The third generation Chevy Camaro isn’t just unloved…it is somehow still the whipping boy of the F-body run of Camaros. Nevermind the bottoming-out point in 1975. Nevermind the rubber-nosed second gens. Nevermind the hordes of V6 cars, or even the four-banger Camaros from the early 1980s…the third-gens, as a whole, are still considered the “king of the trailer park” mullet rides, and that’s actually a damn shame. Whereas the Mustang crowd forgave…and quickly forgot…the Mustang II’s sins and gave the Fox Body tons of love, the Camaro didn’t get near the same kind of respect. Which is kind of sad, when you look at it: The 305 soldiered on, the 350 returned for 1987, and by the end of the run in 1992 models such as the reborn Z28, 1LE and B4C police package were making names for themselves.
The other benefits of a third-gen F-body are there: it’s an aerodynamically clean 2+2 with roomy front seats (don’t ask about the backs, though), a spacious hatchback, and a base platform on which tons of aftermarket parts can be applied with minimal work involved. The hardest part about doing a third-gen F-car is finding one that hasn’t been beat into submission. Do that, shop wisely, put some thought and effort into the modifications and setup, and you will be rewarded with a street sweeper as nice as Mike Kamimoto’s 1989 IROC-Z. Did we mention “engine upgrades”? Did we need to?
I like the one featured in (IIRC) Super Chevy that was done by a girl from her 14th b-day to her 16th. Sure she had help, but (to me) that was the perfect 3rd gen – tastefully updated without loss of the original flare. Just like this one 🙂
“The hardest part about doing a third-gen F-car is finding one that hasn’t been beat into submission.”
That’s it in a nutshell. There are so few that aren’t in that condition. C4 Corvette suffer from the same.
This is one sweet IROC.
Say what you want but I get mullet car nearly Everytime I drive my third gen :/
Like the 3rd gen Camaro better than the 4th gen or 5th for that matter!
back seats are big enough, plenty of room there. just not for tall people cause they’ll hit they’re heads on the hatch glass.
The T-Tops off or on have no effects on the body flex. Not trnyig to start a long debate, but my 1985 IROC is about the best handling car of its time, better than the Vette of the same era. (I do recommend the strut tower brace). Mine is not stock, (Crate LT), and it handles all the torque smooth. If I was GM and had to make a change to the IROC, I would have killed the 700R for a T400, and put titanium door pins in the car. It’s one of the best Camaro’s ever built.
T-tops off or on does not have an effect on body flex. That’s because the seals of the glass absorb the chassis flex. The fact it has t-tops is what has the change in body flex. You cut out a vast section of the roof like that, you are making a change to the torsional rigidity of the chassis. That is precisely the reason I stayed away from a car with t-top cars for my build.