and the interior was faded.
I drove the car as my daily driver throughout high school. Soon after that I came to my senses and realized the car deserved better than to be driven in the NJ winters, so I purchased a beater car to be my daily driver and started to take the car apart for what I though would just be a paint job. The paint job ended up being a full restoration that I did myself a little at a time during my college years.
The car currently has 69,000 miles on it and is still driven much and taken to plenty of shows during the summer months. I restored everything back to factory condition. The only missing link is reproduction gatorback tires.
Options/specs:
GTA package
T-tops
UQ7 sub woofer
Digital dash
305 TPI/auto
Flame Red/Beachwood
The car has been great to me and I have many good memories with this car. I have no plans to ever get rid of this car and it will be enjoyed for many more years.
i have bean hopping i would get nominated for a long time lol
when i first started working on my third gen i always thought how cool it would be to get nominated and possible be voted car of the month.
sooo here is a little history of what has become to be the RsR camaro. Also this is my daily driver and I drive the hell out of it all at the same time lol
i purchased the car out of a ladys back yard in canoga park ca. the grass had bean mowed around the car for several years as it sat wasting away as the lawn ornament and one day i decided i was going to buy a camaro. the camaro has always been my favorite car. so long story short i got it running and drove it home to simi valley ca for 500 dollars, overheating with the heater on full blast, all the bushing and shocks were blown, holes burnt in the seats, transition mount torn in half letting the trans bounce up and down hahaha but it made it home. through out the next two years i started replacing the fenders and doing body work, replaced all the bushing with energy suspension, replaced the seats with procar one piece buckets. hotchkis lowering springs and sway bars , and finally had it repainted summit white...
well about 6 months after it was painted, i totaled it.. pancaking the front end up to the engine. i brought it home a put it in the garage for a few months while i pondered what to do with the car... i test drove multiple third gens, but none of them were the same, i had to have mine back... so, i pulled it out of the garage and got to work, pulling apart and replacing each piece of the chassis one by one as if it were done at the factory. making sure everything was perfectly square was a little challenging but we got it done.
now that i was resurrecting my wreck of a car, i decided not to hold back this time around and the plans kept growing..
through the years i have studied aerodynamics, suspension geometry and design, chassis radiometry and much more, i also started to dabble in carbon fiber a bit..
well, now adays the camaro has an entirely new platform that is sits on and has acquired the name Rs.R camaro .... it started life as an rs and it will stay that way, though the 3.1l v6 and wct5 trans are still in it due to weight...its not stock, but i am currently collecting parts to build the 311 destroked ls1 and will be backing it with a t6
..
i personally like the fact that its a low powered car though, it teaches you how to drive the car and be a good driver to get around the track or through a canyon instead of powering through lap times, you have to be smooth and fluid with the car, very little braking, almost never lift off the throttle all the way and just cares the car around the corners...
anyway... today the Rs.R sits on completely custom made one off suspension that i made from scratch, all the way down to the tie rods.. the coil overs were built specifically for this car inside and out, the front control arms are chromolly arms on heims that are 3.5inches wider on each side over the stock width arms, putting the front track width 7 inches over all wider than stock.
it is still using the hotchkis sway bars up front and in the rear but the front coilovers are wrapped with pac racing springs and custom made camber plates using 7/8 unibal up top. the body of the coilover is threaded to alow preload adjustment with the coil as well as be able to adjustable at the spindle where you can also adjust the ride height without changing spring preload.
the rear end is a 4th gen 2002 rear end with 1.5 inch spacers on each side to help fill up the fenders. the rear end is sprung on custom made pac racing springs and a matching set of remote resi shocks to compliment the front coilovers
the resivoirs feed up in to the interior and are mounted to the rear portion of the roll bars with billet clamps.
the interior has a 2013 camaro steering wheel, pro car seats that i will be switching out to recaros, fiberglass door panel bottoms and a pillar tweeter pods housing the polk audio components up front while the rears are still concealed in the factory sail panels.
all of the added interior pieces are wrapped on black alcantara as well.
the body and aero dynamics of the car from front to back consist of, 2.25 inch wider front fenders, carbon fiber chin splitter made from scratch hood louvers made from scratch, aerocatch hood latches flush mounted and shaved into the hood, the turn signals have been moved to the high beam location to alow for the led running lights to be installed into there place, the headlights are also custom made using lincoln navigator high low projectors. twards the rear of the car is a matching set of fiberglass fenders that are 2in wider than the stock body with a custom made fuel cap to compliment the theam of the car. farther to the rear is a carbon fiber wickerbill custom made from scratch with a balsa core and a 2x2 twill carbon fiber lay up. just under the rear is a blown diffuser smoothing out the air flow exiting the car to help with downforce at higher speeds, as well as dumping the exhaust into the air flow inside the diffuser.
the car was just painted finalley this past october in a custom variation of fords color j7
with some added diamond dust .
the engine is a modified 3.1l with a custom fuel mapping, headers, carbon fiber cold air intake, port matched heads and intake plenums, a very large double pass cross flow radiator keeps it cool no matter how hot it is out side, the radiator tanks had to be notched in order to fit in the frame rails lol.
the entire package sits on 295 30 18 toyo r888 rubbers
i appretiate the nominations and i hope for the best of all 5 of the beatiful cars in the running
i only have a few photos but i will take more
the car has also just bean filmed of matt farahs smoking tire but the episode is not up for viewing yet
Thanks for those who nominated me for this and thank you to those who have recently (and in the past) expressed kind words and compliments to me and the car. Win, draw, or loose.. I am just happy to be a part of this message board and the thirdgen community. Being a 3rd gen fbody fan and owner is something I can guarantee will last the remainder of my lifetime!
* Also, thank you to Linson for his work in compiling and managing the Car of the Month submissions and the voting each month. It has got to be a lot of work.
* Congratulations to all of the other nominees, you all have killer cars that you should be proud of and enjoy as much as you can.
Welp, I just figured I would throw this out there, yet after being a member for 11+ years here I never really felt anywhere "noteworthy" to even contend for COTM, but here is what I got:
I am the second owner of this car and have had it since 1999 (I bought it when I was 15 with the $3,500 of my own money which I had saved up from several years of cutting my neighbors lawns and yardwork). It was totally, completely stock then... had peeling clear coat paint, the original rear window louvers, straight body panels, original IROC wheels etc.. it was a dream come true without a doubt!! .....and then the alternator froze on the voyage to my parents house immediately after buying it 30 mins earlier... ! We fixed this a week later, no problem, but I still was too young to drive the car so I would wash it, wax it, fiddle with things and do my best to learn mechanics. My father and I sanded down the areas of the body that had horrible clear coat peeling and we painted them red base/clear .. still before I was licensed to drive it.
It was my daily driver from 2002-2007 (high school and most of college). Then, after getting a 1995 YJ Jeep for a Daily Driver I was finally able to dig into the car much more. It has gone through many many upgrades over the years. The list is very long, and I keep detailed records and files of everything. The gigantic file folder of "parts receipts" and their $value sometimes is shocking, but what the heck.. it is my hobby and it makes me happy.
In short:
350 Goodwrench crate engine with a 150 wet shot of nitrous on the TPI induction setup. MSD ignition parts including: MSD Digital-6 ignition control box, master coil, cap and rotor, and 8.8mm self-cut plug wires run under the headers. Removed SMOG and HVAC systems. Power-master 140 amp alternator, Mini starter, AFPR, the usual intake mods. OEM style water pump and radiator with newer hoses and eliminated header core plumbing. AMSOIL synthetic 10-30.
A "Pro Street" ProBuilt 700-R4 trans from Dana's crew at ProBuilt Automatics with beefed up everything inside. see his website for detailed specifics, but it is rated to 675 flywheel horsepower, so it will be in the car for a long time! Running an Edge Racing 2,600 rpm converter. B&M Supercooler Trans fluid cooler, a B&M transmission temp gauge, and a B&M megashifter console shifter. AMSOIL synthetic ATF.
Richmond 3.73 gears in original axle housing with original axles (the powertrain's weakest link for now)
Dyno-don’s coated mid-length headers and Y pipe, magnaflow cat, and hooker 3” cat-back with a DMH electronic exhaust cut-out, and (the no longer available style) Hooker dual slash-cut exhaust tips.
C4-HD 13” disc brake upgrade up front and then I swapped out the stock rear drum brakes for a 12” C4-HD rear disc setup. Also a SLP line-lock, all stainless brake lines and braided flex lines, new booster and new-ish master too.
Welded-in S&W racecars subframe connector kit with the rocker and floor connection plates, driveshaft safety loop, and an adjustable torque-arm setup on a relocated crossmember mount. Underside of the body was stripped bare, and undercoated with POR-15 in satin black.
the black interior has a pair of tight sport seats mounted to a set of sliders/brackets I made myself. Undercoating painting on the inner floorpans, RAAMmat sound deadener and new ACC carpet in the cabin. Also a Rockford Fosgate Headunit with Pioneer 4x6” and 6x9” speakers. In the trunk are two 12” sub woofers and a 1950 watt amp housed in a box/plate setup I made. Grant GT steering wheel, power locks, power windows, no loose interior panels. Everything is clean, headliner is perfect, all gauges, lights, windows work.
Suspension consists of: 2” drop/lowering spindles up front with the UMI upper strut tower mounts, UMI tubular A-Arms with delrin bushings, 5 way adjustable struts/shocks on all 4 corners, MOOG replacement springs, UMI adjustable rear LCAs and LCARBs, UMI adjustable panhard bar and a Founders Performance upper Panhard bar. Assortment of greasable polyurethane and Roto-joints throughout the suspension, nothing is rubber. 34mm swaybar up front and 23mm rear. Front end wonderbar/steering brace from Lon at TDS. MOOG inner and outer tie-rods, drag link, and idler arm.
BOZE ZE Forged "INJECTED" two piece aluminum 18x8” front wheels and 18x10” rears with custom personalized options. Running Nitto 555 rubber (245/285) with 300 treadwear. Valve-stems are hidden on the inside of the rim for a cleaner appearance. I chose these wheels because they have a pattern similar to the original 5 spoke IROC wheels, but with a modern edgy look to them.
Last painted almost 10 years ago... in April 2007, in “Deep Flame Red”. All door jams and trunk jams were painted also and soffseal weatherstripping installed. I did about 70% of the bodywork and prep myself prior to sending it to a trusted painter. Aside from wet-sanding all the clear off of the whole car and spreading some filler, I welded up the antennae hole, removed the drip rails, deleted the old door molding, hung and fitted a new front bumper cover, rear bumper cover and front fender as well. The custom black/silver vinyl stripes were designed and applied by my father and I on the 2" GlassTek fiberglass hood and also on the lower body area. The paint has been painstakingly upkept (by hand, no machines ever) and only has the most minor of wear over almost a decade of use and some abuse.
Everything on the car works; everything that should work...works. I drive this car probably more than I should. It fires right up and will idle smooth at a light after an hour or so of driving. I have taken it on 4+ hour drives, on voyages in the rain, ran AutoCross, a track day at NJMP for the Optima Ultimate Street Car event, and at the local quarter mile. Despite living in NJ where the weather is less than perfect all year round, I do drive this car during the winter if the circumstances allow. It goes to car shows and cruise nights most of the year and will be at the Camaro Nationals this Summer in Maryland. It was also one of the 10 IROC-Z cars to be invited to the GM Nationals indoor display to celebrate the "30 years of the IROC-Z" back in 2015 along with SEVERAL members on this board as well! I will be running the USCA event again this year at New Jersey Motorsports Park too.. it is too fun not to do that event!!!
Future plans are:
- To build a stout 406 or 421 small block chevy for it, keep it with the nitrous setup and run a 200 shot on that. Dart SHP block, forged internals, modern EFI setup (FAST 2.0, FiTech, Holley Sniper, etc), street engine. It will NOT be a LS based engine. I am of the opinion that this car should stay with a traditional style small block chevy setup.
- Upgrade to a 12 bolt rear end with all the proper goodies and similar 3.73 gear ratio, maybe 3.55
- Full fuel system upgrade and possibly, eventually maybe a roll-bar setup if/when I dip below the 11.49s
FOR ADDITIONAL INFO AND PHOTOS PLEASE VISIT MY WEBSITE IN MY SIGNATURE (although it has not beeen updated in quite a long time; sorry).. AND SEARCH MY USERNAME HERE ON THIRDGEN.ORG FOR THREADS CREATED BY ME, HIGHLIGHTING SPECIFIC MODS.
Edit: sorry I can't get the photo of the interior to load/link now; I will fix this in the next 24 hours for sure though
some more photos of my car but NOT MY PHOTOS. They were loaded recently to the Optima Batteries website by Jim who is also on here as OptimaJim. credit goes to him for taking and posting these. Thanks Jim!
Last edited by IROCZman15; 11-26-2017 at 10:16 PM.
First off I want to thank you guys for the nomination. It is an honor to be in the running.
A little history on the car:
I purchased this car in April of 2004 as my first car and daily driver. I found the car on ebay and purchased it from the original owner with only 36,000 miles. Unfortunately the car had sat outside on the streets of Yonkers NY it whole life, so the paint was faded with multiple dents and dings and the interior was faded.
I drove the car as my daily driver throughout high school. Soon after that I came to my senses and realized the car deserved better than to be driven in the NJ winters, so I purchased a beater car to be my daily driver and started to take the car apart for what I though would just be a paint job. The paint job ended up being a full restoration that I did myself a little at a time during my college years.
The car currently has 69,000 miles on it and is still driven much and taken to plenty of shows during the summer months. I restored everything back to factory condition. The only missing link is reproduction gatorback tires.
Options/specs:
GTA package
T-tops
UQ7 sub woofer
Digital dash
305 TPI/auto
Flame Red/Beachwood
The car has been great to me and I have many good memories with this car. I have no plans to ever get rid of this car and it will be enjoyed for many more years.
I like the "Pristine" Stock, never been touched look and can appreciate there value when it comes to our cars.
But to me its the car that has an owner that pours there heart and soul into there ride using there own hands, with tastefully done, aftermarket parts and items that make the car truly theirs. An expression of who they are.
That's why I love this site.
You get the best of both worlds.
Bob, I just saw your story in last months COTM. Beautiful car and great story behind it. I'm amazed how well you kept after it all of these years. I always loved the Gun Metal cars too.
Awesome group of nominees!!!!!!! ...of course, it always is
...and while the fate of the world may not be riding on my vote, I'd have to say this is the hardest choice I've personally had to make for COTM. They're all great, but for me it came down to z28cop and IroczMan15. z28cop's Iroc is quite possibly the exact car I'd order if I could buy one new...down the the color and options, and IroczMan15's Iroc is follows a similar direction that I've taken my OWN Iroc. Modded, but fairly stock appearing too. Not sure if that was the goal, but it's awesome. Plus the Glastek hood. I mean come on!!
Thank you for the nomination. thanks to thirdgen.org for keeping the dream alive. I have loved this car from the day I ordered it in Nov 84, when she was built on January 2-4 of 1985. I was there every minute of the build from floor pan to final assembly. When I started her up for the first time while on the assembly line, and still to this day. This IROC looks, smells and runs just the same today as she did in 1985. So many memories with this car. So glad I got her back. Seems as if she was never gone. 1985 IROC L69, 5spd, 373, 4wheel disc, AC, pwr windows and door, rear window defogger, HD Cooling, Battery, Alternator, T-Tops, Roof Console, Delco AMFM Cassette with ETR and of course LS Conteur interior.
Thank you for the nomination. thanks to thirdgen.org for keeping the dream alive. I have loved this car from the day I ordered it in Nov 84, when she was built on January 2-4 of 1985. I was there every minute of the build from floor pan to final assembly. When I started her up for the first time while on the assembly line, and still to this day. This IROC looks, smells and runs just the same today as she did in 1985. So many memories with this car. So glad I got her back. Seems as if she was never gone. 1985 IROC L69, 5spd, 373, 4wheel disc, AC, pwr windows and door, rear window defogger, HD Cooling, Battery, Alternator, T-Tops, Roof Console, Delco AMFM Cassette with ETR and of course LS Conteur interior.
I was pleasantly surprised to be nominated, thanks to everyone for the kind words.
My car is an '89 GTA, original paint car. Was a loaded L98/G92 car, but a sour rebuild from the previous owner spurred me to build it my way. So now it has a 10.5:1 383 with a SCAT rotating assembly, Speed Pro pistons, Pro Filer heads, Comp cam and a ported Super Ram intake. Dyno Don headers, and custom dual cat 3.5" exhaust. I build the engine, exhaust, did all the porting and I tuned the stock EFI. It's nearly as quiet as stock, gets 28mpg highway, and makes about 430hp. AC blows cold, cruise and power seats all work. This is my daily driver in good weather.
Stock springs were all cut half coil, Koni yellows, J&M camber plates, J&M rear control arms and panhard rod. Car still has stock brakes for now, but the plan is to put a set of 13" C4 HDs off my IROC on it. Car also still needs subframe connectors, holding out for DSE ones I think. Anyway, here are the latest pix I have.
Wow I forgot how dated some of these pictures are. These are the newest engine and interior shots I have. The car now has dyno don headers, not shown, a custom grey leather grant steering wheel with arrow head horn button, and a shorty Pro 5.0 shifter.
went out and took a few interior photos since I didn't post anything initally. these aren't great photos, but they show what the interior contains. the lighting is really harsh as I was holding a shop light and taking photos. the wrinkles in the drivers seat are only because my knee was leaning on it .
the one photo was when I sanded it all down for paint many years ago in my parents garage.
[url=https://flic.kr/p/TkawUa]
[url=https://flic.kr/p/TkawPF]
[url=https://flic.kr/p/TkawQT]
[url=https://flic.kr/p/TkaXWz]
Last edited by IROCZman15; 03-29-2017 at 07:46 PM.
03-20-2017, 04:08 PM
