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History / OriginalityGot a question about 1982-1992 Camaro or Firebird history? Have a question about original parts, options, RPO codes, when something was available, or how to document your car? Those questions, answers, and much more!
Hey all, last year I purchased a 1987 IROC-Z hardtop for $3,000. The car came from the factory with zero power options: no A/C, no power windows, no power seats, no power locks. I just wanted to get your thoughts on this; is it rare? It has the original 350 TPI engine underneath the hood coupled with an automatic transmission.
WOW!
Super base model Z with the 350. G-80 too!
How many miles?
Any mods?
It has ~121,000 original miles on it right now, according to searching I found out that in 1996 this particular car only had 44,000 miles, so someone before me must have daily driven it for a while. No modifications yet, I’ve just started buying parts for it and am considering rebuilding the original motor and keeping it while I put a crate motor in it.
1AY = dealer ordered for general stock. Looks like the dealer ordered one for his lot that would be all performance, no frills, inexpensive, popular color. Most cars on lots were fully loaded, for $$$. But stripped-down Mustangs were available everywhere, so maybe ordered to compete with a nearby Ford dealer. It either sold immediately or sat on the lot for months.
My current truck is similar, not many options, tow-ready, max capacity, with a V6/6-speed, unusual, one-of-a-kind. I found it online the day it came in, not even on the lot yet. The color I wanted too. I called and bought it immediately. The sales manager got chewed out by the owner for ordering it, afraid they'd never sell it. Sales manager: "I know there's somebody out there somewhere who will want this truck." Sold the first day, to me, 2700 miles away lol.
Obviously, no internet in 1987, and that sales manager probably also got chewed out, but he knew there was somebody out there somewhere looking for that car. Without today's resources, it probably did sit on the lot for a while, but when that shopper found it, it was probably like a gold strike.
Value? Not much. To its owners, priceless, and that's all that matters.
Thank you all for the informative responses. As it turns out, the documentation’s address shows that the dealership (which doesn’t exist anymore), was right near a Ford dealership, 5 minutes away approximately. I’m 17 years old, and have zero plans of getting rid of this car.
Something dealers did in the 80s, since all advertisements were in newspapers, was to advertise a 1987 IROC-Z for $12,000. They had this one car on the lot for that price, and it got many buyers on their lot. By the time they got there, the $12k advertised car was gone and they only had $15k-$18k IROC-Zs left. It was a marketing game to get people on the lot.
I was reading a post on this website saying that there was never any 350 5 speed iroc-z And the guy said it was ordered by factory like that Well I don't know if it's true but I had a 1981 Camaro Z28 4 speed with A 350 factory And they said they never made them that way If you ordered the 350 you had to get an automatic The manual came with a 305 But I had a special order Camaro that came with A 350 4 speed It was ordered by An executive at General Motors I wish I never sold it So these cars do come up once in a while I also had an 87 Iroc-z Wish I'd never sold that either
If the factory produced a 350 5-speed car, what is the broadcast code for the f-body memcal? Seems a bit strange nobody has ever found one in 30+ years. Unless of course, it doesn't exist.
I was reading a post on this website saying that there was never any 350 5 speed iroc-z And the guy said it was ordered by factory like that Well I don't know if it's true but I had a 1981 Camaro Z28 4 speed with A 350 factory And they said they never made them that way If you ordered the 350 you had to get an automatic The manual came with a 305 But I had a special order Camaro that came with A 350 4 speed It was ordered by An executive at General Motors I wish I never sold it So these cars do come up once in a while I also had an 87 Iroc-z Wish I'd never sold that either
There are a few key differences here.
There is no dispute that a 1981 Camaro could be ordered with the 350 and 4-speed manual. Supposedly, they are a Canada order thing.
In fact, here's an example of one:
This contrasts to the ThirdGen (1982-1992 Camaro/Firebird) that has no such official records to support any example of a ThirdGen having a 350 with the manual transmission from the factory.
I was reading a post on this website saying that there was never any 350 5 speed iroc-z And the guy said it was ordered by factory like that Well I don't know if it's true but I had a 1981 Camaro Z28 4 speed with A 350 factory And they said they never made them that way If you ordered the 350 you had to get an automatic The manual came with a 305 But I had a special order Camaro that came with A 350 4 speed It was ordered by An executive at General Motors I wish I never sold it So these cars do come up once in a while I also had an 87 Iroc-z Wish I'd never sold that either
california 305 only 4 gear.
canada 350 4 gear only
350 manual trans third gen never built as transmission couldn’t handle the torque….
hope this helps
I was reading a post on this website saying that there was never any 350 5 speed iroc-z And the guy said it was ordered by factory like that Well I don't know if it's true but I had a 1981 Camaro Z28 4 speed with A 350 factory And they said they never made them that way If you ordered the 350 you had to get an automatic The manual came with a 305 But I had a special order Camaro that came with A 350 4 speed It was ordered by An executive at General Motors I wish I never sold it So these cars do come up once in a while I also had an 87 Iroc-z Wish I'd never sold that either
Chevrolet sold many 350 4 speed Z28's in 1981 (I had one and recently sold it when I bought my '89 IROC).
The catch is they were only available in Canada.
1AY = dealer ordered for general stock. Looks like the dealer ordered one for his lot that would be all performance, no frills, inexpensive, popular color. Most cars on lots were fully loaded, for $$$. But stripped-down Mustangs were available everywhere, so maybe ordered to compete with a nearby Ford dealer. It either sold immediately or sat on the lot for months.
My current truck is similar, not many options, tow-ready, max capacity, with a V6/6-speed, unusual, one-of-a-kind. I found it online the day it came in, not even on the lot yet. The color I wanted too. I called and bought it immediately. The sales manager got chewed out by the owner for ordering it, afraid they'd never sell it. Sales manager: "I know there's somebody out there somewhere who will want this truck." Sold the first day, to me, 2700 miles away lol.
Obviously, no internet in 1987, and that sales manager probably also got chewed out, but he knew there was somebody out there somewhere looking for that car. Without today's resources, it probably did sit on the lot for a while, but when that shopper found it, it was probably like a gold strike.
Value? Not much. To its owners, priceless, and that's all that matters.
Slightly off-topic maybe but, was the 1AY code used across GM lines or just the F-body?
The only upgrade I see on this car is the custom cloth seats (82C) for $277, as opposed to base cloth seats (82B) for $28.00. Love these low optioned IROC's!
06-15-2022, 08:51 PM
