True! And think, you could even sell it for 20k now if you wanted... uhh... oh, right.... Just joking I actually love the car - especially the fact it's black!
I had a 85 blue IrocZ with T Tops in the summer of 88 it was the best time of my life I just graduated in 87 had a job as a welder it turned heads wherever I go I met my wife in this car it’s 2022 and where still together today I always joke with my kids and tell them if I wasn’t for my IrocZ you guys wouldn’t be here now ❤️😁
Funny story, my kids exist because of a 75 maverick grabber in the late 90s lol. Resto modded black with white grabber stripes and chrome everywhere. Love my family but man i miss that car!
In February 1985 I took possession of the first IROC sold at Bruce Lowery Chevrolet in Ft. Worth, TX. As a young man with a good job at GM and the only IROC in Arlington, Tx. I was shitting in high cotton. Ah, the good old days.
I am a Mustang guy first. When I was a kid (born in 84) my mom had an 82 GT 5.0 she bought new and had it my entire childhood. My first muscle car was an 1986 Iroc-Z with a 305 and a 5-speed. It was the same color black, but the previous owner converted it to carbs. I miss that car. The only reason I sold it was because the engine died and it was just sitting in Dallas while I lived in Houston. The guy that did the landscaping for my parents wanted it and he had a big block, but no car to put it in. He did the yard until my parents house sold (like a year) for the car. It had an air suspension, sway bars, slp exhuast (with cats), cross member, I mean everything. All I needed was a new engine and transmission. Oh and electronics LOL it sat for a while. Wonderful car and I want another one. I actually love these F bodies more than the Ford Fox body.
Rare leather option I see. My Parents bought a new one in 87 with that option. I was in 8th grade when they took delivery. Man did I think I was cool back then. For some crazy reason my parents trusted me with it when I was able to drive. They still have it today with ~ 27,000 original miles. One of the nicest around.
One of the saddest days of my life was having my 87 IROC-Z stolen and trashed after I got out of the Navy. It was my baby and I still think about her to this day 20+ years later.
As a current 3rd gen camaro owner i love this episode man. Im a classic car guy huge fan of the 70s and 80s from the music, clothing, movies, cars. 3rd gen camaros for me scream 80s badassery sure they didn’t push much hp but the beauty about engines is you can always push out more especially if you know what you’re doing
@@96lscpower18 hahah okay whatever helps you sleep at night i personally couldn’t sleep buying a POS modern car man tell me how do you get sleep 😂 i build high hp cars i don’t buy them 🤘🏽and classic cars don’t get destroyed with the smallest hit like modern cars man
@@1980sSinaloense I've owned lots of Camaros. Lots of second genes which are the best looking, 78 through 81. Much better build quality. I've owned 4 3rd gens total junk. 2nd and 4th gens are where it's at
@@1980sSinaloense yeah you’re full of shit pal, classic trucks may not get destroyed, classic cars may not look destroyed, but the lack of safety behind the body design etc is more than 2x as dangerous as any modern car today. I’m a classic car guy myself, 68 GTO Judge, 98 GMC, 94 F150, 89 Mustang 5.0, 95 Olds, 21 Dodge Ram, 22 Audi Q7 … Love my rides, but buddy I love new cars for a completely different reason, they’re usually more comfortable, I like the conveniences, and reliability really isn’t an issue if you know how to take care of a car lol sure basically doing anything under the hood is gonna take some time, but if you do it yourself why bitch? My new vehicles come with bumper to bumper 100k mile full drivetrain warranties 🥱 so IF anything was to happen, it’ll be free for 1 And 2 it won’t be that big a headache. Worst case scenario dealership gives me a new car.
I had bought new a 1987 Iroc 350 that April ,same grey pinstriping,but i had the grey BBS rims with the Alpine stereo, on September 25,1987 it was stolen on a friday night, only had 6500 miles and was found 2 weeks later stripped and trashed, Used the insurance money and bought a Left over1987 Buick Grand National that i have to this day 31,000 miles some engine bolt on's, stainless Corsa exhaust,not afraid to run against the Dodges and Mustangs stays garaged, never gonna sell and hope it doesn't get stolen too!! But i still miss my Roc, that car was Sweet!!
Had an '88 Black IROC-Z with black louvers and electric blue striping. Searched until I found a 5 speed manual. Came with a 5.0 305. After riding in my friend's 5.7 350TPI automatic, I wish I would've gone with the automatic. I knew I needed one when I saw Beverly Hills Cop 2 in the theaters.
Yes! I forget the name of the model that was out at the same time as the T/A - a little hotter - damn, what was it?? I believe they were available only '87 & '88, maybe '89 too... Firehawk!! That's it. Remember that one?
@@wilsixoneI think you are talking about the 87-89 GTA. They had gold BBS style wheels, GTA specific front fascia, rear deck spoiler, side skirts, badges, and had an awesome digital dash. So much fun! Only bummer was that you couldn't get T-Tops with the 350 like the IROC did. Lower rear-end gearing gave it a fender quicker than the IROC. So much Fun!
My favorite car. I know they are not the quickest etc etc. Ever since I was young, I just loved the styling. I.think they look better than ever next to today's rubbish.
The 1987 IROC Z28 black with red interior 5.0 automatic T tops was my first new car rite out of high school. It was the 80s and school is out but I had many speeding tickets and eventually traded it in. Memories made still my ALL time favorite car. If done rite LS motor tremic and suspension upgrades these are sweet when done!
I love this episode! Man has a 18 year old going to the dealership and they let me and buddy take it for a test drive. My God when I hit the gas tires spent and threw us back in the seat. I'll never forget that feeling!💪🏿💪🏿💪🏿
This was my dream car for many years. Since was a little boy. My dad had 2 of these the one cemented in my memory was his cocaine white 85 irocz with the mags black louvers and crimson read interior. These cars were it and the look is like no other
I owned a black 87' Camaro IROC-Z 5-speed manual, 5.0L 305ci with 215hp/295tq, 4.10gear and flow master mufflers, "chip tune" when I was in high school. I rarely had problems against most cars I encountered on the street, including fox 5.0's. Loved that car!!!
A friend was telling me his college buddie's parents had a Old Cadillac with the 500 ci V8, one night while cruising with a bunch of friends,they encountered a foxbox body Mustang with a 302 at a red light said when it turned green the big old beast just left the 302 in the dust
My step dad ran a long haul car transportation company as a sub for Reliable Transportation. He was contracted to Chevy, to haul thier cars from coast to coast, for about 10 years. In 1989 he ordered an IROC-Z, and according to him, because as far as Chevy was concerned, his company was under the same contract as the dealers, he was able to order the car with the L98, and the 1LE upgrades with the T-Tops, and the 5 speed. My memory is not great, but I think he said GM gave it a VIN # like anything else, but it was not classified as street legal(?). Being that he lived in Arizona, and they were beyond easy to get a permit for just about any vehicle back then, all he had to do was register it as a show car, and pay a little more for insurance. I might have the details wrong but I know one thing for sure, that car was a fucking beast. It would smoke the tires into 3rd gear, catch traction at about 50, and pin you into the seat past 100. Great car, until the belt adjuster seized up, tore the timing chain and balancer apart, and somehow bent the crank where they all met up. Fastest car I had ever been in (was 17 at the time), until I built my '71 396 camaro.
Mike you're awesome! You created my newest favorite saying rev it to 7 grand and see if we can launch a piston to the Goddamn moon..... then its a party!! 🤗 You gotta love that.😆😆
It would have been nice to keep a original TPI style set up. To me that is the main attraction of the 1985 and up L98. I was excited to hear classic industries reproduces the steering wheel. I could never find one for my 1988 IROC back in 2002. Sadly I sold her in 2005.
I bought one when I was 15 for $400. Same rod knock. Drove it around doing burnouts until it blew up lol. Took me forever to put a motor in it since it was my first time doing one. Eventually sold it to someone that said they were going to turn it into a circle track car
I’m a Ford guy!!! That being said if I saw a decent one for sale it would be mine!! Tho use wheels are probably the best looking factory wheels ever! Ideally I would take mine in white with custom grey graphics!
I acquired a 87 t top 5.7 with 28k original miles stored in heated garage for 33 yrs and not driven much from a friend who is in poor health. It's a time capsule in nearly flawless brand-new condition with some upgrades including headers exhaust ,linginfelter air intake 17 inch chrome rims with drag radials and a brand new d1sc procharger. I'm not a chevy guy but for 20k it was a offer I couldn't refuse and some relief for my friend to know I'm a lover of classic and all sports cars. I'm gonna do some upgraded to engine like mild cam and AFR heads and I would love the car a lot more if I did a manual conversion and wasn't sure where I'd get a good transmission till watching this video. Becoming a proud chevy owner and even more once I get this built into a dream car
I was watching your final drive video of this '87, which led me to watch this video. And I must say, it almost sounds like a clapped-out V6 got swapped into an IROC!
Thanks for the flashback . I drove from NY to PA back in 86, to get mine at Reedman Chevrolet. I was pissed af when the 350 came out just months after I got it n the trade-in was ridiculously low. I was still the sharpest mullethead on the boulevard. U know what else I did in 86??? Replaced two sets of Ttops n 2 steering columns!! Every thief in NY wanted to beat the shit out of one then go to the junkyard n get 500 bucks for the glass. I still know guys from the neighborhood that didn't even steal the car, they cruised the mall parking lot, got a few sets of ttops n cashed out for a weekend of titsnass....
Bought the same color/options new in 1989… sold it two years later as T-Tops would not stop leaking, dealer repaired it 4 times! Bought a trans am in 91 without T-tops, that was a great car, but the IROC was better looking!
Thank you for keeping it powered by a small block chevy. A fresh 350 with AFR heads and a big cam is good for 520hp on 91 octane so why fuss with a LS swap.
Ok guy, I was 23 in 87 and worked for Chevrolet. I had a 67 GTO, and would not trade it for any one of those cars on the show room floor. There was nothing better than a roadrunner, GTO, Chevelle
For nearly 35yrs I've been looking forward to bring out my '88 IROC out of storage each Spring. Sure, it's a 305, but the 5-speed, T-tops, handling, etc all add up to a fun experience. A few years ago I had to pull and rebuild the engine when material fell into it while scraping old gasket material because I wanted to do a valve job.
I had a 92 Camaro B4C police edition. It was by far my most favorite car I have ever owned. I kinda feel like its a big of a travesty to not use a TPI intake.
I owned a 1990 IROCZ in Medium Quasar blue metallic hard top with ABS & Driver's side airbag. 350ci, TPI, 4speed auto (700r4) 3.23:1 gears. And cornered like it was on rails, ran a bone stock 14.29@97mph. It flattened out about a little past the 1/8 mile. But it pulled 2.07 60ft and broke my front seat loose from the floor on the left front. You could 4 wheel controlled drift on ramps. No one I knew had a mullet, stupid stereotype. No one's car stayed stock for long. Bolt ons were cotton air filters, cut out bottoms on air boxes, 3.73 gears, governor springs, large tube intake runners, large blage throttle bodies, port matched gaskets, walbro 255Lph fuel pump, large gage fuel pump wires, tuner chips, headers, March pulleys, cams, valve springs, sticky Goodyear wide GSC tires, later short ram intakes etc. Leave the spoiler under the radiator in place or it will overheat.
I ran the first 2.5" dual exhaust I know of, where both pipes followed the factory routing as mine already came with dual cats. I tacked the pipes together like a double barrel shotgun back to the rear axle and hung a pair of high flow Corvette style mufflers behind the rear axle in factory tail pipe locations.
LOL, I had an 1986 Mustang LX with the GT options and it got to where the Irocs and TAs wouldn't race anymore. My car had zero options and I practiced my launch a lot at work behind the warehouse.
I'm building my 89 Camaro RS, (305 with 700R) In the spring, it's great to find this video, I will probably replicate the suspension & brake upgrades . I'm definitely doing a 5 speed conversation.
This makes me miss my '89 IROC. I do think you should be using the Edelbrock Pro-Flo XT system to retain at least a bit of the TPI look with the long intake plenum. All the other parts are spot on and I'm really looking forward to the rest of this build.
I had a 1982 Camaro pace car when I was in my 20’s. I have not thought about owning another 3rd gen Camaro since. But I would definitely like an early 1990’s IROC. I’d be cranking my Whitesnake,Def Leppard and Metallica. I’d probably would do without the T-Tops this time though.Rust..
First car was an 87 RS Camaro, second car was the 88 IROC-Z that I still have and drive on the original motor and trans 19 years later. Looking forward to this series. 👍
I recall buying a brand new 1989 IROC Z off the floor. Had the manual with the 305 TPI. Out the door about 16-17 Grand. it was red good ole F-Body Lots of memories ... ;) Back then I traded it for a twin turbo dodge stealth.
As soon as he turned the key to start it that thing screamed NEW ENGINE PLEASE, THANK YOU IN ADVANCE! IROC Z has been one of my dream cars since they launched but un-fortunately I have yet to own one, hopefully soon though...
You forgot to mention the Camaros cousin the Trans Am! I would borrow my dads 85 TA TPI. Loved that car plus they came w a nicer interior too. His was black w red/grey interior w the bose. Got my first speeding ticket in that car 😂
