Hey guys, I'm headin to WyoTech in a couple months here, and I need a reliable car to get me from Oregon, to Pennsylvania, and then to school every day, and then back home after I'm done! So I've been looking around for gas savers like Geos, and Cavaliers and such, having only 1500 to deal with, I was actually able to find a 3rd gen Camaro that I kinda like, even though this is far from gas efficient, I wouldnt mind sacraficing an extra hundred or so in gas to get out there in 1)style 2) confidence knowing my car isnt gunna break down on me somewhere in the middle of Arkansas lol.

I've got some Q's about them though. What does IROC mean? LOL.

Is there anything in the 3rd gens that are the biggest trouble makers in these cars? like the opti-crap in the LT1's.

This is a link to the Camaro I'm thinking about purchasing.

I like the color of it, even though alot of people dont lol. the body condition is pretty good, I'm not too concerned about it looking too pretty, just reliably. Any advice on things I should check out when I go to inspect this car, would be GREAT!

Thanks for your time guys

 

IROC stands for: International Race Of Champions. It was basically a handling package on the 85-90 z-28 camaros. Nothing too special to look for that would be any different then looking at any other car. Others will chime in with their opinion too I'm sure. Good Luck! These cars are a BLAST to drive!!

 

The damn heater controll valve it never fails to break.

Look at the tires if the back are more worn then the front it gives you a pretty good idea how it was driven. Check for rust, sagging doors, ripped driver seat, holes in the carpet under the mat, LEAKING T-TOPS (big one and usually not easy to fix), what year is it? Check to see if it has a 350 or 305.

Irocs had a suspention package, same motor options as the z28, I think there was some pinstriping available, they came with hood lovers (the z might have too), differant rims. Typically they are a little more expensive then a similar z28.

 

If u were asking,thats not an IROC. It doesnt have the IROC wheels on it and I dont see it on the door,just if u were asking if it was.

looks kinda clean for 995,but it may have motor probs that they didnt talk about.

 

It's a 1986, regular Z-28 from what I've gathered now. How can i tell the difference between a 305, and a 350? Just the little VIN plate that has the motor type on it? lol. Thanks for the checklist on what to check out when I go to look at the car. This is exciting, buying a Camaro

 

Yup thats about it, the 8th number of the vin they look exactly the same.

 

Mine made a 400 mile trip without a problem
Who wants to bet I could get to cali and back without any problems?

 

FLYNLOW92rs I completely agree. I dont know how many miles it is, but from Oregon to Pennsylvania... that's a cross-country trip. Granted most of it will be highway miles, I still need to inspect the car. I'm out to look at it tommorow since I'll have the day off from work.... what type of general maintenance should I do to this car if i do decide to buy it on the spot?

Typically the only general maintenance I'll do is new plugs, wires, air filter, change the oil and filter... is there any trouble spots I should do some general maintenance on? It doesnt say if it's a manual or automatic, but tranny fluid change maybe? Differential fluid? I hardly ever change these fluids on the 1986 Toyota truck that I'm usin right now (but is my parents).

Since I want this car to go cross-country... I also want this car to get some better gas mileage for the trip (please dont flame me for buying a V8 and then asking for good gas mileage lol). What would be a good carbeurator for this application? I could find a performance carb pretty easy, but one to save gas I'm clueless on.

Many thanks for everyone who's helping me out here, I REALLY appreciate your help!

 

Mine made a 600 mile trip twice and a 300 mile trip. Its also a V6 FWIW.

 

Checking the vin number, the car appears to have a LB9 305 which is the tpi version (fuel injected not carb'd). If the car runs good and has no rust(exterior & floorpans)/major body damage, I'd probably buy it. Maybe offer them $800 cash and see it they bite on that. Make sure that the transmission shifts good and there's no hesitation with the engine. Aside from that, it's judgement call on your part. I would also run a quick carfax to be sure it was never totaled and rebuilt.


Good-Luck

 

ok, thanks for the info! Good to know it's FI, I would have been baffled for a moment once I had them pop the hood lol.

When I check the car I'm going to check for the following:

Tire wear (see how the car has been driven, and how the alignment is)

Body dings/dents... possible collision repairs that were done badly...

I dont know how these cars pull, but it sounds like they're very torquey at low end, so I'll give 'er a test drive and make sure it's not hesitating.

The interior I can fix, I'm good with cloth and needles, so I wont really care, as long as the seats still work lol.

Also making sure the gauges all work.

Body rust

lights


I'm going to try to talk them down to 800, in cash (writing a check is considered cash right?)... I dont care if I have to go to the full 1000, but I only have 1600 to spend on a car and I dont want to have to spent he other 600 fixing it up to work reliably lol.

The other 600 I was gunna use to get me to PA and around until I grab a job over there btw.

 

i would offer them 500, they where asking 4000 for my iroc, (u can look at it at websites) and i got it for 1600, u have to know how to work these people down, im certian u can get it for 500 bucks

 

I'm fairly sure that's how much someone traded it in for heh. I was gunna offer them 600 and see where I can go from there, just cuz I'm a nice guy

 

Thanks! That's exactly what I wanted to know heheh. I'll try to look out for a 160 degree t-stat for it, and replace the radiator hoses asap. How reliable are the water pumps on these cars? (I've seen the car, it looks to be in decent shape, wont really know what is truely wrong with it until I get it out there).

Can I get a manual fan switch or something to turn on the fans when I want to, instead of waiting for the PCM to tell it to at like 235 degrees or whenever?

 

You should check out thirdgen.org. More specifically, here. That's a link to their faq section. It'll answer most questions you have. When you're done there, check this out. That's a link to their tech articles. Once you read the faq, you'll need to know how to do stuff

Good-Luck