Im not sure where to post this so I decided to put it here..

I'm buying my first car and have always wanted a camaro and both the RS and IROC look the same, Im leaning towards the IROC more because I just like the way they look and feel but they also cost more.
Which one should I go for?

Right now I have 3 possible cars I can buy:

http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/bn...470214638.html
http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/rd...427798201.html
http://vancouver.en.craigslist.ca/va...478295085.html

The iroc has a lot more mileage on it than I'd like and the he said the lowest he would go is 3500..

I'm not sure which one to go for, any help?

 

Styling (ground effects) and handling. The RS is basic and has a relatively soft ride. The IROC will have ground effects and stiffer spring rates for a firmer ride which is designed for better handling.

It's all personal preference.

 

motor, suspension, tiny features like rims, decal

 

1. badges
2. Suspension

The odd thing is that there are some VERY poorly optioned IROCs out there, some of them are just RS'es with better shocks on them. IROCs will have the wonderbar, which is a steering brace in the front end. Aftermarket ones are cheap, factory ones are cheaper.

From the factory, an RS will never have a 350, it will never have Tuned Port Injection, it will never have decent gear ratios or a posi, it will neer have the performance suspension, but in a lot of cases, an IROC might not have those things either.

Just depends on the car. By modern standards, IROCs are pretty slow. A highly optioned IROC will likely be af uture classic, I'd avoid buying a pristine, high-optioned IROC if you wanna start yanking engines and throwing a lot of aftermarket parts on it. If you wanna do that, you're better off saving money and getting an RS and upgrading all teh things that you'd end up upgrading on an IROC to make it fast anyway. The advantage of an IROC is that you may already have a posi rear with better gears and better suspension, but those suspensions are 25 years old... you may end up replacing a lot of it anyway.

I will say that I believe the RS 305 TBI engines are SUPER reliable. They will run a long, LONG time if taken care of. TPI cars seem to have a more complicated fuel injection system more prone to problems, especially the MAF cars (IROCs), and were generally driven hard during their lives. An RS can be the more mechanically sound, but it depends on a lot of things. My old RS 305 TBI got me about 19mpg in town, I wouldnt bother with a v6 car because the 305 v8s are so reliable (the v6's are reliable too, but it's a matter of there not being much advantage) and the gas mileage is very good for a 5 liter v8. 25+ on the highway. A LOT of torque from the TBI 305's, makes it fun, sounds great too. I'd get the 89 305 or the IROC. I'd get the 89 if you want to be a gearhead hot rodder or you just want something semi-reliable to drive, and I'd get the IROC if you want to have a car you dont mind taking care of but you want to leave stock and enjoy for another 10 years without tearing it apart and rebuilding it.

If you just need something to drive, just get the 3.1 v6, but it takes all the fun out of it. The RS 305s are VERY slow, but they at least sound and feel the part with the rumble and torque they have.

 

I have had all three, my personal opinion GET THE IROC! my I iroc was the 5.7 tune port, My 91 RS 305 TBI and my 89 2.8 RS. I just sold the 91, sold the Iroc 15 yrs ago, big regret. I have the 89 RS with a little over 50 thousand and I love it. But the Iroc was the best by far. What ever you do, take really good care of it and maintain it well. I hope you make a choice that will make you happy! What ever you choose you can't go wrong. Its a classy car!

 

Thank you guys. For my price range and for the condition of the car I went with the 91 rs. The interior was perfect and original along with the body. Minor things I new would have to be replaced have been, like the hood springs. I am going to upgrade slowly. I'll probably stick to all stock until things need to be replaced.

 

Its not really cost effective to upgrade to IROC-status. Upgrading an RS to an IROC takes probably around 6-7grand. Upgrading an RS to something MORE than IROC status costs.... 7-8 grand maybe? It's really easy to end up with a better car if you aren't trying to just copy an IROC. If your goal is to get an L98 350 TPI in the car, you're gonna spend a lot of money and you'll have an IROC that isnt an IROC, and costs more than an IROC.

 

I definitely don't want to upgrade to an IROC. If I wanted one I would have just bought it. My parents were nice enough to dish out the cash for the car and tax and eventually the insurance in September, when I can legally drive it alone. Over $2000 for new driver insurance, ouch. I'm just glad I finally got the car i've wanted since I was 6 :P

 

My V8 5speed RS came from the factory with a 3.42 disc posi...and I have the docs to prove it.

 

I stand corrected. you get the right RS with a manual and all bets are off.

Generally, though, RS'es got the lazy gears. But I think those V8 T5 cars even got a bigger cam than the regular RS 305's did. They're sort of a special case. I wish I could find me a T5 305 TBI car for anywhere near what I bought my car for.

 

I'm not sure where you got the 7-8 grand figure.

 

Personal experience

Quality suspension and engine work costs money plus the necessary beefier drivetrain parts. I've easily got 2 or 3 grand in suspension parts, 4 grand in my engine, 2 grand in my T56, plus all the random knick knack parts involved. You start upgrading things and you're gonna need a trans rebuild or a new trans sooner or later anyway given that it's now 20 years on from when these cars were originally built.

 

To convert an RS to a clone IROC, wouldn't cost 6-7k

 

It wouldnt be that far off. Especially if you consider the price of the car included, but the car is a pittance compared to the cost of putting all the new parts in.

You'd spend AT LEAST 4 grand if you were the cheapest of the cheap and got real lucky with it. But there are so many nickel and dime things to getting an engine swap done that I'd be feel good about saying you need at least 5 grand to do it right and well. Anybody can shoehorn something in place that kinda works, cutting corners will cut costs. But even cutting every corner imaginable I cant imagine you could do it for any less than $3 grand, and that would end up with you doing lots of work later after old worn out parts started failing and required replacing on a regular basis and after a trans and engine rebuild you'd be back at 6 grand anyway. Something like this, if you cut corners you're going to end up in worse shape than you would have if you spent the extra money up front on new decent parts.

 

I see no reason a person couldn't get his RS suspension on par with an IROC for a few hundred bucks... new springs and shocks, junkyard sway bar shouldn't cost much.
The, the tranny is identical, and an engine swap shouldn't cost more than a couple grand to buy and rebuild a junkyard 350, maybe another couple hundred for misc parts that don't come with the new engine and aren't swapped over from the old. Putting a TPI on would be expensive without a donor, but then, who says you can't throw the TBI on or go carb?

So, for ~3 grand, you've got a new engine and new suspension, putting you on par with an IROC, and the "old parts failing" would be no different than buying an IROC of the same age.

 

Just depends on how highly optioned your RS is.

A crappy exhaust will put you back $500, a nice one $1000. Im talking shorties and a catback.A carb swap will cost you at least $500, keeping hte TBI will cost you the work that goes into getting the tuning right, you'll probably have to do it yourself, go the EBL flash route. Then you'll need to source larger TBI injectors for a 350, which means playing roullette with injector serial numbers and eventually having to send them off just to verify they're the correct flow rate just so you can tune it properly. If you go TPI you'll need a new fuel pump. A decent wahlbro is $100 bucks plus the different TPI fuel lines. If you go with a carb that'll be $200 for the carb, $100 for a distributor, $75 for a decent fuel pressure regulator, fittings and braided line to get your fuel from teh regulator to the carb, and then teh carb feed line is another $50 at least.

You're silly to go through all that trouble and not get a posi rear end with decent gears, that's another $200-$700 depending on how you go about getting that done and whether or not you can set up gears yourself or have to farm it out, or whether you just find another rear end. Then there's the matter of whether or not to go with disc brakes, I dont see the point in going through all the cost and work to switch rear ends unless you go with disc brakes, and the only decent rear discs are on 4th gens and 89-92 thirdgens. That adds more money. Then you'll need a disc brake prop valve unless you want your rears locking up before your fronts on a regular basis. Suspension is front/rear shocks, sway bars, bushings, and springs. Corners can be cut here in a smart way, but it depends on whether you can find the parts. Then its silly to not put subframe connectors on the car, and you'll need a wonderbar and the IROC quick ratio steering box. I went with Konis on my car, that's a pricy proposition. Even some KYBs cost decent money. And of course there are LOTS of nickel and dime things that go along with changing everything out. Things like air filters and air boxes and fuel filters and e-brake handles if you mess with the rear brakes and its necessary to speedo gears or a electronic speedometer adjustment box to prom tuning to 350 knock sensors to new oxygen sensors to making sure the exhaust work is done right to poly transmission mounts to v6-v8 swap motor mounts to IROC hood to MAF sensors to new plug wires to 16 inch IROC wheels and likely new tires to go on them. Then with all that money invested you're silly to not get subframe connectors installed.. it goes on and on and on and on. Do you want to get IROC badges? Do you want to get the IROC dash and gauge cluster? Do you want to get the IROC front grille? Do you want to install the IROC steering wheel? Are you going to need to buy the IROC hood louvres separately, a lot of times they keep those separated when tehy sell them. Maybe you'll get lucky - maybe not. And lord help you if you dont have all the tools you need. Those will add up in no time.

I dont think a trans that's used to an anemic 305 for 200k miles is gonna like having a TPI torque monster going through it suddenly late in life.

These things nickel and dime you to death. I've been there and done it. Maybe you guys just cut more corners than I do, I dont know. But I do know that it made a lot more sense monetarily to just shoot higher than an 80s technology IROC as your upgrade goal.

 

 

indeed my V8 5.0 RS came with posi

 

Stock IROC don't have headers or upgraded trans u can get a l98 with harness for 1000 body kit like 300 shocks struts and stuff like 500 new 200 or less used. Ppl part them out all the time on here. U can get a donor car for 500.