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Auto Detailing and AppearanceShare tips and tricks on how to make your Third Gen shine! Get opinions on products or how something tasteful looks on your Chevrolet Camaro or Pontiac Firebird.
Some very nice cars here this month and I'm also honored that I even nominated. I have a few threads on the build that you can look at to give you a history of my car.
Taken down to a bare car - no electronics, no fuel or brake lines. Had it media blasted to get the old paint off and have a clean slate to work from. The only rust spot on the car was under the drivers seat which a new floor panel was welded in. The radiator support was also shot so I had to weld a new one in as well as put a new crossmember in. From my thread you can see that the car barely had a life. It had 334 original miles on it when I bought it and I know that to be true because the car was only registered for three months before it was stolen, trashed, and thrown in a junkyard where I bought her from.
Engine and Drivetrain:
Got rid of the original V6 the car came with and bought a 350 TPI motor for her. Here is a list of what I have in the motor:
Edelbrock aluminum heads
SLP original load mouth exhaust from headers all the way back to the tailpipe
Performance chip
24# injectors
competition cam
magnum roller rockers
52mm throttle body
ported and polished plenum
Aluminum drive shaft
K&N shift kit in 700r4
SLP cold air intake
TPIS runners
BW posi rear with 3.73 gears
Suspension:
Hotchkiss rear suspension
bilstein shocks
lowered 1 1/2"
PBR full brake setup
Subframe connectors
wonder bar
All new urethane bushings throughout
18" BOSS Motorsport 338 rims
Custom Features:
Suicide hood hinges - not store bought or off another type of car - they were made by me
Hood vents - off a 1976 Firebird and welded to a stock hood
Rear spoiler - this was aftermarket but I think it fits the car
Fully Dynamatted interior
Battery relocated to the rear spare tire spot
Here are some pictures for those of you who haven't read my threads
Very honored to be nominated and in such a fine group of cars. 89 Bird. 91k mi.
5.0 TBI. 700R4 w\ shift kit, S10 torque converter, 3.73 gears posi,3in flowmaster exhaust, custom chip. Paint and body work done by me, my Dad, and my sons.
I’m always grateful that a someone I don’t know with a love for Third Gens would have ever nominated my IROC! These were always my favorite cars since the first time I saw one drive down the street and no one could tell me otherwise!
I’ve owned three Third gen Camaros and I am the third owner of this car. I searched for years for a convertible and found this one with the right color, options, Miles and condition for me! I wanted a convertible this go-around because I was always envious of the lines of the car with the top down. I rarely saw convertible IROCs where as the Mustangs were more than abundant..
I researched the car relentlessly and through my VIN searches I found old EBAY ads and even though the car was removed from eBay, I was able to contact the second owner who then gave me info for the first owner who luckily was willing to answer some questions. The first owner had a warehouse for his business where he kept cars he’d sort of collect and drive. He barely drove this car and sold it in the 90s to the second owner. The second owner was police chief in a town in Illinois who used it in the summer and stored it in a heated garage with his bikes in the winter. He and his wife were going to sell the car to get a camper so they could travel since they hadn’t driven the car much for a couple years.
There is no rust anywhere on this car. Even some paint chips where there was bare metal were clean as a whistle. This car was kept nice and driven just enough..
Being a car detailer I am very particular about paint. Even though this car appeared to have original paint and I got it shined up really nice. It did have stone chips on the nose, spider cracks on the front bumper cover and some fading on the rear spoiler and side pieces. It had some small dings as well. I knew a guy from my past who was known for restoring high value classic cars and notorious for his paint jobs.
When I brought the car to him he said he it would look like brand new and I wouldn’t be sorry.. said he doesn’t just paint cars, he restores them..
He was able to straighten the front spoiler and bumper cover better than any thirdgen I’d seen. People at cruise nights thought that I paid $10k-$20k for the paint, but I did a cash deal and he got to work on it at his own pace.. (took forever!). He also saved all the original emblems that you can’t get anywhere and didn’t paint any of the jams where the factory decals were. People almost can’t tell it’s a repaint except up close, in person it’s too perfect which I like.. my goal was to have it look like it rolled out of a showroom in 1988.. pictures don’t do the paint justice..
I changed the exhaust when the cat went bad and fixed my exhaust tips so they sit right at the edge of the bumper instead of inches past the bumper. The car came with 3” tips which I switched back to 2.5”. I had some recommendations from some members here to ditch the huge tips.. I may even go to more original ones.. I’m happy with these for now..
The interior is pretty mint and in better condition than any third gen I’ve owned and I bought my second one in 1994 with 26k miles. The wheels are also in better shape than my previous thirdgens.
I do have the original radio. I want to get an aux for the factory radio before I put it back in. For now the iPod cable the previous owner has for the Alpine is Clutch! The Alpine speakers sound awesome too but he did give me the original speakers too.
The car came with the original owners manual and sales brochure as well as the original unused spare with the GM tire inflator from 1988.. pretty cool..
I’m very happy with the car and it gets a crowd everywhere it goes! It may not be the fastest thirdgen, but it sounds mean and looks pretty good!
Last edited by 88IROCvertZ; 11-20-2017 at 01:31 AM.
I bought my GTA back in 2001 from a small car lot in Orlando, FL. The day before I went to pick it up someone backed a motorhome over the hood. I was crushed… or at least that’s how I acted. Lol. So at least I got a discount and a reason to put the hood on it that I wanted! Luckily it did no other damage to the car. Shortly after I got the car home, a rod started knocking. Are you kidding me?!? lol. At least I now had an excuse to put a new engine in it! Within a few weeks I had the new ram air hood for it along with a 4th gen style rear wing for it. Shortly after that I took it over to the paint and body shop and ended up get the entire car repainted the with 1996 Corvette Grand Sport Blue you currently see on the car. The car was originally Gunmetal Grey w/ gold wheels. Unfortunately I don't have any pic from when I bought it Here's what it looked like after I got it painted
https://www.flickr.com/photos/159637345@N07/36579241773/sizes/o/
So, even though the car looked pretty decent, it still ran like crap and I drove it that way for almost ten years! lol. I kept the RPM's under 2500 for all those years trying to postpone the inevitable.
Fast forward to 2010... I had finally saved up enough dough to put a new engine in the car. Woohoo! After much contemplation over many different engine options for the car, I finally decided that the LS1 was the only way to go IMO. It's hard to beat an all aluminum engine w/ 450+ HP & 20MPG! It wasn't long before I had purchased a freshly rebuilt LS1 chocked full of Comp Cam goodies. Here's my build thread in case you haven't seen it yet. https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/ltx-...p-my-89-a.html
The engine swap ended up turning into basically a frame off restoration of the car. Yes I know the car does actually have a frame. lol. The car now has a fully tubular adjustable suspension, the LS1 (of course) along with a 4L65E Monster tranny, big brakes, aftermarket wheels, strut tower brace, subframe connectors, fully FatMatted interior, aftermarket stereo system and much more. Way too much stuff to list. I did the majority of the work in my garage with a little help from my friends here and there. My grandpa actually helped me get the engine back in the car before he died. So glad I have a great memory like that to look back on. Here's a pic of the engine/trans going in the car
This was shortly after I got the car back on the road in 2015 at a car show with my friend Luis and the TTA that he had back then. And yes, your math is correct. It took four years to do the restoration and get the car back on the road.
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Here are a few more current pics...
My goal with the engine bay was to try to make it look like the LS1 came in the car from the factory. I probably spent 50 hours just adapting the ram air filter box to work with the LS1 & designing the custom cover for it.
Unfortunately I don't have any good interior pics at the moment. I'll get to work on that. The interior is still a work in progress. All that I have left to finish to complete the restoration is getting the seats recovered and the headliner replaced. Phew... what a ride, but so worth it. The car is a blast to drive and is really quiet inside except when you mash the gas pedal to the floor!
If I would like to represent anything it would be the "Never Say Die" Attitude so many here have when it comes to there cars and the love they have for them.
It started as a $500.00 car I pulled from some guys back yard and my first build ever and is now my DD and the most reliable and fun car to drive I have ever owned.
It came out just like I wanted it to.
Love it.
Here's just a "small" part of what needed to be replace in mine.
Other than the paint and rear differential posi. unit, I did this myself including the list of modifications, etc. with many pieces coming from "Pick N Pull" as to salvage what I could from even less fortunate cars.
Needed = Paint / tires / fuel pump / water pump / Vats Module / power steering pump / smog pump / alternator / intake manifold gasket / new steering column / all break components / radiator / heater core and hose replacements / front windshield /new front bumper cover / lower valance / side ground effects / new rear hatch and motor /most of the interior including front seats / head liner /door skins / console, etc.,etc.
Here's a few "Modification's","Up-Grade's" and "Replacement" parts I used on the car.
Custom PPG Rally Red Paint / Custom Black Racing Stripes /Crystal Red Pearl in both / Goodmark Steel Cowl Hood / American Racing AR-23 Aluminum Alloy Wheel's / Mickey Thompson S/T Sportsman Tires / MOOG 5665 Rear Springs / KYB "Gas A Just" Rear Shocks / New Front Running-Parking Lights / Custom Stainless Steel Hood Pins / Red Bow-Tie Front Grill Insert and "Black" IROC-Z Door Decals with New Weatherstripping.
Open-Air 14 by 3in. Element & Xtra-Flow Filter Top / New Coolant and Washer Tanks / Transmission Cooler / Adjustable Temperature Controlled Duel Fans / Re-Programed E-PROM with VATS and Speed Limiter Removal / New Converter Lock-Up speed of 40 mph./ Corvette servo upgrade.
3in. American Thunder Flowmaster Cat Back / Magnaflow Cat / "Energy Suspension" Poly Motor and Transmission Mounts / 28 spline Eaton Posi. / 28 spline axles & gear ratio changes to 3.42 with L.P.W. Ultimate 10 Bolt cover.
Grant "Challenger" Series Steering Wheel / 4th Gen. Camaro Seats / Fire Extinguisher / "Python" Alarm System / Kenwood Deck with Pioneer 6.5 door speakers added / Pioneer 6x9 speakers in the sail panels and Rear Hatch Privacy Screen.
Most if not all censers, senders including electrical and electronic components have been replaced.
I have my cooling system designed to keep my car in the 180* to 190* range and that keeps my under hood temperatures down.
I just want to thank everyone that has helped me over the years.
Its been a journey that, although difficult at times, has been very rewarding.
Some of these are older photos and some improvements have been made.
Last edited by Ron U.S.M.C.; 12-04-2017 at 12:22 AM.
There are some really nice cars here! Good luck to everyone! I really love what you did to your T/A Topspeed! It turned out great! Pretty crazy that you found it in a junkyard with such low mileage on it!
My car is a 1991 B4C T5 manual with 28.7k original miles. I bought it in 2010 with under 12k miles on the odometer. I wanted a fully documented low-mile car to replicate what I could not between 1982 and 1992: the experience of buying a new thirdgen Camaro.
The car is driven for fun and sees many spirited drives, but it also gets the care it needs. I'm all for preserving and keeping thirdgens pristine, but a significant part of maintaining the essence of these cars is keeping them rolling.
Here are two recent shots of my car along 17 Mile Drive by Pebble Beach:
You can find many more photos of my car at the following spots:
Jesus, I can't compete with the caliber of cars in here.
I'm the second owner of mine, having bought it in 1999 at 15 years old for $4300 from the original owner with 116k miles. I'll be 34 in February, first car.
Odometer now shows 155k miles. Car was hailed on early in life (1992), and before PDR was available, so it was repainted back then. It still wears that paint today, 25 years and 100k+ miles later. It's pretty well optioned for an RS - 305, Custom Cloth interior, full power accessories, etc.
Car is lowered 2" on Eibach Sportlines for that OEM+ look and sits just right, and the white letter tires spinning around on the 15s just look so right. The color is on point too and turns a lot of heads.
I've put somewhere in the $10k range into it to keep it turnkey and on the road over the years. I also managed to not hack it up as a teenager, and I managed to keep it throughout the years by paying to store it. Lost my garage at home when my mom died so kept it in storage (but always turnkey) through college, moving to Japan, back to America and through two apartments, and it now finally has a permanent home again in the garage at my house. Paid to store it for eight years. My wife is also cool about me keeping it. Over those 18 years it's been accompanied by 11 daily drivers and outlasted them all so far.
Not much more to it. Just a turnkey cruiser that I've always made sure stayed that way and never hacked up or abused. Don't mind the miles because I can go anywhere anytime without worrying about the value.
I’m not sure if the B4C counts as an RS or an undercover Z28.. awesome story too
I really like Puma’s RS! That car in that condition is rare and I’d spend time looking it over at a cruise night for sure! You can feel the love there..
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!
Here are some professional photos taken of my running the car at the OPTIMA BATTERIES SEARCH FOR THE ULTIMATE STREET CAR event this August at NJMP New Jersey Motorsports Park. (some photos are from last years event since Jim at Optima USCA has only released an early batch of photos) I had a blast, even more so than last year and the car worked pretty damn good. I learned a lot and don't want to type it all in this post, but can do so elsewhere.
Man, I wouldn't say that puma. I think you're Camaro is beautiful.
Originally Posted by dmccain
I agree! Wow keeping in that great of shape all those years!
Originally Posted by 88IROCvertZ
Two very fine RS Camaros in this bunch..
I’m not sure if the B4C counts as an RS or an undercover Z28.. awesome story too
I really like Puma’s RS! That car in that condition is rare and I’d spend time looking it over at a cruise night for sure! You can feel the love there..
Originally Posted by Saxondale
So many good cars this month, but you got my vote.
WOW! A tie! I wonder how this will work out. All the cars this month were winners in my book. Very tough competition. Looks like it's you and me 88IROCvert. Best of luck to you bud.
Pretty crazy! This month of runners up is pretty cool.. I wish some of the other guys posted up more on their cars.. I have voted for cars on this list!
Good luck to you Topspeed! You have a lot of work into that car.. I dig the black on top look.. Reminded me of the 4th gen Z28 from the profile but obviously way cooler
Does everyone still have a shot though until there’s a winner? It’s a pretty close race overall
Pretty crazy! This month of runners up is pretty cool.. I wish some of the other guys posted up more on their cars.. I have voted for cars on this list!
Good luck to you Topspeed! You have a lot of work into that car.. I dig the black on top look.. Reminded me of the 4th gen Z28 from the profile but obviously way cooler
Does everyone still have a shot though until there’s a winner? It’s a pretty close race overall
Thanks. Your car is gorgeous also. This was my first car I bought way back when I was 17. The people on this site kept me going on my build . I appreciate everyone's input and likes to the car. I guess it'll come down to a Camaro or Firebird.
That’s awesome! My first thirdgen got rear ended by an idiot and it took me 15 years to find a convertible version as close as I could.. My wife calls it The Bone.. for Bone Marrow.. lol.. 31k Miles, all stock except battery, tires, exhaust and radio.. paint too, but the painter did a flawless restoration really..
I showed my wife the car that was tied with the Bone and she said, “wow, that car looks really cool..” I told her to settle down.. ha ha..
11-19-2017, 03:47 PM
Topspeed*****1984 Firebird SE*****February
Luckily it did no other damage to the car. Shortly after I got the car home, a rod started knocking. Are you kidding me?!? lol. At least I now had an excuse to put a new engine in it! 
Within a few weeks I had the new ram air hood for it along with a 4th gen style rear wing for it. Shortly after that I took it over to the paint and body shop and ended up get the entire car repainted the with 1996 Corvette Grand Sport Blue you currently see on the car. The car was originally Gunmetal Grey w/ gold wheels. Unfortunately I don't have any pic from when I bought it 
Here's what it looked like after I got it painted
