Here's the deal. As a father/son project, my 17 yr old son and I have spent the last 2 1/2 years slowly restoring an '86 IROC. We've replace the entire interior, pulled and rebuilt the anemic LG4, using only the original block (bored .030) and crank (turned). Almost every part we've used was either new or NOS and cost a fortune. The engine has all high dollars parts and runs great. TRW pistons, Crane Cam, Trick Flow Aluminum heads, 1.6 roller rockers, ZZ4 intake, etc. The body was already nice, that's why I bought it.

Any way, we're done. Now we want to sell her and start on another. Now I know you never make money on a project like this, but I paid $4,600 for the car just because the body was nice. The most I've been offerred on this car is $4,000.00. I'm seriously considering parting out this car. I don't think it would take long to get well past $4,000.00 in parts. The Corvan guage kit was $749.00. The Trick flow heads were $1,200.00. The March Serpentine kit was $500.00. The new quadraject was $600.00. Along with all those obscure parts, I'll bet I can make more in parts.

I wouldn't trade the father/son experience for anything, but I hate losing my *** on the project. Am I a jerk for thinking about destroying this nice car?

Thanks,

 

If you sell it, you'll have a hole in your multi-generation photo. . .

It's pretty hard to get your money out of these cars. Whatever you put in you'd better plan on driving out. In your case, the money that went into the 305 was poorly spent. Had you just gotten a 350 shortblock core, you would have been a lot better off. Plus, it sounds like you bought new parts - even if you part it out, you can't figure on getting what you paid for them back.

 

oh yeah, 305 complete waste of cast iron and steel. mmhm w.e i think not. its still a smallblock V8. oOoOoOo a 1/4 of an inch less bore per cylinder. i hate how everyone is obsessed with 350's

anyways man it doesnt matter what motor you have. your still going to have to charge less because the parts are used. bottom line, dont let this guy tell you your hard work is for nothing. i bet the thing screams.

 

Yeah, I've heard all about the 350 thing. This 305 (310 after boring) is plenty strong enough for a 17 year old. I wasn't trying to get maximum muscle. Just trying to make a nice car with quality parts. And I certainly don't expect to get more than half of what I have in any of these parts. But there are a LOT of parts on the car.

Even though it hurts the wallet, that moment when that thing first fired up, I wouldn't trade it for anything. It was our 1st time building a motor. See pics ...











Thanks,

 

... Keep it. It isn't worth selling the BEAUTY just yet. Let the boy drive it for a while. Chicks Dig 3rd gens... Nice heads though, I have the same set on my Formula.

In my opinion, you can never have too much power at 17.

 

You can do much better than $4K. I would say $7.5K is very doable. You just have to be patient and find the right buyer. It's a very nice looking car and they are only going up in value. Besides the experience you had building it with your son is priceless.

Is that your shop? Nice!

 

In case you haven't been around long enough to know, I had a built 305. In fact, except for the cam, everything now in/on the 350 was originally in/on the 305. When I first drove the 305 after the mods way back in Nov '01, my comment on this very Board was, "This is the way the factory should have done the 305." It was over a second faster than the stock 305 in the 1/4. I didn't spend any money on the shortblock except gaskets.

With the extra bore 4 years later, it was 1.4 seconds faster in the quarter than the souped-up 305. The ZZ4 cam actually has a little less duration than the 305 cam.

Since the topic here was resale value, everything I said about spending money on the 305 is doubly true. Which is more likely to sell, a tricked-out car with a 305 for $7500, or a tricked-out car with a 350 for $7500? Even more real-world, the 305 car for $4500, or the 350 car for $7500? Since the cost of rebuilding a 305 is the same (or slightly more) than rebuilding a 350, it doesn't make sense to put money into a 305 shortblock whether your goal is performance or resale.

Yes, the 305 is fast enough for a 17-year-old. So, why put $1200 heads on it?

I understand that's all water under the bridge - you've already spent the money. But, if I were seriously looking at the car, I'd offer you $1500 less than you were asking with the plan of putting a 350 shortblock in after purchasing.

But, like I said in my first response, if I'd already built the car you did, I'd drive it. It's a great looking car. My son helped me build and install the 350, and that first-start moment was indescribable. I had him help build it because the plan was for him to race it (I drive it to work, he drives it to the track). He would respect and care for it more that way. I'm sure your son respects it even more since he helped build it.

(For the record, I didn't say the hard work was for nothing. I said the money that went into the 305 was poorly spent. The 305 shortblock is what I meant, not the entire engine, or the work put into the car. Don't twist my words.)

 

To answer your question without beating around the bush: YES YOU'D BE A JERK. Don't sell the car man, I'm sure you know without me telling you that the car looks amazing and prolly sounds great too. Look at it this way if you sell the car and a few weeks later you see it more then likely it'll either b trashed or changed in some horrible way, reason i say this is b/c in my opinion anyone who has 7k to spend on our cars prolly doesnt belong owning it (no offense to neone on here b/c im not saying that they rn't worth it). Our generation just isnt pulling in that much money on most of the cars. Anyway also think about the fact that if you keep the car around everytime you see it you'll def rem the build better. Anyway keep the car around, theres not that man more of them around in that condition, let us know what you end up doing...

DON'T DESTROY THE CAR!!!!

 

omg i love that Camaro. i dont care 305 or 350. its beautiful. id drive it either way. Yea i wouldn't sell it. I mean, my 87 Sport Coupe 2.8 got mad girls and the thing was a total rust bucket. then 7-8 camaros later i bought this IROC i have now. i hope to have it looking like yours by spring just not red. NO OFFENSE but red is a cliche IROC color.... still gorgeous. but i love built 305's there such reliable motors.

 

Thanks for the comments and opinions, guys. I always get good input here. I think I'll keep it a while longer and think about it.

Geno

 

Geno - i would do some real hard thinking before getting rid of it. memories/time/work/money invested (with a poor return).

that is a beauitiful third gen, you wont be able to find another one in that condition with that much care into it. it is truely a gem. and you would have a hole in the generation photo.

and to BLUE IROC 86 - that quarter inch makes a huge difference when it comes to bore size which is directly related to possible valve sizes. also a decent amount of cubes.

i am not going to say that a 305 is a waste of iron, as it is a good starting place, especially for new enthusiests. my first thirdgen was a 305, got bored with it and it had issues and now i have a 350 with some work and wouldnt go back for anything. wait until you feel the difference between the 305 and 350. then you will say its notable.

as five7kid said the power difference is great, and greatly affects resale value.