TADailyDriver

iTrader: (8)

You should of seen my dads 1984 F150 before we restored it. I think it maybe weighed 2000lbs or less because of all the panels that had rotted off. Took us 4 months but its got a new box and everything ordered right from Ford, but now shes used as a plow truck and just sits when not being used, so shes starting it all over again....My friend drove a 1992 Dodeg ram that had seen salt almost all its life and when he got in the driver seat, the seat rails rested on the left frame rail and leaned up against the side of the cab because the was NO floorboards. Needless to say the frame broke in half after he went over some railroad tracks because it rusted right through... SALT SUCKS!!!! thats why im moving to flordia lol....

Iroctopless

I have 2 '89 vehicles . . .
My Camaro which was never seen winter or salt;


And my daily driver Jimmy;


That's life in the rustbelt. You almost need to have a disposable vehicle to save the other.

gatorcola

Now I understand what you Northerners and Canadians really mean about pulling them out after winter. I'm a native Floridian so I assumed you meant storage due to winter road hazards. That's just awful. When I was a kid people would modfify old cars & trucks into "beach buggies" to run the island. They didn't last long due to the salt but they sure were fun. Can't run the beach anymore so I'll just have a little daydream about owning a Trans Am Beach Buggy.

OMG

okfoz

Salt actually has a dual effect on Steel. 1) it corrodes or causes Rust to accelerate and 2) it holds moisture. In the winter I have seen where they salt a road it stays wet longer than if they unsalted a section...

John

campin1983

iTrader: (4)

What is really bad, is there is an alternative, but legal action keeps it from being implemented. There is a soy based product that will melt ice about the same as salt, but it does not corrode and it also does not burn animal's feet (used to work at a pet store...)

My university used it, and it looked like salt, except with a yellowish tint. Our city tried using it, but the very first winter accident was blamed on the stuff, and so it was pulled for fear of lawsuits. If it weren't for a few people blaming their stupidity on whatever they can, the "rustbelt" very well may be no more. Aw well.

gatorcola

No idea if this has been posted before - reborn

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9VCp6bD0aA

86WS6

iTrader: (1)

Rust is the major thing that will make me by-pass an otherwise good car. My grandmother had an Oldsmobile, nothing special, however old folks get attached to things. She had the car Z-barted when new. It stayed in a garage. They almost never drove it when the roads were slick, because they were afraid to drive on snow. The car spent the first 5 years in Indianapolis Indiana. When Grandpa passed, we moved Grandma to Georgia. The car had 22K miles, and was clean as new. Within a year rust started popping out all over the car. Because it belonged to Grandma, I disasembled the car and sandblasted the bottom, rockers, quarter panels, anything that shown signs of rust. I removed the windows and doors, and completely reworked the body. I had help with the parts that needed welding, and we cut out and welded new metal in all the places were rust had damaged it. After some careful fiberglass work, and sparing bondo work the car was sprayed with zinc-oxide primer. I then painted it back the original color, and reassembled it. It looked great, and ran better then new. Within two years rust began to pop through again, this time in different places. The car began to resemble a swiss cheese again, and Grandma finally gave it to my then teenaged children to drive to high school and finish it off. One day while on the lift at the local service station for an oil change, we noticed that the bolted on subframe was breaking loose from the floor pan and the car was no longer safe. RUST HAD WON! The cherished Olds became a parts car. It had 51K actual miles.

okfoz

I have owned several cars and the ones that were "undercoated" do not seem to last as long as the ones that were not. One thing that I do notice is that once a car starts to rust there is no stop to it. Cancer is a perfect description as its impossible to stop.

I think Undercoaters like Rusty Jones and Zebart were more effective 20 years ago than they are now. One of the things that I think happens is they put the Rubberized stuff on the cars and if they do not do it perfect then it can acvtually trap moisture than repel it. I am not sure when but GM started using a Sealer on their cars, I know my 1990 Riviera had it and I am pretty sure my 87 Formula and 89 Formula has it and it helped a TON...

John

Navy Goat

After reading this, I'm glad that I still have my 87 350 G92 IROC that I bought used in 1994. I have, however, sent an 86 6 cly 5-speed car and a rusty 89 305 TBI RS to the bone yard. I gutted both of them to have parts for the IROC. About a year ago I bought a 92 RS 305 TBI 5-speed car for $2200.00 I bought the RS with the intent to swap the 5-speed into the 87 IROC.

Now after reading this, I find myself with a dilemma; go foward with the swap and then dump the RS or keep them both?

The IROC has over 150,000 miles on it. It needs body work. The rear quarter pannels and hatch area have seen better days. The motor was re-built over 10 years ago (30 over/3 angle valve job, stock cam) The interor is shot but I have the complete 89 RS grey deluxe interor sitting on the shelf ready to go in.

The 92 RS is a solid car. No rust (it came out of North Carolina) It's all orginal with the execption of the radio. I pulled the orginal AC Delco plugs and factory GM wires off of it when I put a tune up on it. The dash pad is cracked baddly and it's missing a center cap for one of the wheels. The 305 TBI has a little over 175,000 miles on it.

Keep them both or re-build the IROC? That is the question.

Aloha from Hawaii

campin1983

iTrader: (4)

Welcome to thirdgen first off! Hope you find a lot of useful info here. I'd say keep them both as it sounds like both cars have something to work with, and could be put on the road without too much trouble. A bunch of us here sell parts from our parts cars, and I'm sure we could help fill in the gaps on both cars.

Navy Goat

Thanks for the welcome campin1983. I have surfed around the site for sometime I just never signed on.

I agree that both are solid cars. I have a lot of history with the 87. She and I have put a ton of miles on the road together. Some a little faster than others and shredded a few pounds of Goodyear rubber in the process!!

The RS has in a very short time grown on me. I did the normal tune up (plugs, cap, coil and air filter). After swapping out the gas tank (due to two holes drilled into the gas tank by a previous owner while installing a speaker box) I added a high flow cat, cat back exhaust and put a Hurst shifter in it.

Now with the though of keeping both I have to look over the money issues and come up with a new plan that can support both cars. Either way, they both will be around for a while.

Aloha from Hawaii.

maro_of_the_92

wow dude... wow, you really scrapped a z28? are u stupid or just crazy. you know all you guys are sick, thirs gens are legends people. so yours goes up every time one dies. its still another legend gone. for me, third gens arent just another car to fix up and make it sound mean and fast. third gens are memories man. memories i dont want to give up. i buy all my parts from the dealer, just so the others in the junk yards may live another day. so that some day some kid and his dad will pick it up and start working on it toegether. giving it new life and another chance to be on the road. you guys are just sick...

Iroctopless

Some of are, but it keeps life interesting.

Randy82WS7

great thread here, too bad my browser memory is so freaking slow i will not be able to read the entire thread, until i get a new mobo combo soon, hmm

each person has a unique stance belief regarding this topic, as diversely different and unique as each of these cars or any other particular year make and model of automobile out there

i am glad to have acquired my 82 trans am in 2000, even if it has some major rust rot issues in the rear quarter and even if the drivetrain is no longer original but is stock and will remain such, as will the entire car inside and out, for as long as i am alive because i wont and cannot let the car go for i have way too much time and $ into the car already as it is and too much more needs to go into it to make it even appear halfway decent, haha

true that each one that is scrapped basically makes mine worth a bit more, but i believe it should be a sad thing for any to be scrapped no matter the year make and model, for once it is gone it is gone forever just like us human beings and animals and well virtually anything else in this world, none are infinitely in existence and are therefore non replaceable and therefore cant exist to be appreciated no matter the condition or anything else, for i appreciate all, in all different conditions whether rusted out junk, spray painted, or mint original stock, for each is its own and no other is exactly like it and such is the case with individual ppl and so forth.

at the same token there does need to be some good used parts to keep ones on the road that need parts and ones that are not reproduced or are discontinued/sold out from GM

this is a touchy topic and each has their own unique stance/take/belief/view

personally i am sad to see any older vehicle of any year make model in a yard or being wasted but i am guilty along with most other ppl with having junked some, no matter that many of them were totally rotted out scrap and could never safely be returned to driving status, for regardless of that it is still a sad thing for the vehicle to be taken from existence


every time i see one i have to remind myself that i have an 82 trans am, and early third gen and i am glad ot have one and wouldnt want a different one and i will always have it and thats just how it is and will remain, and well at least many different stock non-reproduced parts can be available for mine in which does need many,



R.I.P. all the old classic and interesting vehicles that have been scrapped

aaron7

iTrader: (7)

I've parted many cars, not just third gens. I remember once when I helped a friend part out a V6 Firebird that had the mintest interior and floor pans... it was sickening :P

Heck, there's a guy in my town that's been buying and parting 3rd gens for like 10 years! Before that he parted 2nd gens, and before that? Mopars!

campin1983

iTrader: (4)

Well the car that caused me to start this thread is being sold off yet again. I took what I needed from it, and now is being passed on to another F-body owner who is interested in the shell, among other things. Each time it is passed along it has less and less. The owner before me stripped the drivetrain; I stripped the interior, wheels, doors and body panels; the new owner has interested in the headlight assemblies and the shell.

At least on its journey to the junkyard, it is coming apart and about every last piece that is still worth anything is being used. I do have a feeling it won't move much after this next owner gets it, as I believe he likes to keep F-body parts in stock to keep his F-body running.

nicksL98

iTrader: (6)

These reasons may have been stated already, but when I buy a car that has no more floorboards left and the shock towers are half rotted away, it gets parted and scrapped. there is no use in fixing it, so make the best of it and let others live on. (same goes for badly wrecked "common" cars)

Also, I personally dont have the space to keep a rolling shell to nearly give away with a clean title and disc brake rear, etc - I have tried that twice with no success. One was an 87 Iroc that was clean but stripped and needed everything, and the other was a 90 firebird V6 that was taken apart by some teenager. He lost half the engine and sold the 5 speed to his buddy, let the car sit outside the garage for 3 years with the window cracked - Nobody wanted these cars for $400 each when i had them. so parted and scrapped they get.

CharcoalBird

iTrader: (4)

I'll let you all know when you can start scrapping third gens, I havn't bought all the ones I want yet.

DyingYoung138

You know, next time you guys think of junking a car, think of this...

I'm 19 years old and since I turned 15, I have been trying my damnest to find a 3rd generation Camaro to cherish and call my own. The Camaro has been my favorite car ever since my mother's first car with me was a '81 Z28. Now I have seen over 500 Camaros and Firebirds in the last 4 years, including a '89 GTA for $800 with supposedly only a bad fuel pump, but when I passed in fear that buying it from a junkyard and it being more than a fuel pump, someone else bought it and got it running for only $50. (Please remember I'm not rich, so I couldn't buy it just to save it)

I searched for 4 years and was about to just say screw it and give up, every time I thought I found one, it either got sold out from under my nose (even with giving a deposit) or had too much wrong for me to repair. But last month I finally found an '86 Trans Am on a used car lot for $2600 and offered them $2000 cash. Drove it home. She's got her fair share of problems, but nothing that's keeping her off the road.

Next time you want to junk a car, remember that there is someone out there that would love to give you the junk price or even more and that car is still going to live. I would never junk a third gen, at the very worst it would go in the backyard until the time came to bring it back to life.

campin1983

iTrader: (4)

I can certainly recognize your situation, 3rd gens are hard to find in some areas, and you don't see many in my area. But one thing I've learned is there is a time where it's just too much. The parts car I just got rid of was too far gone. It was purchased for a bit more than the scrap price by another 3rd gen enthusiast to also help put his back on the road.

Needlessly crushing or parting a good third gen is one thing. But I think taking a long dead 3rd gen that will could never reasonably be put back together (severe rust, accident damage, etc) and using what's good to save others is ok. The parts car that I just sold will have helped put at least 2, if not more firebirds back on the road.

Think of it this way. That parts car would have required at least $10,000 or more to get a run of the mill V6 going again (body damage, twisted frame, missing drivetrain, etc etc). But each owner has bought it for less than $200 and gotten parts that would have totaled in the thousands new, to get his own car running again.

We are at a point where we can't always order new parts, so our warehouse becomes the dead and dying. I think its just a matter of making wise decisions. That 85 Iroc sitting in the junkyard that starts up and drives shouldn't be there. But the V6 'bird with massive damage isn't worth saving, it should save others.

panzer

Ya some people are just cruel. Theres another 92 RS like mine in the JY thats as solid as a rock. Put wheels on it and she'll run. Too bad the owner of that JY is such an @$$. He wont sell cars whole. Theres also a 72 Gran Torino with a 351 Cleveland that is very restorable. Sad.

Samdweezel05

iTrader: (1)

first off, there just cars. I love my cars as much as the next guy but to think that sending one to the scrap yard would make you feal bad is crazy. I can understand if you have owned it for a long time or it means something to you but we are talking about a parts car. I had a 1987 IROC-Z TPI 350 about 9 years ago. It spun a rod bearing 500' out of the guy's driveway that I bought it from. I drove it home. When I got it home I started to take it apart. I sold most of the parts here on this site 9 years ago. I had a guy drive from Albany New York, about 3 hours from me, to pick up the rearend. He showed up in a black 1989 GTA. I was glad he could use it. The car was perfect except for the little motor problem. There are things way more important in life than some car in the junk yard. If they could all be saved it would make the one you have less special. To date I have scraped only one 3rd gen and two 2nd gen cars. The only reason I regret getting rid of my 87' is because they are getting harder to find and it made the junk I just bought cost that much more. If this one doesn't work out I will scrap it too.

Phil

Rayzor32

iTrader: (1)

who cares these cars are a dime a dozen

86blackiroc

iTrader: (12)

Lots of people. They are quickly becoming not-so-common... downright scarce in some areas.

Iroctopless

If your area is so blessed, buy some and sell for profit to the many who are now finding it more and more difficult to locate any.

campin1983

iTrader: (4)

Bring me a dozen and I'll certainly give you a dime. Just make sure the floorpans are solid.

DyingYoung138

In just 4 years the population of them have gone down. They used to be in the papers, at least 20... now I'm lucky to see 2 or 3.

What I'm saying is that instead of junking a car that COULD be restored to a good driving car, sell it or give it to someone that will love it. Such as myself or hell, even your own son or daughter.

panzer

Well said. Im looking for someone with a third gen firebird/trans am so my sis has a project. We had to sell our summer project and her favorite car is a firebird. She deserves one. Id like to have the one I saw at the JY but as I said before the owner is an @$$.

Iroctopless

Very true. It's been a very dramatic drop around here (Central/Northern Alberta). I think the ones that have not been either extremely well cared for or restored by now are all entering their twilight years.

Regarding giving it to someone, that's the destiny of mine when I pass-away. She's going to my son (he's 6 months old right now). Unless, of coarse, he ends-up becoming an import/tuner traitor!!! But then the whole world might be different in 30 - 40 years (Gas? What's that???).

fervernt

It sucks to see third gens going to the scrap yards, but it sucks even more to see mine driving around without a bumper. So I bought a $700 v6, and I will be scrapping it after I pull every good part off the thing. the bumper and wheels alone were worth more than what I paid, especially to me.(I was rolling around on pink wheels, and tires that were too small. firebird with the parts I need? $700. Avoiding the ridicule of having pink wheels? priceless.) So, farewell to the v6, I'm sure you were great in your day, but it's time to give what little good you have left in you to save mine.

Project 3.4 Camaro

Personally, I'm alright with it, my beef is with altogether crushing them, then there's no parts or car...just a 4x4 cube of metal..
But its almost like a cycle of life, the old and dead get reborn to keep the other cars going, and most of the time the parts cars won't get restored anyway, in my case I picked up a new mill from a 94 camaro that met its demise on a telephone pole, thanks to me that car will live on through mine. It might seem callous but a parts car needs its parts no more than a dead soldier needs his ammunition or weapon, if the dead or dying can help the living I'm for it, like I said its crushing that aggravates me...crush my 94 buick century, and 92 lumina...but for god's sake keep things like camaro's, at least until all the usable parts are gone and only the shell is left..

KMK454

This is a funny bumped thread... "How many must suffer so that one may live?" Well, If America keeps voting the way it did in 2006 and 2008, then all thirdgens will suffer (think Cash for Clunkers) so that "Mother Earth" may live.

People purchase their car with their own economic assets to do what they want with it. If someone's idea of a good time with thirdgens is buying survivors and driving them into the ocean, then so be it. Like everyone here, I hate seeing a good thirdgen junked and parted, but that's part of automobilia and a car's life. It's sad but there's nothing that can easily be done.

There's also a possibility that at some point we will have full reproduction panels and parts for thirdgens. Builders can create a brand new 1969 Camaro by just ordering everything out of the catalog. And even if it doesn't come to that for thirdgens, modern fabrication and materials can fill in the blanks. It's amazing what restoration shops can do these days...

Project 3.4 Camaro

Actually unbeknownst to most people(or at least it seems to be) many of the 60s icons can be ordered as complete brand new reproduction body shells. I don't recall but I think it might even be possible to get some level of suspension on them too.

82tarecaro

iTrader: (4)

It's not hard to find a rust free 3rd gen worth fixing up. The ones that are rusted out are better off being used for parts. Unless it is a rare special edition, there are clean examples out there that can be used as good starting points for projects. I am sure most of us have benefited from a car being parted out. Maybe in 20 years when there are less of these cars, a basket case should be considered for fixing, but right now, I wouldn't bother, unless the car has some sort of sentimental value.