Kevman

I'm 17, and I love the body style of the 3rd gen birds/camaro's. My brother had an 89 Iroc, which is acually why I bought my firebird, because I liked that car so much. Mine was alot cheaper, 1500$, but it was exactly what I was looking for, for insurance purposes... Should be a fun car when I get enough dough to put her on the road, which is exactly 130$... And the spare time of putting on the O2 sensor..

VenomX-87

ok it started Sep 1st 2005 i was 18 and i was looking at saving up around $10,000 and getting a Comodore (Holden) V8 and trying to get some power out of it to have a bit of fun. My dad came up to me and said "why do you want to waist that kind of money on a car that wont be worth S#!t in 5 years when one of my mates has a 84 T.A siting in his shed that he dosent use anymore".
At this point i had never heard of a 3rd Gen before I was expecting a 2nd Gen T.A when i walked inside the dark shed and i see this sleak bodyline, the two vents in the front bumper and these little evil eye looking blinkers/parking lights. Im thinking WTF this aint a T.A but it looks wicked! then i saw the PONTIAC badge on the RHS head light, yeah thats it!
He said to me he needed it gone by the end of the month (about a week and a half away) i went to a heap of banks and no one would give a 18y/o on $11p/h and only working part time a $10,000 loan so after a week of looking i went up to him and said "no one will give me a loan can i give you $200 p/w and pay the car off" he replyed "if you have a safe place to put it while you pay it off its youres". WICKED!

Now to be honest leading up to when i saw this car i thought the 67 to 69 camaro/firebird were the best cars ever made, But that was before i ever saw a thirdgen now i don't care what came before or what comes after the Thirdgen is the best looking car i have ever seen.

Purple 92 SS

Great stories.. Im glad to see that the Austrailian Heart beats Thirdgen as well. Lets keep this thread alive.. these stories only make me wanna work on my Thirdgens more and more!!!

turbochargedrs

Im 18 and I've always liked to go fast in cars and I've always liked muscle cars so when it was time for me to finally get a car this summer I was set on getting a good looking car and i wanted to try to get an fbody because my firends brother had a forth gen t/a and i really like it. i just got lucky driving home from my friends one day and found my car sitting in someones driveway with a for sale sign on it. It wasnt in poor condition it just needed a paint job and a tune up and it wasnt expensive(2000 asking). I managed to get my parents to look at it because it was auto and my mom didnt want to learn to drive stick in case she needed my car for something and it was a V8 so my dad figured i wouldnt do 150 on the highway and i wouldnt have to pay a rediculous amount for gas each week. We talked her down to 1700 and then the car was mine. I then totalled my baby with some bald tires on sand in a turn. I was devestated when i heard i would need a new car so imediately i started looking for thrid gens only and was about to buy a formula when i heard they could fix mine for another 1700 over the insurance check. So i got my car fixed and repainted and now shes back in the shop because some kid with no license backed into me in a movie theater parking lot. I'm getting the dent fixed and while its getting the paint touched up im having the body shop give me two 10inch white racing stripes set 8inches apart. Its well worth 350 to get some painted stripes to enhance the beauty of a third gen camaro.

Ever since i got mine ive been in love with fbodies and I will never sell mine. I actually want to acumulate one of every generation including the soon to come fifth gen.

87CamaroDude

I found my car on an ad site for $1200. I went to look at it and he accepted $1000 instead of $1200. The exhaust needs repair, the windsheild and some other things but its a nice car and worth it with a 5 speed. EDIT: oh and I decided to buy a third gen because thier the best looking out of all the camaros.

toxik IROC

iTrader: (12)

one night i was being driven on the highway abit after dusk to my hockey practace,we were in the center lane and all of a sudden i rear a roar of sumthing not knowing what it was looking around i see this dark iroc camaro which ws extreemly lound coming up super fast on the right, all of a sudden he punches it even faster jets over in front of us and then into the left lane and was gone. from that point i was obseesed. this was 6 years ago i swore that i would have one by 12th grade.. then i went on the long quest for looking for one looked on ebay, pappers, auto trader, knocking on ppls doors that had em i had no luck. i wasv looking at a 10 second monte carlo ss 88 wich was like 10 mins from my house and my dad co worker came with him to chek it out and he was like this has more power than the viper{ we had a viper for abit dude to the fact my dad sells xcar and now i doo too. but anways his co worker was like dont let him get anythig that fast! i was pissed cuz i would be paying for it and it was etreemly cheap for wat it was i found a camaro and my dad said no to that cuz it was a 5.7 350 compeetly stock so he told me to look for somethign eles so i did after saying NO to
87& 88 monte carlos aero coupe and ss
70 sunthin 454 el cameno
75 stingray corvette
all rat rods
68 ford fairline{ think that wat is called}
88 toyota cellica all trac tubo

i was pissed and gave up for a while lookin at stuff on ebay one day i come across it on ebay loooks good to me paint on no acidents scratched up abit , not that many flaws....that the pics showed egine had 125xxx miles on it and auto trans

i bought it front kentukey on the way home it rainedlike mad monkeys weilding m14's. the stupi ppl at the dealership forgot put the windows up and close the ttop so when i got it interor was soaked. anyways after fixin up a it i realize they stole the rear speakers and the camaro flashlight and the head unit.
afew months later i blew the trans out. and got it fixed was gona go to cruzing last yr but i blew the radiator a mile from my house. now i blew my alt and batt.

i got alot of umi parts on the way ,soon to be koni's springs,brakes

doing safty b4 speed and now my car is covered for the winter while i clean my house and garge so i can fit my car in...[i have a jew garage....full of **** that never gets cleaned and its pissin me off cuz i can have my car in ther
1987 iroc camaro 5.7 t-top mostly every option but leather}
anyways thats my story

dacriz

Nearly bought an '89 GTA back in 1990 as a young soldier serving in Germany.
£8000 price no problem...Tax free fuel..Bargain!!! ...£1700 insurance for a young 23yo...err..show-stopper!
Always regretted that decision.

Saw an identical Flame Red GTA on Ebay back in September 06 & decided to make amends. Has taken months but registering it tomorrow. On the road here 1st Feb.

The 100 miles from port to specialist (service & lighting changes) to home were brilliant.

What a great decision !!!

My other vehicle's an MD902 Explorer... The Trans Am gives me the biggest smile!

ZONES89RS

iTrader: (2)

These cars are my addiction, i love the lines of the body, the stance, and the over all feel of sitting in the driver seat, i would choose one of these over any car in the world, with the exception for getting a more expensive car to sell it and buy a third.

Phyte

In 93(sophmore in HS) I bought a nice 85 Z28. I have LOTS of memories in that car. Since then I've really loved the body style, and I consider it "my" car. I've owned 4 so far, 85 Z28, 86 base camaro, 91 Z28, and now a 92 Z28. Clean thirdgen's are hard to beat in the looks category.

Phyte

Gramps

iTrader: (1)

i just graduated from highschool and got a good job, and was lookin for a car that needed work so i could learn and earn. and the first car i saw was the camaro i have now, and i bought it and never looked back. its been a love/hate relationship but this summer im gonna take it off the road and strip it down to the unibody and build up from there. in the meantime i gotta look for another camaro to drive because the camaro now is my daily driver.

Screamin86

iTrader: (1)

i guess it runs in my family too my mom had a 73 camaro back in the day and then a 77 when i was born and sold it because of me then as i got older my uncle would show me nightrider episodes and we would watch smokie and the bandit then when he got a 92 bird 3.1 auto i feel in love and it was going to be mine but unfortunately he sold it and had a few diff cars/ and trucks and now he has a 02 t/a. anyway eversince the 92 he had i was hooked on getting a thirdgen bird and right before i got my permit a friend of mine spotted a 86 trans am witch would be mine about a month later. i picked it up for $1700 with 204,4xxmiles on it but interior and body were in very nice condition and was kept up well since the previous owner collected cars and b4 him was an older lady. that summer i had so many memories made with that car and that was 3years ago i drove it for almost a year no problems at all till one night i came home and motor died...but since its been pulled apart bit by bit and everything is being completely redone and will hopefully be done by this comming up summer and i plan to always keep this car. i also have a 98 camaro that is my daily driver and am looking for either a 98+ 6spd t/a or 88-92 tpi 5spd birdy.

david068513

iTrader: (2)

ok well i had wanted a old sixies muscle or ealry 70's car. i wanted a nova or camaro but they are so expensive. im only 15 and i had been saveing for a long time. i was going to look at a 72 nova when my dad called and said a family friend in FL wants to sell his 92 z28. i said it was to new and it wasnt a muscle car but i would look anyway. he sent me pictures and i liked it it was nice. i decided to go to FL to get it. i heard the vortec 350 start an fell in love with the sound. i liked it when i got and it grew even more on me. also it is a muscle car with that sound and the lines it got muscle. i have been in love with them ever since and dont even care about the other cars old or new only third gen now

The Project

iTrader: (6)

Came to Canada from across the pond in '93. Never knew what a Camaro was. Was in a store that specializes in car apparel and models, etc. I saw this soft cover book titled "Camaro Performance Handbook". On the front was a blue 91 Z with 17" rims, med blue paint and tinted windows. Car looked amazing.

I was hooked. Bought the book and went looking for a Camaro. Saw an ad in the paper. 89 RS dark red with black interior. Knew nothing about the car or engines. Thought a V8 was a V8 (wrong). It came with a TBI. Later found out the TPI was better. Also 350 beter than 305.........anyway.....

Painted the car blue, added 91 gfx and IROC hood. Started to do her up.

Car turned into a $ 50,000 show car. Could run the quarter in 10.87 sec and was an IASCA champion. Sold the car to buy a house.

Car was stoled from the new owner and stripped (gutted). Bought the car or what was left for $100. Now just gonna rebuild the car and enjoy driving it. Will pass the car onto my son when he gets older. Got 10 more years to enjoy before the kid learns to drive..................

That's my story................and I'm sticking to it....................

sprtbikeprinces

From a womans perspective, you cant get any hotter than third gen sex appeal and third gen rumble. All around they are SICK as Hell.

Bullydawg

iTrader: (7)

Back in 2001, I was 10 years old and at soccer practice. My dad comes in an 88 firebird he had been talking about. Well, my sister and I run to go check it out and end up locking the door which my dad left in the car. He ended up breaking the ignition key in the lock. That is where it all began.

As time went on, My love for muscle cars grew. I remember watching him work on it and race it around. I was hooked. At the age of 15, I started looking at car with some money which I could get from selling my Gas powered R/C cars. I had decided that I wanted an old muscle car because it's value was going up and I loved the looks of them.

I ended up with a 1970 Lemans I bought for $550 from a salvage yard. It ended up to hard to get parts for and it needed to much work and my dad had been talking about sell the formula for around a year. So I sold my Lemans for $1200 and my dad said I could get the money my aunt left me when she passed away.

So I had $3700 and was going to look at some 1968 Lemans because they were in better condition and easier to get parts for. They were in Sacramento and I was about 1.5 hours away and wanted to look at them both on the same day so I wouldn't have to make 2 trips. I ended up not being able to get ahold of one guy and got angry and told my dad I would take the formula.

We got it smogged and everything. I bought it around 12-18-06. 1 month before my birthday. I am glad I bought it because it has alot of sentimental value to me as it got me hooked into muscle cars and I have alot of memories in it.

ishada

I have spent the last like 6-9 years driving an 82 firebird. I learned to drive in that car, spun my first donut, performed my first oil change. For being my moms car I fell in love. I decided if I could ever find one I would buy it, so happened when I moved back into northern nevada one of my old friends was trying to sell his 91 rs for 2500, I joked and said I am gonna buy this car from you for a grand, he laughed and made jokes. A year later he was still trying to get rid of it. I ended up right, so here we are interior is above average for these 1000 dollars on mine. I guess I just like thirdgens because they are fun to drive. I didnt want blinding speed high hp, just fun to drive. Now I want about 300hp and a t56 but thats a story for another time.

f_body_4_life

First of all I live in a small town born and raised I grew up on the streets screwing around on my bmx bike raising all sorts of hell I used to go ever to this kids house that had crazy jumps built up in his back yard the kid got older and got his first car an 86 firebird with a built 355 him and his older brother built for the car. Anyway one day I’m over there the kid asks me to go for a ride after that I was sold I never had a second thought about what a wanted for a first car.


about 2 years past and I started looking for a project car I was about 14 at the time every firebird in the area was rusted to hell nothing worth taking a second look at so I got on the TGO forums and took a look at the classifieds and found an old beat up 88 formula with and l03 I told my parents it only has 170hp so they were sold on the idea. I had the money saved up from a few summers of slaving over a lawnmower.

So about a week later it was sitting in my driveway was it pretty? No, Fast? Not really but I could see what kind of potential it had and went on Dreaming of what it Could be. I spent the first summer taking care of the loose ends on the mechanical side of thing and driving it around every Sunday with my dad in the passengers seat August came around the thing was still very ugly and in need of some body work.


so I stopped out at a local body shop in town to get an estimate for a Paint job the Owner said $3000 Take it or leave it I only had about 1/3 Of that saved up How the heck is a 14 year old supposed to afford that? so I kept looking I found I new body shop on the edge of Town I didn’t even know existed It had only about been around for a year or so.
So I went out there and talked to the owner about getting some work done. But He just said Bring it out here and all help you learn some body work. Damn I was exited the next Saturday was spent sanding the hood/doors with a DA I spent many more Saturdays to come working out there.

The Rest was history 8 months later and $1500 in Parts/materials later the car looked damn good and it was something I was proud of. I got it finished in April and got my license on October 1st 06 it feels good to enjoy what I worked so damn hard for.

MY87LT

iTrader: (2)

When I was rebuilding my 78 Nova, I came across a book that mentioned a Camaro LT. This totally got my attention as I really didn't wan't to get a Berlinetta or IROC. So for me the LT was like a good middle ground. Found one at a Chevy dealership in the same color combination and options that I was looking for. So bye bye Nova and hello LT. Loved my car ever since.

Jonboy2312

Well, I was born in 1980 in Europe - that means I grew up in the years of the greatest fascination with the US and the American movies. Knight Rider and some cartoons such as M.A.S.K (one of the characters drove a red 82-84 Z28) and Turbo Teen (a generic 3rd gen f-body... a "camabird"?) were right in the middle of it. Not to mention the customized T/A from the 1985 laserdisc arcade game Road Blaster...

I'm very, very nostalgic about the 80's... And to me, 3rd gens are the #1 80's icon. I just HAD to get one after moving to Canada... I was so torn deciding between that red 87 firebird (I think it was $1200) and that $1000 white camaro SC. The Camaro was the first car I went to see (in the middle of winter). I promised my wife to show her pictures and consult her before buying anything. So on that day I showed her the pictures first... and then the keys right after

The 'bird was in a much better shape, no doubt, but the gray interior turned me away (after living in Europe, i was utterly fed up with those gray or black interiors everywhere...). And it was just a hardtop... The Camaro, while being a hopeless rust bicket, had a t-top and a red interior... I knew from the first moment I saw it that I wanted it. Regardless of all the rust, regardless of the PAINTBRUSH paintjob... regardless of the disintegrating rocker panels, missing chunk of a quarter panel, missing bits and pieces inside, warped discs, dreadful wheel alignment, massive exhaust leak... Even though the car ate up about 7K now (and is about to eat up 3 more due to the upcoming final paintjob), I don't regret that decision at all.

Yes, I know I bought and repaired a car 99% of people would just part out or scrap instantly without ever considering restoring that heap of iron oxide. Oh well, I guess I'm a nutcase. But I really wanted to save that car

popballz

iTrader: (-1)

well i got stuck with this hunk of garbage when i got my license....



well, ok, its not a "hunk of garbage" its the best car ever!

so my dad needed a car and my neighbor was selling this car.... so my dad bought it, drove it for a while, it got stolen, about 3-4 months later, this guy calls up and said "get your **** out of my yard". so the ppl that stole it busted a hole in the oil pan and dumped it in some guys yard

it sat for a year or so, we did not have any keys for it, well my sister found a key, so we fixed the oil pan and my dad drove it for a while again,



my dad decided to get a different car for comfort and better on gas

when i got my drivers license it was just sitting in our drive way, so i drove it


and basically, i am very happy about that because its the most awesome car ever created!

85 roc it

I got mine becasue all of my friend in high school had one. There were 6 of us that all had IROC's and my brither had a GTA. Well I have had my for 14 years, my brother for 15 years, and another frined has had his for 15 years, the other guys got rid of theirs, now they regret it. As for me, I am now on my 3rd, just bought it this month. Sold another 87 2 years, wish I didn't sell that one.

gp90gta

iTrader: (1)

Well im a car nut so i love all types of cars,but when i was 19 i had a white 87 pontiac gta and i love it.I also had a 86 cutlass supreme and 89 yellow camaro,The cutlass was my work car and my camaro was my track car but the gta was my pick up girls car.No im not rich but like i said i love cars, especially american muscle cars and at 19 i just couldn't afford an older classic like a 69 camaro that i wanted.Anyway ive had other cars too but let me get to why i love my f-body gta.I think for me its the first real modern american sports car for the every day average person, Its one of the best aerodynamic cars ever made by america,Low center of gravity and it handles extremely well for its age.So its a great platform to start with plus you can fit just about any engine in it.

Im now 33 and for last four years of my life things where going really bad for me and i almost couldn't care less about cars.Well i work as automotive techhnician for honda since the age of 18 but worked in a small repair shop from the age of 15.Four years ago i had cancer and was sick for two years,Im now fine thank god, but the hardest part of those four years was that a year after my father was diagnose with pancreatic cancer and died within 10 months.

I went to greece to berry my father.I had not been to there for 12 years and was shocked to see that street racing was so big there in my town ,some of my cousins where so in to it,they though i was some type guru becuase of my father telling them stories about my race cars.They wanted to see some pics of my cars,when they saw my gta they were like thats a 1987 car!!! it looks like a modern day car.I realized it did look like a car that could have rolled of gm's new line.It brought back so many memorys of me and my father working on it and how i loved that car.

Six months ago i desited to hunt down a gta.My girl was alittle upset becuase i think she wants to get married...lol.But i told her that before i die i have to have a gta and dont ever ask me to sell it becuase if we do get married im going to give this car to my kid,When he or she can drive.So i flew from new york to seatle washington to pick up my new car and let me tell you i love this car,it make me so happy to drive it,all i can do is smile when im in it.

Thats my story and i apologize if my story is all over the place.Im not the best typer,speller or story writer.And thats the short version lol!!! I hope everyone here sticks to there thirdgen i know i will

-Thanks

StevenB L98/LS1

Well it started in 1998 when i was only 9, and my friends dad had a mint garage stored 1992 Trans Am, and its something that i will never be able to explain other than a fairy tale, It was love at first sight. I dont know what it was at first i was automatically hooked, i couldnt get enough at looking at that sexy thing. When i was 11 i got my first ride in it, and i nearly melted lol, it was the most amazing and coolest thing in the world to me. It wasnt until i was 13 i found out my uncle had an 88 iroc with 6k original miles on it, that just help me grow more attached to the third gen. When i got the 89 formula (hince) my name, it was the lo3 5 speed with only 53k original miles on it. It had an exhaust system on it, it was loud and loved to bark when u dumped the clutch lol. But the engine soon went to crap, engine was taken out, sold the car as the body and tires and rims to a friend, and then i was obsessed and going nuts if i didnt find another third gen. One local ad in craigslist a guy that orginally graduated from my school 2 years earlier was selling his 91 T/A with 69 k miles on it and the 350 TPI which was rare to even have where i live and at $4500 that baby was mine. I knew the car needed little engine work, as to finally after 3 months was able to fix the idle and get new rear tires on it, new starter WHICH WAS NOT FUN! Car has the dual cats which made taking the starter out suck. Ive done so much to the car as investing in getting it running perfect again and im proud of my hard work so far ive done to the car. My heart is mainly toward camaro, but the Trans Am was always something more to me. I think the only way ill get by is owning a third gen for the rest of my life lol.

firebird904

I decided to buy one because my dad has an 88 camaro and he's had it since new and there was a 1990 pontiac firebird that had been sitting in my yard for 5 years and i bought it off my dad and brought her back to life this is my first car and i love it.

FormulaL98

At the time, I had my 72 nova which has a nasty 13:1 solid cam 350/ 4spd set up with 4.56 gears so I begane to look for a car that was a little more drivable. I wanted something that drove nice to the track and bracket race during the weeknight races. It's mainly my driver/ gradual restoration project now and lives most of its life hangin out in my garage. She currently has 61k miles.

greatpumpkin_68

when i was just starting high school my mom bought an 84 z28. my step dad, being the car guy that he was, had that car in tip top shape mechanically... and talk about clean. anyway... i had a '72 nova (hugger orange, 2 door) as my first car and i blew the engine up one night... so while i was working on getting my car back on the road i would borrow my moms car when i could to go cruising and do my daily routine. i love the way the car sounded and the feeling of driving it. being so low.. it was just cool. and the t-tops ruled in the summer time. today i have a '68 nova (hugger orange, 2 door) that is my daily driver. i am currently building an 87 iroc and when my daughter gets old enough to drive, the nova will be her first car and the camaro is mine.

10secondhopeful

My first car was a 1997 dodge avenger that i worked my azz off for to get. after a while i decided i wanted a camaro, i didn't care what year. i sold the avenger for a measly 2700 (could have gotten more), and found a 95 v6 3.4l. i almost bought it but my mom called saying she found a older black camaro that was a z28 and nice looking. so i rushed over there,

it was a '84 z28 painted black and orange, it had minor damage to the bumper and left front end (easy fixes). it ran but not well, it had a 350, but needed a carb and work. other than that it was in great condition, t-tops, orange and black interior, kenwood sterio. so i bought it for 1700 and dumped 500 into it for a new carb, fan, fluids, and plugs and wires. then i had my windows busted out , luckily i fixed the passenger and driver window cheap from part cars, the windsheild was alot though, and they didn't touch my ttops or back window thank god. then my camshaft intake lobes on 4 and 6 got stripped some how? replaced it with a edelbrock camshaft and lifters, then had a vaccum leak, then i blew the tranny. all fixed now (though i have fluid leaks from the tranny coolant lines and speedo, fixing today btw ).

many times i just wanted to drive it off a cliff, but i love it now and don't think i could ever get rid of it! i love the body style, especially the windows and ttops! no replacement for displacement

I bought the car when i was 16, i'm currently 17 and a senior in highschool, i do all my own work on the camaro! its a highschool dream

I H8 WWD

iTrader: (5)

I love these story telling threads.

I decided to buy my camaro because I was an 18yo punkass who wanted V8 power.

So I bought it and still have it to this day...of course, it hasnt run since I bought it (being a punkass you think tearing apart everything is helping), but she is still a memory of my punkass decision(s).

Hope to have her out this 09' Summer. Sometime around July.

Louis_84

u no i fist started to love muscle cars a couple of years ago. I origanally wanted a 05 mustang. but being 16 at the time, there was no way i could ever afford one. and one day, last sept. my teacher told me that her son in law was selling a camaro. so i started to research thirdgens, which is when i came acrosse this site. and my uncle bought the camaro for me, and i just recentally paid him back. So i got the car last sept. and in quickly went into winter, so now im waiting for spring to come so i can drive it every day. and im 18 now

bsporty

Well always been obsessed with cars,trucks, bikes.When I was like 10 my moms friends son bought a Z28 brand new!He took me for a ride in it and from then on I was hooked!I knew he got home from work around 5 and I would watch for him to drive by.Also, I grew up with no dad.I did however have an older friend Matty that treated me like I was his daughter.Met him when I was 15 thru another friend.He is a mechanic.I started hangin around him all the time helpin him wrench on stuff and I learned alot.He took me for a ride in his 87 Iroc.It had a 350 in it and it was just crazy fast.I loved everything about the car!The look,the sound, the SPEED!!!! Been wanting one for a while and I am so happy to finally have one!
He ALWAYS had 3rd gens and still has 2 today!His rs is his daily driver and he has another Iroc that he is getting ready for the track.
He inspired my whole car crazyness.
A lady is never supposed to tell her age but Im not exactly very lady like anyways!Im 30!Ugh.

AE Twitch

I didn't read any of the previous post, sorry cooking dinner and don't feel like reading. I wanted the 25th Anniversary Camaro ever since the first Gran Turismo came out on playstation...If you won all gold trophies on your license and won first place in a certain race you got a 25th Ann. Camaro, White with red ralley stripes. I thought that was the coolest car ever. I had one kinda fall into my lab when I turned 18, I blew up my 91 Mazda Protege (thank god, it only had 210,000 miles on it) and my boss was selling her car. It so happens that her car was the exact car I wanted since that damn game. She bought it brand new from a dealer right down the street from where I grew up (Baltimore, Md, I was in Dallas, Tx at the time). It had 82,xxx miles on it and she even had the orignal widow sticker with it. I got my hands on it and wrecked it a week later. I still have the car 6 years later and she has 135,xxx miles. The picture in the sig was taken about a year ago.

racerx520

iTrader: (1)

I, like AE Twitch, havent read many of the above posts but for me, i always wanted a thirdgen camaro...people would look at me like "why? thats an ugly car!" my dad thought 'theyre a decent car...but theyre a pain in the *** compared to earlier camaros, between rattles and ride and just working on them' but that didnt deter me from my love of the thirdgens.

when i turned 17 igot my bro's old 91 nissan stanza (a little nicer version of nissan's sentra) and i had to dump money into it cuz he drove it like a moron. when i was almost 18 iwent looking for a new car to drive, i saw this nice car, it was a 88 camaro (thought it was a z28 but it was only an LS with ground effects on it) it also had a hawks hi-rise spoiler i think its called, racing rims and in white. we looked at it, the guy was asking 3800 and it had a 305 carb'd engine, tires were all worn, and the smog lines to the manifolds were leaking. not to mention the guy said that the car had 105k miles on it, even though the odometer said 95k so it was kinda odd and we didnt trust him much. we declined the purchase of the car.

then lo and behold i saw a blue and gray 87 trans am, the guy wanted 1800 for it, it was in good condition too. 91k miles and so i called the guy, got him down only to 1700 and took it. the guy was nice, second owner, none of whom were kids, all of whom wanted the car as a nice weekend car to just drive around, but with them both, they didnt use the car enough to warrant keeping it.

i sold my nissan eventually for 1900 so i made a profit. i still love my thirdgen, and even throughout the times of 'restoring it' people still ask me "why? why would you bother working on a 87 trans am????" i tell them every time? why not? people work on 91 honda civics and people think those are cool? this thing can beat the pants off a civic, man!

i thought of getting rid of it a while ago, but wheni looked up the value i was appauled and decided to keep it, thats when i started working on it. my father kept by me and told me 'ya know, i remember when 69 camaro's were just thrown in the junkyard when people were done with them, now people who find one in the junkyard will restore it, same as with your car, so im sure it'll start being worthmore money soon!'

but as i kept working on it, i realized that i wasnt working on it for the cars value anymore, i was working on it for myown reasons, to have a real nice thirdgen, and soon, im gonna be working on a motor that will hopefully make this thing beat the pants off almost anythign i come up on.

Kwijybow

I've always loved the body style of third gens. I remember being about 10 years old seeing them driving around town and I would always stop and watch it go by. My mom hated that but she knew I would have one some day. So I'm sitting my bedroom with a window view of a major road going by my house and I see a black camaro pull up and park outside my window, on the gravel shoulder of the road. The owner gets out of the car, puts a "For Sale" sign on it, locks it and walks away! I was like "OMG!" and I rushed outside to check it out. I caught the owner and his wife had been the original owner of the car! They were asking $5500 CND for it, which was more than I had available at the time (I was working part time) so I had to sit in my room and watch other people check it out and it eventually sold. What I didnt realize was that it sold to my NEIGHBOR! I was jelous of him for that whole summer as he drove it to work and back. Next summer, same scenario again...sitting in my room, look out the window and the same car is parked in the same spot for sale again! I was like "what the ****?!?!". I go talk to the neighbor and it turns out he was originally planning to pimp it out but decided against it and wanted rid of it quick to buy a new car. I talked to him about it every day for about 2 weeks and he started to realize how much I love these cars. Next thing I know, he tells me if I get the cash by the end of the week, he'll sell it to me for $3000 CND! Lets just say I was at the bank for a loan the next day and the car is now mine. Yes, the car needed work but I'm totally happy I bought it. I don't see myself ever selling it now.

Rich2279

iTrader: (7)

I just love the 3rd gen body style.

STRIKER911

iTrader: (1)

I am on my 4th 3rd gen car. Love them cause the price; that's it. The best one I ever had was a 87 gta 5 speed car. Didnt have it long. The dealer rebuilt the lt1 350, but didnt put a new clutch in it. I sent that one back to the dealer. Wish I would have kept it since I now have a slow as s stock lo3 with a 700r4 . I wrecked another one, blew up the fourth one. Honest i would rather have a mustang.

1991_305RS

I always wanted a fast cool looking car, so shortly after getting my license I saved up some money and looked at a few 2nd gen camaros, both of them had just been beaten to ****, and it seemed impossible to find a decent 2nd gen in my price range. So one mourning just after coming home from work, i see this 1991 RS just as it was being put up for sale. So I go and get one of my buddies to come with me to look at it and it turns out that he knows the owner, and I end up getting it for half the asking price! The car needs some work, but im happy doing it. I wouldn't want any other car.
That was last September, and im 17.

kwijybow,
Im also form victoria and I remember seeing that car for sale when I was looking for a thirdgen, but never actually went and looked at it. Small world huh?

mister_hudson

iTrader: (3)

WOW! Six year old thread - still going strong! Figured I should add my ...

I grew up in the 80's and like so many of you "Knight Rider" and "Dukes of Hazard" started grooming me early for my love of American Muscle Cars. When I was about 18 I had blown up my frist ride, an early 90's Grand Prix and was in the market for something that I would be happy with. Having landed a good job I was finally ready to make the purchase, didn't need approval from anyone - this was MY money and my car!

Spent weeks driving around town trying to find the perfect ride... One morning on the way to work I saw her! A bright red '92 Z28 Convertible - parked on the corner of the lot with a BIG sticker screaming V8! I had to have it - I stopped in took her for a quick spin and fell in love with the low rumble and streamlined look... A few years go by and with the insurance payments exceeding the car payment ( speeding tickets) it was just too much to hold on to so I had to give her up...

About 10 years later (now 30 years young) I'm a little more mature and in a much better position but still really wishing I still had her... I've been looking for years for the right one, it seemed like my search was not going to pay off and I would have to give up on her one more time - then I found it, right here on TGO & with less miles than the first one! Had to drive 36 hours round trip to pick her up, on my deployment R&R (and on the morning of my wedding anniversary - thanks Baby) but she is worth it and everything I remember. I can't wait to get back to the states and begin the restoration/ customization on her!

Special thanks to "jer4251" for working with me on the deal and bringing us back together once again! I'm not going to let this one get away!

06Busa

I saw a pic of the 93 Camaro and imediatly went on the hunt for a New 91 or 92 Z-28.

Rich2279

iTrader: (7)

Have you owned a Mustang? The parts availability on them is unreal. Summit's Mustang section is much larger than Chevy's TPI/LT1/LS1 section.

tony_cogliandro

iTrader: (3)

i bought a first when they were new. a 2nd when they were new. a 3rd when they were new. hated the 4th - did not buy it.
all in all have had 7 camaro's. ok only 6 - one was a fb.
love the car. still driving and building out the 90 i bought wife in 90.
sold my 91 to buy a blazer - in 96. worst decision i ever made about cars in my entire life.
that is why i still have a camaro - I LOVE THEM!

STRIKER911

iTrader: (1)

Ya I had a 86 gt 5 speed. I am severely disappointed that my 89 with a 305 (bigger motor then the stang) is so much slower. I gave the stang to my dad for his b-day about five years ago, so its still in the family. Wanted to buy a Camaro back then but it was sold, & the stang was hott, so I bought it.

I have come to realize that the 305 should just be pulled for a 6.0. I hope to get started on that in the next two years. Till then I guess I will have to try to enjoy my auto 305 with 3k miles on it. Might as well take my time since its new. Wish the guy that had it before me had done something better then rebuilding the 305. Dude paid big money too. Could have atleast went with a 350 swap.

Dany89

My dad bought an 87 firbird when i was about 13 or 14 i really like the car and the style, i alwayes liked muscle cars but the mustang seemed like everyone owned one so i wated someting diffrent and better. when i turned 16 and got my license he gave it to me it had the 2.8 5 speed it ran great, made a some upgrades but i wamted a V8 so a friend sold me his 87 GTA for $400 since it owed like $300 in fees to the dmv. i really like the 4th gens as well i would love to own a 2002 collectors edition in yellow

Convoy25

iTrader: (3)

well there was an 81 sitting down the street. i thought 2nd gens were so friggin sweet (still do) turns out that it was a piece of junk, far beyond my ability and wallet.
so a lil while later my neighbor who works at a shop was telling me of a camaro there. i instantly thought 2nd gen.
i get there and find out its an 84. i wasnt to thrilled with it. the passenger side was pretty beat, interior was crap and flaking. had some problems under the hood and the front end needed to be realigned. was for 500 bucks so i bought it. the car grew on me and i'll never get rid of her.

C.M.Jones

I come from a very automotive-oriented family. My mom had a 64 Fury as a teenager, and my dad had a 68 Camaro that could lift the front wheels 8 inches off the ground. So growing up me and my older brother heard countesss stories about their antics, like how my mom heard my dad's car before she saw it and thats why they got together.

My brother got an 81 Camaro when he was old enough, and I helped build it and re-build it many times. When it came time for me to buy my first "real" car (I had a celica when I was 16) I knew I wanted a muscle car, but I was the younger brother and all my life I was the brother that copied everything my brother did so at first I was going to get a Mustang, as opposed to a Camaro, but I've always loved f-bodies deep down and the 3rd generation was always my favorite. So I was going to get a Firebird, so I could still set my self apart from my brother.
But I saw an 89 camaro one day sitting in a field with a big sign, $1200. I was still on the fence, but I wanted to look at it and the guy said he would take payments, then he said the words that would sell me off anything but Camaro forever- he said I could take it for a test drive, I slid into the seat and it fit like a glove. I looked accross what I thought at the time was a HUGE hood. It was the first time I was behind a V8 in the driver's seat. I fired her up, got goosebumps, and just drove it around the parking lot- but copycat be damned, I was a Camaro guy for life. And thats why I bought a third gen.

camarokracker

iTrader: (1)

Ok.. so i guess i will give my abbreviated story.... I was homeless and living out of the back of an 83 firebird with basically one friend left that would talk to me. His father found out about my situation and decided to step in and help me out....

Long story very short....

I ended up working for him for almost 5 years. He bought me my 86 sport coupe as a birthday gift. (right after his attorneys got me my liscence back).


HE SAVED MY LIFE!!

We lost him to sudden heart failure on Feb 17, 2002.

I will never let that car go.......

DrummerDad

I started loving third gens in High school. All the rich kids were driving around in IROCs, and Formulas, and I was stuck driving a 4 cyl s-10. When I joined the Army, a friend was looking to buy an Iroc, and I went with him. We test drove a few, and I fell in love. He wound up buying a 5.0, because of the price. I still wanted an IROC 350.

A few years later, Im married, and looking for a car. I automatically start with third gens. Test drove a few, and then I saw my bird. I had never been a fan of the 91-92 body style, but it was only $2200, and it ran well and looked good. I bought it, and love it. Its an absolutely gorgeous car, at least in my opinion, and Ill never own anything else. When I buy another car, itll be a 91-92 firebird. Only thing Ill change is, itll be a hardtop with a 350 or convertable with a 350. Id like a GTA, but it doesnt have to be. This car just keeps running. Dead dependable, and costs next to nothing to keep up.

Ill take all the *******, and ****** jokes people want to throw at me. I love the look of my car, and sexier lines have never been drawn, at least not in this country. And If I ever get to build it the way I want, heaven help all the haters.

strc09

iTrader: (5)

Because it's my favorite generation.

Blud_Shot_Eyez

Back in the 80's I used to watch Knight Rider just for the Trans Am. Then my dad's friend had a black one just like Knight Rider's. And this was back in the 80's.

Sometime in the 2000's my cousin bought an 89 GTA Trans Am. I looked inside and liked the look of just 4 seats.

And then I heard my friend's rap song about Camaro's. You can listen to it here http://www.myspace.com/TEETAHHTEE if you like rap. When you click on the link, click the "pause" button to stop the current song from playing and then click on "Mash Da Old School" Once I heard that song I had to get one.

Now I have two!

91interceptorZ

iTrader: (3)

my dad had a '87 iroc 5.7 red t-top car that I just thought was the coolest thing since sliced bread....well it was also the first car I acturally every drove and since then have fallen in love with thirdgen's and now own a show quality fast "police interceptor".

KittDrifter

the first hot wheels car i ever had was a 82 trans am, but i was way too young to know this and i always mistakenly thought it was a ford thunderbird, plus i found the toy in a parking lot all beat up. as i grew up my aunt had an 83 camaro sitting at her house since she was 16 and i had wanted it ever since because it was the closest i would ever get to this toy i still had. then later i discovered knight rider in a parody action figure magazine Toyfare (comic book version of Robot Chicken) where they were relating similar sounding names to star wars characters. count dooku = eliza dushku, kit fisto = kitt, etc. then the dvd's came out. years later i find out an old high school friend had an original 82 trans am, with 305 CFI, t-tops... i bought it from him and now i play 80's music to live the decade i missed.