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3rd Gen Camaros

Dabba

Dabba

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I did a search and from my years of browsing I havent seen much talk about them. What's the opinon on these cars? Particularly the IROCs?

I drive an 03 civic now, and I have my m1008. I dont commute far anymore, just school 5 mins away, and work twice a week which is a 15 min drive. I've been having the urge to try to sell the civic for an iroc. I figure i can make up the cost of gas with classic insurance but, even so.. The civic has 135k on the clock and even with that I'm worried about the reliability of the camaro compared to the civic. But I know they came with 305s and 350s and When I had my k5 it never worried me that much, but she had under 100k on the motor. How are they for reliability?
 
I used to moderate a Camaro forum, and had two 3rd gens myself, an RS and an IROC-Z. I loved em both. But the IROC was my favorite by far, it just handled on rails. these are the original budget supercar platforms for a reason.

For me, the 1989 vintage is the nicest of them all. The previous years 1LE aluminum rear caliper option became standard, it was the last year before the nasty yellow gauges, nice clean white gauges instead :waytogo:

the manual transmissions were extremely fragile, so much so in fact, they were never offered from the factory behind the 350. the 700R4 was the only thing I ever had issues with in my IROC, it did alot of hunting for gears and locking and unlocking the converter, but that may have been from the 2600 rpm stall :whistle:

If you can find one, the 9 bolt (not 9 inch) rear end is the ****. roughly as strong as a D44 axle, and wayyyy stronger than a 7.5in 10 bolt rear.

I absolutely LOVED these cars. T-tops are the ****. they drove great, and were my daily drivers for years. The RS wound up getting totalled 4 times, and i bought it back every time and rebuilt it. black with a red interior. it wound up finally dying after going off road into a briar patch at 55mph and ripping the front suspension out of it, and tweaking the frame. I was heart broken, but both me and my passenger were unharmed, which is saying something. The IROC was another tragedy. Bought it in mildly rough shape from a guy in arkansas who let his 14 year old drive it dukes of hazard around the yard. spent a few years fixing it mechanically, and driving it, but i went off to school for a few years and left it sitting, and it never was the same, wound up having an electrical fire and burning to the ground. I was pissed.

The trick is finding one that isnt an abused mullet mobile. but they are great cars that I certainly enjoyed for many many years.

oh and if you get an 89, they had the 3rd brake light in the spoiler on the rear hatch. it failed alllll the time, poor design, and is discontinued. swapping the rear hatch to a 92 style, with the 3rd brake light mounted high up in the rear window glass is how you want to go. used a standard bulb, and is far more reliable.
 
K5dreamer said:
The trick is finding one that isnt an abused mullet mobile.
Click to expand...

Ain't that the truth.

Personally, if I had to spend my bucks on one, I'd look for an 88-92 hardtop (no T-tops for me, just my preference). I'd be happy with either the TPI 305 with a 5-speed, or the 350 with the slushbox...but the points made above about the fragile nature of the manual tranny are valid if you're planning any mods. The 91-92 models had a ground effects package, but that wouldn't change my mind about buying one.

Most of these cars are 20+ years old now, so all the little items that tend to go wonky on vehicles that old will probably need attention. And as K5dreamer pointed out, the real trick is finding one that hasn't been hashed by Joe Dirt (or his brother).
 
Wow I didnt expect the manual tranny to be weak. It was what I would be looking for, would you say it was less reliable than the 700? I knew they came with 700s and while not the worst, i was hoping the manual would be better >.<
 
I have a 5 speed. It works fine with 80k miles on it. It's behind a eqjet 305 all stock except headers. I would never buy a camaro in an automatic. But then I swapped my blazer to an sm465 so.... I think the flaws come in when people drop in big horsepower or like to power shift. One of my friends had a trans-am that he put a tuned up 350 in and roasted second gear, but he drove it like he stole it, clutch dumping etc. I drive my car like it's something special, because of all the time I have spent on it, and I have never had a trans problem. I do go fast too, but I don't slam gears.

Also the 5 speed was improved upon in the later years to handle more power. I believe they are called world class t5s. They started around the same time as fuel injection.

If I had to do it again with a 3rd gen I would buy a 305 tpi 5 speed in orange or yellow. T-tops are a must. I also have a soft spot for formulas from the outside, but from the inside camaros all the way.

http://www.thirdgen.org/rt-camaroiroczvsmustangho-1988

Of course as I say that I remember every reason I bought my car for. The camaro camaro camaro interior. The altimeter inspired gauges. The analog clock in the center console. The cassette player. Aluminum drum brakes. The fact that iroc isn't written on the side in huge letters like a dick.

Just make sure it is not messed with. I have owned two, and both were fairly original, but friends of mine have had some that are just garbage. People love to cut every wire under the hood to put some huge carb and intake onto stock small blocks. They like to rip out headliners and cut holes in the b-pillars for huge speakers. They like to put on exhaust that scrapes the ground. I could go on and on.
 
TJsBaby.jpg


I'll own another someday. This one was automatic, I loved it, TPI350, 4 wheel disc brakes, limited slip rear, power everything including the rear hatch. It was quick for the 150k miles it had on it, still ran great and would get 20 ish mpg on the open highway from Phoenix to San Diego.
 
I loved my 87 base V8 coupe. It was a no frills, no gfx, black on black car with the 305, qjet and 700R4. Even had manual windows and locks and NO leaky t-tops!!! Built a nice 350 for it with Edelbrock carb headers and y-pipe down to a Flowmaster exhaust. Had the 700R4 rebuilt/updated with shift kit. Rebuilt a late 4th gen rear end with 3.73s and a true trac posi and swapped that in. Eibach springs, all poly bushings in the front, bigger sway bars, Hotchkis rear lower arms, a fabbed (don't remember who) torque arm, and set in on 17" 4th gen 10 spoke SS "take off" wheels from SLP. Had it painted in black again with a Harwood cowl hood. That was a nice clean car, handled great, was quiet inside and had a great sound from the exhaust. Left the interior stock and clean with the exception of a B&M shifter which was designed to work with the factory console so the install was seemless. I drove it like I built it, was never afraid to push it. Then my daughter came along and the car was "less fun" cause I had to drive it like a law abiding citizen. Ended up selling it and getting into 4x4s. I miss that car.

I've posted these pics before. And here they are again.
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Damn, a lot of camaro owners on here. I'm really surprised I havent seen them mentioned much before. So the real question is.... Which do you think is more relaible? A small block chevy with a stick or 700r4 with about 90 to low 100k miles or the 03 honda with the 4banger/stick with 135k. Both a little beat on ( i sure beat on the honda but she takes it like a champ). Gas mileage really doesnt bother me, im just worried about getting a 25 year old car and having the motor blow. Im not worried about my m1008 but then again its a 6.2 with about 60k on the clock..
 
Hate to say it, but the Honda hands down.

4 banger Honda and Toyotas last for a reason, they dont make any power whatsoever. So they are easier on running gear compared to for example, the small block. The camaro is a way cooler car, but in the end, the Honda will outlast it. That being said, I would never allow a Honda or Toyota to park in my garage, as I am brand bias.
 
Cheap reliable dd transport, the Honda wins out.

A 3rd gen would just turn into another project for me. Cause I would want to build it, play with it, whatever. But I can't leave anything alone. Even my old Volvo now has a bigger turbo, bigger injectors, boost set to 14psi, it's lowered, I'm currently builing a new engine for it, and I recently put a posi in it. That thing will lay rubber like my Camaro did :D

If you do decide you need a 3rd gen, condition wins out over amenities. Like, you "want" a manual. Chances are greater of finding an auto in good shape as the manuals were mostly beaten to death.
 
I didnt think of the money i'd be putting into it for mods but in reality i probably wouldnt. Im confident in my mechanical ability for maintainence and basics repairs. I cant do anything major or build. So i wouldnt be dumping cash into it for that. I'm just looking for a different DD i can possibly have a little fun with. Of course being a dd, reliability is needed too
 
I bought mine with a blown head gasket. Was going to replace and keep original. 6 grand later it's balanced to 7000 with a small cam. (I doubt it makes any real power over stock) Hotchkis suspension. Slotted rotors. All poly front suspension.

Next will be torque arm. Aluminum driveshaft. Tubular control arms. Possibly upgraded headlights.

As far as reliability goes get fuel injection and I would feel safer on a bicycle when it rains. If you don't have a garage don't get t-tops. My car stays inside full time. I always have a cover in the trunk in case I'm out overnight cause they do leak.

What about a 4th gen ls1? I used to have a 99 that got easy 30 mpg highway in 6th. Great car but my winter truck died and I had to sell it to buy something reliable Hahahahahah
 
3rs gens do just fine for a dd. The bad rap they get are from mullet men not knowing how to repair ... anything ... and continually working on them. Half donkey fixing, buying cheap parts or USED parts like alternators and starters etc. I've seen people buying cams and lifters from junk yards.

I have a 91 bird with a TPI 350 (from IROC) that I built with all new parts, new frontend out to the rotors and wheel bearings, complete new brake system, shocks, etc.

Actually repair these cars and they last just fine. I got 200,000 plus out of a 305tbi. Thought it would never give up.

Also put a rearend and complete suspension from a low mile IROC in it.

The 5 speed manual is crap if you start dumping the clutch OR put a high torque engine in front of it. Mine is holding up for now because I drive like I have some sense, but when it goes out it will get a 700r4 that I already have.

http://www.thirdgen.org/techboard/

I also have a 70 RS on a rotisserie that will hit the ground one day
 
Wow, I'm getting a lot of diferent opinions. It seems right now selling the civic for one is probably not a good idea, but if the civic dies and I'm looking for a new car, then it seems like a better choice because "why not?"
 
Since I'm slightly (Read completely) drunk, a 3rd gen gets way more.women, sell that tin foil and get some iron
 
That is so true. I picked up these two girls off the side of the road the other night.... Turned out to be 17 ooops... Drove them home real quick. Well, as quick as legally possible.
 
454Sub said:
Since I'm slightly (Read completely) drunk, a 3rd gen gets way more.women, sell that tin foil and get some iron
Click to expand...

I thought about this, but then I thought about buying a car just for the female catchin' Considering the types of girls around here, I think that would be a waste of money :D
 
Wow, I feel like I got punched with a freight train..... Anyways, no money is wasted chasing women, its fun, eventful, and fun.
 
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